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Satnews Daily
March 9th, 2018

DataMiner Makes the Finals ... Named WTA Teleport Technology of the Year Finalist


Skyline Communications announced that DataMiner has been named finalist for the prestigious “World Teleport Association (WTA) 2018 Teleport Technology of the Year” award, that validates DataMiner as the preferred Network Management (NMS) and Operational Support System (OSS) for the global community of teleport and satellite operators. Skyline Communications is a supplier of end-to-end, multi-vendor network management and OSS software solutions for the broadcast, satellite, cable, telco and mobile industry.

Modern teleports have evolved far beyond mere baseband and RF facilities. Teleports today are nodes of global public and private IP networks, and contribute as an essential part to a vast number of broadband, data and media services. Not only do they relay services between different transmission technologies, acting as a gateway between satellite and fiber in most cases, but they also deal with complex data and media processing. Similar to how wired and wireless segments seamlessly interconnect, the future of satellite networks lies in their ability to become a coherent part of other networks. 

The emergence of all-IP connectivity forms the basis of what is called data and control plane interoperability, allowing packets to transverse from one network to the other. This is not enough, however, as network operations require much more than just the ability to send packets from A to B. Network capacity planning, access policy management, cyber security workflows, incident handling, … These are just a few examples that illustrate the importance of a unified management plane in addition to a common data and control plane. The unified management plane is what makes a satellite network look ‘the same’ as other networks, i.e. a virtual segment cobweb of other telecommunications networks. 

Steven Soenens, VP of Product Marketing at Skyline Communications said that DataMiner Service and Resource Management – or SRM – is a new technology that truly virtualizes the orchestration and monitoring of services from the underlying network infrastructure. Broadband, IT and media services are configured and checked for good performance irrespective of the network technology and topology, be it regular satellite transponders, GEO and MEO constellations, SCPC or VSAT access, fiber, Wi-Fi, cellular, and so on, and the brand-new SRM suite facilitates technology-independent creation of a product and service catalog. The defined services can be booked upfront according to customer schedules and are fully automatically activated at the requested time. The orchestration of the underlying network segments, and processing in the data center infrastructure, are taken care of autonomously by DataMiner. SRM is the most intelligent operational environment imaginable, enabling services and SLA management independently of underlying networks. With DataMiner SRM, satellite communication segments become a virtual part of any telecommunications network.

Ben Vandenberghe, CEO at Skyline Communications added at Skyline, it’s all about innovation and leading the industry. Since the very inception of DataMiner, they have embarked on a mission to fundamentally redefine how operators in this industry can manage their ever more complex operation more easily and more efficiently than ever before. And they continue to do this every single day in close partnership with leading operators around the world and strategic trade organizations such as WTA. As a result, today DataMiner is by far the most sophisticated and most widely deployed end-to-end network management platform in the industry. This is not surprising considering the fact that DataMiner provides not only unrivaled 360 degree service visibility, but also the unique end-to-end cross-vendor and cross-technology orchestration capability that has become simply indispensable for any operation committed to success in this fast-changing industry.

DataMiner Service and Resource Management will be on display at Satellite 2018 at booth #1933.