WTA Teleport Survey Ranks Top Commercial Satellite Operators
By Jeffrey Hill | March 9, 2012
[Satellite TODAY Insider 03-09-12] The gap between top- and lower-ranked satellite operators spread significantly in 2011, according to the second annual Satellite Operator Benchmarks report released March 8 by the World Teleport Association (WTA).
The report tracked satellite operators’ performance by interviewing more than 80 teleport executives from companies that represent a major buyer segment of satellite capacity. WTA’s report also researched operational availability, the handling of interference and of outages, both planned and unplanned.
All of the satellite operators that were included in the report received a strong ranking, on average, for operational practices across all factors of the study, according to WTA. Operators Arabsat and Telesat were rated as the best performing commercial entities, with SES performing in the middle of the rankings. WTA said that teleport operators reported that Intelsat and Eutelsat could, “improve performance against the commercial parameters.”
WTA Executive Director Robert Bell said that the 2012 Benchmarks report showed commercial and operational improvements in response to the results from the organization’s 2011 report.
“Competition is complex, and there is no single right answer to competitive policy. We thank the teleport executives who contributed to the study,” Bell said in a statement. “We believe that WTA can continue playing a constructive role in contributing to a better understanding of the issues across the industry and we remain committed to ensuring that teleport operators and satellite operators continue the dialogue so that their customers can profit.”
While satellite operators act as vendors to teleports, competition between teleport operators and satellite operators for the same business remains a complex and lingering issue. “When [operators] choose to compete directly for the same business, their control of the orbital asset gives them the power to offer prices no teleport operator can match,” WTA wrote in the report.