The World Teleport Association (WTA) has renewed the Tier 4 certification of Eutelsat’s Rambouillet Teleport in France under the WTA’s Teleport Certification Program, following an audit of the facility by the association.
Since its introduction at IBC 2015, the Certification program has quickly grown in popularity. Starting with one certified facility in 2015, the program has added 40 in 3 years, and currently has 12 additional teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process. Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Azercosmos, Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks, STN, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, Singtel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Speedcast, Telstra, Primacom, Santander Teleport and Arqiva.
The industry has quickly adopted the transparent, independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications.
To achieve Provisional Certification, a teleport operator completes a +170-item questionnaire and submits it to WTA. The Association analyzes the data based on standards established by its Certification Committee and issues the Provisional Certification based on the self-reported information. The teleport then has six months to achieve Full Certification.
To achieve Full Certification under WTA’s program, an auditor is dispatched to visit the teleport, provide independent validation of the data submitted in the questionnaire, and identify additional factors that may positively or negatively affect the score. Full Certification is issued at a Tier number from 1 through 4, of which 4 represents the highest degree of excellence, and remains in effect for 3 years.
WTA’s Teleport Certification Program serves both teleport operators and their customers by creating an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted method for teleport operators to document the quality of their operations for customers and strategic partners. It also provides a means for customers to select teleport vendors delivering the price‐performance level that is appropriate for their applications. Select this direct link for a list of certified teleports.
For more information about the Teleport Certification Program, visit
Executive Comments
José Sanchez, Eutelsat’s Director of Service Operations and Chairman of the WTA, said, “We are delighted at the renewal of Tier-4 WTA certification. We were the first ever satellite operator to obtain in it 2016 and the first ever teleport to certify Tier-4. To consistently achieve this highest level of certification testifies to the commitment of our teams to providing the highest quality of service to our customers, as well as the remarkable performance of our facilities at the Paris-Rambouillet teleport in terms of infrastructure, security, organization and operational procedures. The WTA certification program launched in 2015 has become the most important instrument of the Association to raise the standards of the industry. By renewing our certification we exemplify our commitment to excellence.”
“The value of Teleport Certification,” said WTA Executive Director Robert Bell, “is to define operational excellence for a critical but too-little-recognized link in the global communications network. As teleport and satellite operators renew their certifications, the program is also driving quality improvements across the industry. Eutelsat is representative of the high quality found throughout our sector.”
