SES Chooses SlingPath SNG Training

Ongoing Initiative To Minimize The Global Interference Problem Affecting Viewers and Broadcasters

BeaconSeek Ltd, the UK-based satellite consultancy and training company, today announced that SES, one of the world’s leading providers of fixed satellite services, has purchased a substantial number of training places on BeaconSeek’s SlingPath SNG (satellite news gathering) online training program as part of the satellite industry’s Satellite Interference Initiative to reduce satellite Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

Interference is a growing problem in the satellite community, globally affecting broadcasters and viewers alike, and a key component of the Satellite Interference Initiative is increasing SNG uplinking expertise through more training and certification.

SlingPath (slingpath.com) is BeaconSeek’s innovative competency-based online SNG training and certification program. It is used by a number of broadcasters including Fox News, ABC News, C-SPAN, Al Jazeera, and Nine Network Australia, as well as by many freelance SNG operators.

“SES regards quality technical training of the type that BeaconSeek provides as a key tool in our efforts to continually improve our industry’s management of the shared RF spectrum resource.” said Stewart Sanders, SVP Customer Service Delivery at SES. “BeaconSeek has produced a technically excellent and accessible product which we are eager to take advantage of. We consider the use of such training as key in the ongoing cross-industry Satellite Interference Initiatives that SES and other major operators have been actively involved in. This training will be used in concert with other training packages to continue the education and abilities development of our technical staff and thereby improve the Quality of Service provided to SES’s customers.”

The SlingPath course is aimed at the absolute beginner to intermediate level, taking the student through the basics of satellites, how they are used in newsgathering, the various key technical parameters and critical component parts of an SNG system, and how to work with satellites.

The SlingPath presentation of the material is highly graphical, interactive and user-friendly, with potentially complex subjects presented in a fashion that makes it approachable to even the most techno-phobic participants.

In particular, the program has been designed for those who are required to operate the latest generation of ‘auto-pointing’ SNG systems, which enable operators with negligible training to access satellite capacity, but in doing so masks a significant amount of the technical aspects of the actions being undertaken.

Jonathan Higgins, Managing Director of BeaconSeek, says “We are especially pleased that SES has come onboard after their valuable involvement in the original beta-testing of the SlingPath online training program. We are very proud to be attracting the world’s leading satellite operators to use our innovative online training program. We wholeheartedly support SES and all the other satellite operators involved in the Initiative to tackle the increasing problem of satellite interference and the inconvenience caused to broadcasters and viewers worldwide”

SlingPath was launched in 2007 by BeaconSeek in collaboration with e-Blended Learning Solutions of New Zealand, specialists in designing web-based training for remote learning applications.

SlingPath has been endorsed by both SUIRG (Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group) and WBU-ISOG (World Broadcasting Union – International Satellite Operations Group) as meeting their high standards for the training of operatives in SNG.

About BeaconSeek
BeaconSeek is a consultancy, training, project management, and systems integration firm based in the UK but working globally, specializing in the use of satellite and wireless technology for mobile & fixed networks, particularly for SNG, VSAT, & microwave applications. BeaconSeek provides solutions for corporate and government communications via the use of VSAT networks, as well as broadcast newsgathering & event coverage for television, radio, and the web.

About SES
SES is the world’s pre-eminent satellite group. A network of satellite operators located across all continents, SES operates primarily through SES ASTRA in Europe and, SES WORLD SKIES in North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. SES also holds participations in a number of satellite operators including SES SIRIUS in Sweden, QuetzSat in Mexico, Ciel in Canada, O3b Networks based in Jersey, The Channel Islands and, in a number of satellite service provision companies. Through its global satellite fleet, reaching 99% of the world’s population, SES offers regional strength and expertise on a global scale.

Contact Information

Jonathan Higgins

Director

BeaconSeek Ltd.

Contact via E-mail