The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that A1 Telekom Austria Group has achieved Tier 4 certification of its Aflenz Earth Station in Austria under its Teleport Certification programme.
The WTA says that the Aflenz certification marks the 42nd issued since the program was launched at IBC 2015, and another 11 teleports are currently engaged in the quality evaluation process. The programme 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.
The WTA adds that 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. 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.
Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by A1 Telekom Austria Group, Azercosmos, Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks, STN, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, Batelco, Singtel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Speedcast, Telstra, Primacom, Santander Teleport, Horizon Teleports and Arqiva.
Commenting on the development, Elena Petrova, head of wholesale broadcasting at A1 Telekom Austria Group, said: “We are proud and grateful of this great achievement of A1 Wholesale Broadcasting and Aflenz teams. The recognition from the World Teleport Association demonstrates our excellence in teleport operation and supports our leading role in the media and broadcasting business in Europe, Asia and soon in US. Another proof for that is the positive feedback from our customers – their trust, collaboration and willingness to choose A1 Wholesale Broadcasting as their main technical partner”.
WTA executive director Robert Bell added: “We welcome A1 Telekom Austria Group to the family of operators around the world who have achieved Full Certification of their facilities, technology and operating procedures.
“Independent, standards-based evaluation and validation sets teleport operators apart and assures customers that they will receive the price-performance outcome they expect”.