WTA — Annual Teleport Awards Announced

The World Teleport Association (WTA) announced the recipients of its 15th annual Teleport Awards for Excellence. 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 2010 recipients are:

• Independent Teleport Operator of the Year: Broadcast Facilities, Inc. — Product of a recent combination of Crawford Communications (2006 Independent Teleport Operator of the Year) and Andrita Media Center, BFI was selected for its superior quality of service and significant growth over the last year, including 18 percent growth for its Atlanta facility and 24 percent for the Los Angeles facility.  BFI’s accomplishments over the last year include new central casting services; the launch of more than 40 TV channels; expansion of its teleport capabilities; upgrades to its transportable fleet; increased support for government SATCOM; general growth in digital media services; and landing a high-profile anchor client for in-house studio/production services.  Throughout the year, the company met the needs of its diverse client base by utilizing high-end design, engineering and technology for each project.
• Teleport Technology of the Year: Comtech EF Data’s CDM-625 Advanced Satellite Modem with VersaFEC® —Comtech’s CDM-625 is the industry’s first modem to combine a range of advanced technologies that allow for maximum savings under all conditions.  VersaFEC provides maximum coding gain with the lowest possible latency to support cellular backhaul and other latency-sensitive voice, video and data applications.  The CDM-625 with VersaFEC was specifically architected to support ACM for IP/Ethernet traffic.  ACM maximizes throughput under all conditions – rain fade, inclined orbit satellite operation, antenna mispointing, noise, interference, and other impairments.  This combination of advanced technologies enables multi-dimensional optimization including minimizing operating expenses, maximizing throughput and availability without using additional transponder resources, and minimizing capital expenses.  Comtech EF Data’s Double Talk Carrier-in-Carrier was named 2007 Teleport Technology of the Year.

The winners were selected by a volunteer committee of WTA members and previous Award winners based on nominations submitted during the first quarter of 2010. In addition to the above honorees, WTA presented two previously announced awards during the luncheon: Teleport Executive of the Year went to Jaime Dickinson, President of NewCom International, and Essel Shyam Communication Limited of Noida, India, was awarded the 2010 Green Teleport of the Year award. The 2010 Luncheon and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by SES, hosted many of the world’s leading teleport operators and previous winners of WTA’s Teleport Awards for Excellence.  WTA Board member and ATCi president Gary Hatch welcomed the delegates and led the annual toast to the winner, then turned the podium over to WTA Director of Development Louis A. Zacharilla, who announced the winners in the final two categories.  Michael Noon, Senior Vice President for Ground Infrastructure, also welcomed attendees on behalf of SES. Additional sponsors of the luncheon included Crystal Computer, JSAT International and Newtec.