Eutelsat first in the world to achieve new quality certification from World Teleport Association (WTA)

WTA awards Tier 4 Certification to Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet teleport

New York City, Paris, 23 June 2016 – The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) has achieved Full Tier 4 Certification for its Paris-Rambouillet teleport in France under WTA’s recently launched Teleport Certification Programme. Tier 4 is the highest of four quality tiers and the Paris-Rambouillet Teleport is the first in the world to achieve that level of Certification.

Foundation of quality of service

The Certification programme involves a rigorous assessment of teleport facilities, technology and operating procedures, which together form the foundation of quality of service. The programme begins when the teleport operator completes a +170-item questionnaire covering business continuity, transmission chains, satellite and terrestrial connectivity, safety, security including cybersecurity, and the network operations centre. Procedural questions examine satellite and terrestrial capacity management, service continuity, physical and cybersecurity processes, and change management.

WTA analysed the company’s completed questionnaire and issued a Provisional Certification in April. Eutelsat then hosted a 2-day site audit by a WTA-approved engineering consultant in May. The audit had three goals: to validate the self-reported information in the questionnaire, to note positive and negative variances, and to offer recommendations for improvements in facilities and procedures. The resulting Tier 4 Certification of Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet Teleport will remain in effect for three years before re-certification is required.

José Sanchez, Eutelsat’s Director of Service Operations, said: “The achievement of the Tier-4 WTA certification represents new international recognition of Eutelsat’s customer service standards, complementing our ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications. To be awarded this highest level of certification shows the commitment of our teams to providing the highest quality of service to our customers and the remarkable performance of our facilities at the Paris-Rambouillet teleport in terms of infrastructure, security and operational procedures.”

“The success of our Certification programme depends on its adoption by teleport and satellite operators,” said WTA executive director Robert Bell. “It is their participation and support that translates a comprehensive quality programme like this one into a global standard, which in turn drives quality improvements that benefit customers around the world. In that context, Eutelsat’s Tier 4 Certification at its Paris-Rambouillet teleport is good news for the entire industry, and we are grateful for the leadership shown by Eutelsat.”

A new benchmark for teleport operators worldwide

WTA’s Teleport Certification Programme aims to serve 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 aims to provide 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.

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