This is the Association’s 16th annual Teleport Awards for Excellence Ceremony and Luncheon and will be conducted at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. With the exception of its Teleport Executive of the Year Award, which was named on March 2, WTA selects its finalists from nominations submitted to the association by its members. Recipients are selected by committees of previous recipients, WTA Board members and management, and Industry Leader and Patron members.
- Independent Teleport Operator of the Year Finalists:
- Arqiva Satellite & Media
- SatLink Communications
- Europe Media Port
- Teleport Technology of the Year Finalists:
- Comtech EF Data – CDM-750 High Speed and Trunking Satellite Modem
- iDirect – Evolution DVB-S2/ACM Product Line
- XipLink – XipLink Hub Optimizations
In 2011, WTA will present a new award for corporate social responsibility to a teleport or satellite operator whose technology, innovation and pro bono work has played a key role in enabling the broader society to become better as a result of its effort.
- Corporate Social Responsibility:
- Arqiva Satellite & Media – For providing free satellite terminals and airtime for field researchers in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil, as well as funding the planting of an environmentally-critical corridor of trees which enabled a local economy to do better.
- Harris/CapRock – For wide-ranging outreach during Haiti earthquake relief efforts, including volunteer activities, monetary donations, and emergency satellite communications provided at a significantly reduced rate to the U.S. government.
- NewCom – For providing free satellite Internet access and VideoMeetings services to Sacre Coeur, a hospital in Milot, Haiti helping victims of last year’s earthquake access doctors and healthcare services from around the world.
- Thaicom – For an ongoing program to support education in the rural areas of Thailand by installing DTH terminals and televisions in schools which enable the reception of national education channels.
The 2011 luncheon, sponsored by SES, will be attended by over 150 guests, customers of and representatives from World Teleport Association. Attendees include teleport, satellite and content distribution technology industry executives, as well as previous awards recipients from around the world. A senior representative from SES, Chris Schram, will give the Host’s Welcome and present the awards to the recipients. The 2011 event will be emceed by WTA’s Director of Development Louis Zacharilla for the 15th time. In addition to honoring the winner from these three awards categories, WTA will present Adrian Ballintine, President of NewSat, with the Teleport Executive of the Year Award. Ballintine was named the teleport industry’s executive of the year on Wednesday, March 2. According to Louis Zacharilla, “Every year we have an impressive roster of nominees who demonstrate the diversity in size, capacity and range of services that the global teleport industry offers. Each of this year’s finalists has made significant contributions to the industry and to the innovation that has begun to take place at a very rapid pace within it. We are also very pleased to introduce the corporate social responsibility category, which will demonstrate the industry’s collective willingness to help others.”
