The team behind the building works of the teleport. Left to right, Howard Brown and Mike Phillips of Sure, Economic Development minister Laurence Skelly, Dr Richard Arning of SES, Gary Crittenden of SCS and Adrian Moore from the Department of Economic Development
Telecommunications company Sure and the ’green van’ firm Stewart Clague Services (SCS) have been contracted by satellite operator SES for a major job in the island.
They will provide the construction, maintenance and connectivity for a new teleport that will have several earth stations in the island.
The teleport is due to enter service by the end of this year at Carnane on the outskirts of Douglas.
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It will be a facility providing satellite telemetry, tracking and commanding (TT&C) facilities and capacity management, together with a wide range of teleport services such as uplink, downlink and contribution services for broadcasters and data centres.
Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly said: ’I am delighted that SES is moving forward with its plans to build a new teleport on the Isle of Man and it’s exciting to see local companies involved in this new venture.
’Our world class technical infrastructure and supportive business environment provides the perfect home for new and expanding businesses, giving the island its reputation as a test bed for new and innovative technology. We have a strong pedigree in media and data intensive businesses and attracting future investment to the island is at the core of the work of the department.’
Jim Hughes, managing director at SES Satellite Leasing said: ’We are pleased to tap into local talent to help build a state-of-the-art teleport.’
’Globally, Sure already manages teleport operations, so they clearly understood our requirements and have a very highly skilled local team. SCS’s breadth of experience meant that they were able to offer the construction as well as the mechanical and electrical works in-house.’
Mike Phillips, chief executive officer of Sure in the island, said: ’Sure has been working with SES for more than 18 months on this project, providing a wide range of services and expertise as the project’s design and requirements have evolved. Sure will provide extensive programme management support and, once the facility is operational, we will be responsible for the ongoing support of the Teleport, its connectivity to SES locations both local and international and providing on-island data centre hosting.’
Gary Crittenden, projects director at Stewart Clague Services, said: ’This is an exciting and challenging project for the SCS team and we are delighted to be appointed as principal contractor. Our experience in delivering specialist buildings from construction to maintenance meant we are able to meet SES’s exacting requirements in terms of specification and budget, while ensuring the project can be delivered almost entirely with local labour.’