The awards are presented each year to organizations and individuals whose achievements have been deemed exceptional by the international trade association and its awards committees, made up of industry members from across the globe. The global nature of the teleport industry was clearly evident on the podium, with recipients from Israel, Russia, Belgium, and the United States. The 2009 recipients are:
Independent Teleport Operator of the Year — RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd (Israel) – RRsat was selected as Independent Teleport Operator of the Year based on an impressive year of accomplishments that included two major acquisitions, inauguration of an HD playout center, additional satellite platforms added to the portfolio, and launches of new TV channels. RRsat provides comprehensive global satellite and fiber distribution services including production, playout, uplink, downlink, turnaround services, as well as end-to-end transmission for television, radio and data channels. The company was founded in 1991 with one teleport and four SNG trucks. In 2009 RRsat completed the acquisition of two teleports – Hawley Teleport in Pike County, Pennsylvania, USA and the Emeq Ha’ela Teleport in Israel, bringing its count to six teleports. RRsat also expanded its capabilities with the inauguration of a new HD playout center. Four additional satellite platforms were added during the year to the 30 satellite platforms already in operation, expanding coverage with a new solution for cable operators in Russia and Asia, and additional DTH services to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Australia, and Asia. In November 2006 RRsat became one of the few publicly traded independent teleport operators in the world. Under the leadership of Founder and Chief Executive Officer, David Ravel, who was selected as the association’s 2007 Teleport Executive of the Year, RRsat was ranked in WTA’s list of the Global Top Twenty operators in 2008 as well as among the Independent Top Twenty for three consecutive years. 
Corporate Teleport Operator of the Year — Gazprom Space Systems (Russia) — Gazprom Space Systems was selected as the Corporate Teleport Operator of the Year based on a 48% revenue growth rate in 2008. Mixing support for Gazprom corporate operations with service to outside customers, Gazprom currently operates three mid-size Yamal satellites covering Russia/CIS and most of the Eastern hemisphere, four teleports in Moscow and the Moscow regions connected by a fiber network, as well as a wide network of earth stations across Russia. As an operator, service provider and system integrator, Gazprom serves over 200 customers with a satellite fill rate of over 90%. In 2008, the Gazprom Board of Directors approved a prospective plan for growing the space business through 2015 including the addition of eight satellites and building a new teleport in the Moscow region. Gazprom was listed to WTA’s Global Top Twenty in 2008 and to The Fast Twenty in 2008 and 2007.
Teleport Technology of the Year — Newtec’s FlexACM (Belgium) — In a time when companies are tightening budgets, a product that can help reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction and achieve high service reliabilities was the clear top choice. Newtec’s FlexACM is a unique end-to-end solution for implementing Adaptive Coding Modulation (ACM) technology, IP shaping, compression and acceleration in an efficient way for IP trunking and IP backbone satellite links. The implementation of FlexACM can result in a doubling of the data throughput in a given satellite segment while also guaranteeing a 100% link availability. FlexACM is the first commercially available system which integrates DVB-S2 ACM with advanced IP optimization technologies such as traffic accelerating, compression and shaping. In order to anticipate degrading link conditions, the FlexACM system relies on a unique patent-pending Noise and Distortion Estimator (NoDE) capability on each of the receiving points, resulting in the most accurate estimation available on the market. To further optimize efficiency, FlexACM includes cross layer optimization by using advanced features such as traffic acceleration to compensate for the transmission delay inherent in satellite communication, and dynamic “on-the-fly” compression of the IP traffic.-
Teleport Executive of the Year — In addition to the above honorees, Doug Tutt, Chief Operating Officer and President of Global Energy Services at CapRock Communications (United States) was presented with the 2009 Teleport Executive of the Year award. The announcement of Mr. Tutt as the industry’s leading executive was made on March 11th in New York.
The 2009 Luncheon and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by SES, hosted many of the world’s independent and commercial teleport operators for the 14th consecutive year. London-based WTA Chairman Chris Russell welcomed the delegates and led the industry in the annual toast. WTA Director of Development Louis A. Zacharilla, who emceed the event for the 13th time, provided an overview of WTA and its mission for the capacity crowd at the Washington Convention Center. SES Engineering’s Senior Vice President for Customer Service Delivery, Stewart Sanders, addressed the audience on the issue of signal interference and discussed how the satellite operators of the industry were jointly committed to resolving the issue. SES Engineering manages most of the SES Group’s satellite operations, from procurement to ground operations. Commenting on the 2009 Awards program and recipients, WTA’s Executive Director Robert A. Bell noted that, “All of the nominees in 2009 presented the industry with a best-practices approach. Each of the winners demonstrated a commitment to delivering high-value, innovative and reliable service to customers and a dedication to the health and growth of the global satellite communications market.”
WTA is dedicated to advocating for the interests of teleport operators in the global telecommunications market and promoting excellence in teleport business practice, technology and operations. Companies that do business with teleports also find that WTA is the best investment they can make to open new channels to the industry.
