The World Teleport Association (WTA) has announced that ST Digital has achieved provisional certification of its teleport in Douala, Cameroon under WTA’s Teleport Certification Program.
The Douala certification marks the 65th issued since the program was launched at IBC 2015, and another five teleports are currently engaged in the quality evaluation process. The program provides 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.
Certification is issued on a Provisional (self-reported) basis after completion of a +170-item questionnaire that is evaluated against standards developed by WTA’s Certification Committee. 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.
Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by IABG Teleport, A1 Telekom Austria Group, Hispasat, Gomedia Satcom, Azercosmos, Speedcast, Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks, Yahsat, STN, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Nilesat, e&, Optus, Horizon Teleports, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, PlanetCast, Globecast, KT sat, Singtel, Hellas Sat, Orange, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Globecast, SMS, Telstra, Primacom, Santander Teleport and Arqiva.
“Obtaining this provisional certification from the World Teleport Association (WTA) is a major recognition for ST Digital and for our Douala teleport,” said Jean Francis Ahanda, General Manager of the Datacenter. “It testifies to our commitment to meeting the highest international standards in the operation of our infrastructure. As the first neutral and independent operator of a Tier 3 data center in Central Africa, this certification reinforces our position as a leader in cloud services in Central Africa. We are determined to continue our efforts to achieve full certification, ensuring that our customers receive reliable, secure solutions tailored to local and international requirement.”
“The Douala teleport certification marks two milestones for WTA,” said executive director Robert Bell. “It is our first Certified Teleport in sub-Saharan Africa, and the second Certified Teleport that is operated by a company whose principal business is providing cloud services through company-owned data centers. The intersection of IT and teleports is a growing trend that adds new values to multipath connectivity, and we look forward to seeing more in the future.”
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. Click here for a list of certified teleports.
