February 20, 2025 – New York City, USA – The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that it has completed a re-certification audit of COMSAT’s Santa Paula (California, USA) and Southbury (Connecticut, USA) Teleports and renewed their top Tier 4 quality rating. 

Since its introduction at IBC 2015, the WTA 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. The industry has quickly adopted the transparent and independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications. 

COMSAT’s Santa Paula and Southbury teleports became the first in the US to achieve Tier 4 certification in 2018. They have continuously maintained their status since, achieving recertification in 2022, and again during this most recent audit.

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. Re-certification requires review and update of the questionnaire and a facilities audit conducted by a WTA auditor. 

“Having been the first US teleports to achieve Tier 4 certification in 2018, we are proud to demonstrate our continued commitment to delivering the highest standards, having achieved recertification this year,” said COMSAT President and CEO, Chris Faletra. “With a satellite network being only as good as its ground infrastructure, WTA certification is a powerful way for customers to make informed decisions about who to trust with their business and assets.”

In 2023, COMSAT was acquired by UK-headquartered space and satellite communications company and WTA member, Goonhilly. The alliance allows customers of both companies to cross-utilize the brands’ three international sites: Southbury, USA; Santa Paula, USA; and Goonhilly Earth Station, UK.

According to Goonhilly’s CTO, Matthew Cosby, “The recent recertification of our Southbury and Santa Paula teleports is testament to the teams’ diligence. The stringent audit process covers factors including security, continuity, connectivity, service availability, and more. This achievement further solidifies our reputation as industry leaders and assures customers that we take our role as their trusted partners seriously.”

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. Click here for a list of certified teleports.

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