WTA Certification Program Announces Tier 4 Certification of Arqiva’s Chalfont Grove Teleport

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

March 16, 2020 – New York City – The World Teleport Association (WTA) today has renewed Tier 4 certification of Arqiva’s Chalfont Grove (UK) Teleport under 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 teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process. Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks, STN, SMS, A1 Telekom Austria, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Optus, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, Singtel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Speedcast, 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 3 years.

WTA certification is a fantastic independent measure of the effort the Arqiva team has put in over many years to provide our customers with the most resilient, robust and effective teleport services possible.

Achieving re-certification demonstrates that we never rest on our laurels. Our continued investment in the areas of service excellence, infrastructure, technology, people and process ensures that we continue to be the best-in-class by any important measure.

Chris Alner, Commercial Director, Video and Data, Arqiva

Our program, launched in 2015, is achieving maturity with the first wave of renewals of certifications providing independent, standards-based evaluation and validation of facilities, technology and operating procedures. Arqiva is representative of the excellence found throughout our sector.

Executive director, Robert Bell

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.

For more information about the Teleport Certification Program, visit https://www.worldteleport.org/?page=Certification or email WTA Membership Director Randall Barney at rbarney@worldteleport.org.

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About World Teleport Association

Since 1985, the World Teleport Association (www.worldteleport.org) has focused on improving the business of satellite communications from the ground up. At the core of its membership are the world's most innovative operators of teleports, from independents to multinationals, niche service providers to global carriers. WTA is dedicated to advocating for the interests of teleport operators in the global telecommunications market and promoting excellence in teleport business practice, technology and operations.