[Satellite TODAY 03-25-11] Teleport operators were less satisfied with the commercial performance of their satellite vendors than with their operational performance and saw the need for improvement in many areas, according to the World Teleport Association’s (WTA) Satellite Operator Benchmarks 2011 report, issued March 24.
    Telesat, however, outscored its FSS peers in several categories outlined in the WTA-funded report, which compiled satisfaction ratings and feedback from 70 interviews with global teleport executives. WTA also found increased satisfaction among teleport operators with commercial and legal representatives, commercial communication, escalation, invoicing, pricing fairness, pricing consistency, commercial flexibility and a joint partnership approach to bidding.
   “Telesat was the satisfaction leader in overall commercial terms, with SES in the number two position. Scoring last, Intelsat and Eutelsat showed a similar profile of strengths and weaknesses, though Intelsat was rated higher overall … Operationally, the ‘big four’ scored well, receiving a ‘strong’ rating on 80 percent of factors across all operators. Telesat was, again, the satisfaction leader, followed by SES, Intelsat and Eutelsat,” the report said.