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A Conversation With Nigel Gibson
Chief Commercial Officer, LEUK Teleport and Data Center (formerly Signalhorn)

 

Nigel Gibson offers his insight into the changes that have occurred at what was formerly known as Signalhorn and has now been transformed into the LEUK Teleport and Data Center, based in Leuk, Switzerland.



Who is LEUK Teleport & Data Center?


Nigel Gibson

Nigel Gibson
LEUK Teleport and Data Center is the new name for Signalhorn, a leading player in teleport services, with more than 50 years’ of experience providing highly secure connectivity to major organizations, government institutions and the private sector.

Following a strategic business review, we announced in September the change of the company’s name to LEUK Teleport & Data Center (LEUK) to better reflect the future direction of the company. We have ambitious plans for the future — with a high level of connectivity and uniquely secure infrastructure, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that offer customers competitive advantage.

With more than 90 antennas and visibility of dozens of satellites from 55W to 70E plus a robust terrestrial connectivity, LEUK is trusted to provide resilient connectivity services to government and commercial sectors, including connectivity to a large number of superyacht customers.

LEUK’s communications infrastructure also includes a highly secure state-of-the-art Data Center and, since 2020, the company has invested significantly in its capabilities with diverse fiber connectivity into the heart of Europe’s internet backbone from a uniquely provisioned and private facility.

Situated under the teleport, the LEUK Data Center provides 1000m² of data storage with space for ongoing expansion.

You have launched a unique new solar project. How will this revolutionize the facility and services?

Nigel Gibson
Founded in 1972, our flagship teleport facility in Leuk, Switzerland, recently celebrated 50 years of operational excellence. Now, with our new strategy and direction to transform the facility, we are embarking on a number of exciting infrastructure developments that include equipping the site, as well as certain communication antennas, with solar panels that will deliver a genuinely, green operation, with 100% solar and hydroelectric power for the satellite and data center customers.

This ambitious solar project will not only power our facility but will also empower our customers to achieve their sustainability objectives through business-critical operations and benefit from lower energy costs.

Phase one was completed in November of 2021 and we then immediately started delivering green energy to our customers. Phase Two marks a first for the solar power and teleport industries. At Leuk, we’re fortunate to have more than 50 antennas serving customers on C-band, Ku- and Ka-band frequencies.


One of the solar antennas at the LEUK Teleport and Data Center.

The oldest of these antennae are Leuk 1, Leuk 2 and Leuk 3. Constructed in the 1970s, these now legacy C-band antennas measure 32 meters in diameter, equating to 3,216 m2 in surface area — they have been transformed into solar- powered real estate that can track the movement of the sun throughout the day.

Leuk 2 is the first antenna in this project and the world to leverage this process.

Innovation such as this solar power project is at the heart of our technology roadmap and we look forward to providing outstanding satellite and data connectivity solutions as LEUK evolves and grows into Europe’s first 100% green and secure teleport and data center.

What is the key to the company’s success?

Available at this direct link is a time lapse video of the installation.

Nigel Gibson
Our track record in serving organizations from small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) to blue chip companies as well as Governments and NGO’s has earned the firm a loyal and long-standing customer base. The company has alliances with the world’s leading satellite operators, including SES, Intelsat and Eutelsat.

As we continue to build our satellite services business, we are developing our ground infrastructure to support customers with the arrival of multi-orbit networking from GEO, MEO and LEO satellites.

NGSO is a core part of our technology roadmap and we see the need to support a blend of services in GEO, MEO and LEO, particularly for customers with mission- critical applications. With seven acres ear-marked for NGSO development, our teleport is poised to deliver exceptional service for the next 50 years.

A key feature of our success is LEUK’s highly physically and secure facility. Services in C-band via Leuk are protected from 5G interference by Swiss telecom regulators with added natural protection across all frequency bands due to the venue’s local topography. The facility is, therefore, trusted to provide critical communications and is ideal as a backup facility and in performing disaster recovery and redundancy solutions for Government and Enterprise customers.

We also pride ourselves in the exceptionally high level of service and reliability we provide to the maritime and superyacht sector. Our customer, Sat@Sea, a leading European provider of internet, television and cyber security to superyachts, relies on us to provide a high level of reliability and real-time, 24/7 support from our engineers who understand a vessel’s applications and can communicate solutions directly to crew as well as Sat@Sea staff.

A LEUK antenna’s solar panels.

Sat@sea’s superyacht customers also need their contract to be flexible, with short notice requests to increase or decrease bandwidth during peak and quieter times. We are proud to power Sat@Sea’s VSAT services, providing internet connectivity to a fleet of more than 80 superyacht vessels.

What feedback have you had from customers?

Nigel Gibson
We recently celebrated our 50th Anniversary at LEUK in the beautiful Swiss Alps, where our partners were able to tour the facility and hear about the company’s ambitious plans to provide the latest satellite and data center services. Here are two customer comments...

Simon Gatty Saunt, Vice President Sales, Europe at SES, said, “Congratulations on 50 years of excellence! We are very impressed with the move to transform LEUK into a sustainable green energy operation and with the arrival of our mPOWER satellites in 2023, we are really looking forward to expanding our partnership with connectivity solutions enhanced by our new MEO constellation.”

Sergio Milesi, President of the Swiss Data Center Association (SDCA) and CEO of Gas & Com said, “Congratulations on reaching 50 years of serving customers! We are delighted to partner with LEUK TDC and to support their growth in the Swiss data center market. The unique location and the will to invest are a guarantee that the data center LEUK TDC will be the “data gateway to the world” for the people of Valais and the surrounding regions.

www.leuk-tdc.com