Orbital approach

“We are one of the few larger independent teleports in Europe,” Mr. Lovsin states. “Due to our size and high standard of technology, no-one can turnaround a client project faster than we can.”

As time is crucial when it comes to providing its services, this is a major factor for STN’s success. “Nobody likes having to wait,” the CCO emphasizes. “We are able to help our clients, mainly television stations and telecommunications companies, to offer speed, not delays. We have an excellent reputation and are constantly investing in our infrastructure to ensure we stay at the forefront of our industry.”

According to Mr. Lovsin, the company’s biggest asset are its people. While Slovenia suffers from a shortage of skilled engineers, STN has been able to acquire a very young, talented and excellent team of staff: We have an agreement with universities where we offer seminars and sponsor students,” Mr. Lovsin elaborates on the company’s strategy to counter skills shortage. “This creates great interest and we are in the comfortable position of being able to select the most promising candidates to do their master’s degree in cooperation with us. In the end, everyone benefits and the best ones join our team.”

And of course, a young team is ideal to keep up with the times – a current topic is OTT (over-the-top media) services. “Streaming is a new way of watching television that has become very important in recent years,” states the CCO. “We needed to adjust accordingly and have put some development into this.”

But while the internet is growing exponentially, infrastructures in many parts of the world, such as many places in Africa or the Middle East, are still lacking. “The only way for these regions to join the internet is via satellite,” Mr. Lovsin emphasizes. “We can already provide that.”

And due to the high number of new satellites recently being added to orbiting the earth, STN will be able to provide ever more extensive services in the next few years, with satellites coming into places where the ground infrastructure is not sufficient.

“5G will provide the opportunity for everyone to upload and download at 10Gbit,” Mr. Lovsin is pleased to announce. “We have the capability to deliver internet services anywhere, anytime.” This is an advantage for many customer groups who have easier access and are able do distribute their contents: “Many churches in certain regions nowadays have their own TV station because it has become so much easier than 20 years ago. There is far more content out there these days because it has become easier and more affordable to distribute.”

In this context, social media has become an important marketing factor as people contact STN via social platforms. “Its a good place to start conversations with potential clients,” the CCO explains. “But we also publish articles and are present at the main trade exhibitions, of course.”

It is therefore no surprise that the company, which was founded in 2004, can boast such a great success story: “In 2009, we moved to our present site and have been growing exponentially since,” the CCO says. From its location in Dob, STN reaches Africa, parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East and with partners also in Maryland, US, and Sydney, Australia, it is truly a global company “We were among the ten fastest growing teleports in the world in the years 2013 to 2016 and are now ranked as one of the 20 biggest globally.”

In 2016 STN was awarded as Independent Teleport Operator of the Year by the WTA (World Teleport Association). Always progressing forward, STN recently bought an additional 10.000 m² of land adjoining its Dob headquarters where it is planning to enlarge its teleport even further.

“We are currently waiting for the building permission. Once that is given, we will begin immediately,” says Mr. Lovsin. “5G is clearly the next big thing, and we are working intensely on it.”