World Teleport Association (WTA) Announced Panelists for Teleport of the Future Program
Panelists for WTA program, hosted and sponsored by Crystal, include panelists from Atlanta teleport operators and industry experts
ATLANTA, Ga. – August 15, 2016 – Panelists for the “Teleports of the Future – The Next 30 Years” program were identified earlier this month from the participating companies. The program, hosted and sponsored by Crystal, features a networking hour, and brief panel and discussion led by members of Crystal, Encompass, Intelsat, and Turner Broadcasting via the aid of the Southeastern Chapter of the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI). “Teleports of the Future – The Next 30 Years” will take place on Monday, August 22 at 6:00PM at the City Club of Buckhead, where Roger Franklin (Crystal), Alan Young (Encompass), Tom Johnson (Intelsat), and George Melton (Turner) will take the stage to facilitate the discussion of the future of teleport. Interested attendees are encouraged to register early, and students are especially welcome to attend. Proceeds from the program are intended to contribute to scholarship funds for students offered by the Southeastern Chapter of SSPI.
The goal of the panel is to offer attendees with a diverse discussion on the future of teleports from various perspectives of the industry from teleport operators to broadcasters, and from different position approaches. Event organizers and members of the SSPI-SE board of directors worked to culminate a plan for the event panel that would be the most relevant for all members of the audience; and therefore, reached out to Encompass Chief of Technology Officer Alan Young, Director of Teleport Operations at Intelsat, Tom Johnson, and Director of Engineering Teleports at Turner Broadcasting, George Melton. CEO of Crystal, Roger Franklin will facilitate the panel of industry professionals and experts.
It was also announced that the Executive Director of SSPI and WTA, Robert Bell, will share industry leading research and remarks before the panel. Executive Director Bell has over 30 years of experience as an association manager and business consultant for both nonprofit and profit-driven organizations in the IT outsourcing, telecommunications, and financial services industries. He has also authored articles in Satellite News, Asia-Pacific Satellite, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting, and Telecommunications; and appeared in segments of ABC World News and The Discovery Channel. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at industry conferences including SATELLITE, NAB and SATCON; and his role as Executive Director of SSPI focuses on the management of programs, finances and staff of trade association with members in over 30 countries, reporting to the Board of Directors.
Georgia Tech alumnus and CEO of Crystal, Roger Franklin has dedicated his expertise in the broadcast and teleport industry, aiming to continuously develop solutions to improve operational efficiency, analyze errors, and enhance system resiliency. Franklin developed and grew in his role at Crystal, beginning as a Software Engineer to Manager of Research and Development, and in 2007, became Chief Executive Officer. His primary role is to ensure that his team has the proper tools they need to successfully service their customers, and also stays involved with the development team to ensure that the solutions Crystal builds satisfy the needs of their customers. In addition to the demands of a full-time workload at Crystal, Franklin serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the World Teleport Association (WTA) and participates in some of their sub-committees.
Alan Young, Chief Technology Officer at Encompass Digital Media, Inc., helps lead the company’s global impact on international broadcasters with his impressive expertise in previous positions as Vice President of Engineering at Viacom, Vice President at Citigroup, Chief Technology Officer at SES WorldSkies, and partner at P & Y Associates, LLC. Young’s current responsibilities as CTO of Encompass include leading the definition and development of the company’s suite of OTT/TVE services, and management of the company’s global fiber network including the fiber procurement process. In the three years that Young has served as CTO, he restructured relationships with major suppliers of broadcast automation systems to improve performance and reduce maintenance and licensing costs. He also implemented a rigorous RFP/RFI process to ensure all major projects were competitively bid out.
Satellite professional Tom Johnson has worked with Intelsat for several years as Director of Teleport Operations and Partner International Teleports, dedicating his expertise to directing and managing the company’s worldwide Owned and Operated Teleports and Partner International Teleports. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. The company’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network service.
Engineering professional George Melton has worked in the broadcast media and engineering industry for many years gathering an impressive repertoire of expertise and skills from a variety of positions at WTVC Channel 9, Ford Aerospace and Communications, and GTE Spacenet Corporation. Melton has grown at Turner Broadcasting System Inc. from a Teleport Maintenance/Operations Engineer to Director of Engineering Teleports. As Director of Engineering Teleports, Melton optimizes his expertise in digital video and media, broadcast engineering, and streaming media to continuously improve the application and innovation of teleport broadcasting. Turner owns and operates some of the leading cable television networks and related properties in the world, including CNN, HLN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, truTV and Turner Sports, reaching an impressively broad domestic and international audience.
“We are confident that the selected panelists will deliver their expertise and projections for the future of teleport through meaningful and relative perspectives that will connect with our audience, and encourage an investment in the industry,” commented SSPI-SE Program Director, Dick Tauber.
###
About SSPI-SE
With a regular calendar of events around the region and the annual Atlanta Braves family outing, SSPI-SE is centered in Atlanta, Georgia and serves the southeastern region of the United States. One of America's fastest-growing cities, Atlanta is a hub for the cable TV industry and home to a large number of channels, and satcom product and service providers.
Serves: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, centering around Atlanta, GA. Learn more at https://sspi-southeast.silkstart.com/cpages/home.
About World Teleport Association (WTA)
Since 1985, the World Teleport Association (WTA) has been the only trade association that focuses on the business of satellite communications from the ground up. At the core of its membership are the world's most innovative operators of teleports, from independents to multinationals, niche service providers to global hybrid carriers.
WTA is dedicated to helping the operators of teleports maintain and expand their businesses by:
- Advocating for their interests
- Promoting excellence in business practice, technology and operations
- Promoting the vital role of teleports
Learn more at www.worldteleport.org.
About Crystal
Crystal designs and delivers network monitoring and management solutions that improve operational efficiency, analyze errors, and enhance system resiliency, particularly for businesses that deal with complex and dispersed distribution pathways.
Every day, program and advertising content worth billions of dollars flows through equipment managed by Crystal for leading media, enterprise, and satellite customers -- including Fox, CNN, ESPN, and Intelsat.
About Encompass
Encompass is a global technology services company focused on supporting broadcast, cable and digital leaders. The company designs, implements and operates reliable video solutions to meet its clients’ needs in the most efficient and simple way possible. As a leader in comprehensive, end-to-end video solutions, Encompass owns and operates broadcast facilities throughout Argentina (Buenos Aires), Asia (Singapore), U.K. (London) and U.S.A. (Atlanta, Los Angeles Metro, Minneapolis, New York Metro). Encompass serves the world’s leading local, regional and global media companies, broadcasters, corporations and government end-users with customized, cost-effective and innovative solutions. Specializing in full-time network origination/playout and live ad-hoc transmission services, the company is a global gateway for moving media throughout EMEA, Latin America, Pacific Rim and U.S.A. Encompass broadcasts 850+ channels delivering content in a variety of languages throughout Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In addition to linear networks, Encompass provides an array of non-linear services including VOD, Over-the-Top, IPTV, IP streaming and mobile services. Through the company’s Global Interconnect Fiber Platform, clients have the ability to manage, transport, archive and restore digital files to numerous platforms in various formats that can move from facility-to-facility or to any destination worldwide within a seamless workflow.
Premier services include channel playout; content management; disaster recovery; centralcasting for TV stations; digital media services; digital file transfers via satellite, fiber and IP; video production services/studios; post-production services; occasional-use businesses (fiber, satellite, U.S.A.-based uplink trucks).
About Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network services.
Thousands of organizations serving billions of people worldwide rely on Intelsat to provide ubiquitous broadband connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications and seamless mobility services. The end result is an entirely new world, one that allows us to envision the impossible, connect without boundaries and transform the ways in which we live. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
About Turner
Turner owns and operates some of the leading cable television networks and related properties in the world, including CNN, HLN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, truTV and Turner Sports, reaching an impressively broad domestic and international audience. In addition to its cable networks, Turner manages digital sports, including bleacherreport.com, NBA.com, NCAA.com, PGA.com. Turner's broad portfolio of brands and digital businesses and consumer products reaches consumers in more than 200 countries around the world.
