The World Teleport Association (WTA) has announced that it has completed a re-certification audit of Singapore Telecom’s Bukit Timah and Seletar Teleports in Singapore and renewed their top Tier 4 quality rating.
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 three years, and currently has 12 teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process. Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Azercosmos, A1 Telekom Austria, Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks, STN, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Optus, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, Singtel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Telstra, Primacom, Santander Teleport, Hellas Sat 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 three years. Re-certification requires review and update of the questionnaire and a facilities audit conducted by a WTA auditor. During the pandemic, audits have been successfully conducted online.
Ng Kheng Ghee, Head of Satellite at Singtel, said, “We are very pleased with the renewal of the top Tier-4 WTA certification for our teleports in Singapore. Our teleports were the first in Southeast Asia to obtain the full Tier-4 certification and now, we are the first ever satellite operator to be recertified. This underscores our commitment to our customers, partners and industry by ensuring our facilities are resilient and robust in terms of infrastructure, security and operational procedures. As a leading managed satellite solutions provider in Asia, we will keep providing quality satellite services of the highest standards. This is our promise of excellence to all our customers.”
“Singtel is a regional leader in high-value transmission services for broadcast, maritime and other industries where Singapore plays a leadership role,” said executive director Robert Bell. “The Tier 4 re-certifications its facilities reflects that quality leadership. And it is becoming a powerful way to differentiate one teleport from another, as more satellite operators and end-customers include certification as a question in their RFPs.”
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.