Introduction
If you travel four hours northwest of Seattle to the rural community of Brewster in North Central Washington you will encounter the beautiful scenery of the eastern foothills of the Cascade mountain range, a plateau above the Okanogan River, and the Brewster, WA Teleport (BGS), which includes more than 75 antennas, as large as 30 meters in diameter, and is run by US Electrodynamics, Inc. (USEI). Together, these arrays handle mission services for the Department of Defense, air traffic control services for the Federal Aviation Administration, Sea Launch, regional emergency services, maritime services, aviation services and other commercial services.
US Electrodynamics is a US privately owned Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Telecommunications company headquartered in Brewster, Washington. Founded by Jim Veeder in 1985, US Electrodynamics is a World Teleport Association Member serving both the satellite and terrestrial industries and long partnerships with both government and commercial customers.
“The demands for data just keep growing”
Leaders in aviation, maritime, governments, and broadcasters/video programmers recognize US Electrodynamics for their innovation and deep-seated commitment to customer service. Ask any of their customers and they would not be surprised that in 2018 US Electrodynamics was finalist for the World Teleport Association’s Independent Teleport of the Year award; or that in 2019 they were named an Independent Top-10 Teleport for 2019 as well as #5 of the “Fast 10” Teleport Operators; or that in 2020 they received the highest certification possible, Tier 4, for both their Brewster and Vernon Valley (New Jersey) teleports.
What sets USEI apart, and what has helped them achieve both this level of industry excellence and customer admiration, is the reliability of their data performance and their network. In the Pacific Northwest, that means turning to Semaphore and The Semaphore Business Platform, which has serviced the Brewster Teleport for years.
Data Everywhere, All the Time
“The demands for data just keep growing,” notes Darryl White, General Manager at US Electrodynamics. With 26 years of experience in satellite and terrestrial communications, Darryl has seen the industry evolve and, the one consistent thing that he can count on is that their customers want more and more (and more) data. “Many of US Electrodynamics’ customers are coming to us asking for a gig pipe or 10 gig pipe or even 100 gig connectivity point to point between our facilities and theirs.” He remembers an era when people spoke in kilobytes but recognizes that demands for data will continue to skyrocket. Darryl explains that, “the current moment where so many people are working remotely is just one example of how quickly customers can all of a sudden have a dramatic increase in their data requirements.”
Even before the pandemic, he notes that there was a constant increase in demand for video with everything from devices to drones.
Semaphore’s “smart hands” approach has enabled USEI to grow their business while keeping up with customer needs in a timely and reliable manner. Even during COVID, when business-as-normal was being disrupted, Semaphore support allowed USEI to keep their employees working from home, reducing the risk of possible exposure to the virus.
“Semaphore’s service and support unparalleled”
In addition, US Electrodynamics services mission critical applications for clients that simply cannot tolerate issues related to performance or reliability when it comes to their data. According to Darryl, this is what makes their relationship with Semaphore so essential. The Semaphore Business Platform that USEI is using takes advantage of Secure Controlled access colocation facility and uses an automated ticketing system to speed delivery of any service issues, so that disruptions are few and more readily managed.
Delivering Performance and Reliability
US Electrodynamics utilizes The Semaphore Business Platform at their west coast data center, housed in the Westin Building Exchange, located in the heart the of Seattle’s central business district. Semaphore was one of the first companies to provide datacenter and colocation services in Seattle’s Westin Building. After reviewing their options, Darryl explains that it was Semaphore’s expertise that immediately jumped out to the US Electrodynamics team. Both companies service clients with incredible technical expertise. Darryl, therefore, appreciated that the Semaphore team could listen to the exact requirements US Electrodynamics needed and help design solutions specific to their needs rather than pitching them a one size fits all solution.
After reviewing the tremendous demands for data, security, and performance, Semaphore designed a highly customized, climate-controlled, secure colocation option for US Electrodynamics. As Darryl explains, utilizing a colocation option in Seattle was critical for US Electrodynamics customers, “we had to find a way to get connectivity to the customer,” and colocation “made it easy for our customers to get to the facility.” The alternative was to try to develop a fiber optics option that would connect customers all the way to Brewster. US Electrodynamics was worried that the lead time alone would create problems for their customers. According to Darryl, “we are talking about the difference of 90 to 100 days in lead time vs. utilizing Semaphore’s colocation services to cross connect and have our customers up and operational in the same day.”
“We had to find a way to get connectivity to the customer”
Conclusion
With Semaphore’s help, US Electrodynamics has continued to build its reputation for performance and reliability while also providing ease of access, security, and project speed for their west coast customers. As an engineer, Darryl was involved in working with Semaphore from day one and he has continued to be impressed with how Semaphore’s expertise helps US Electrodynamics improve their service for their customers. According to Darryl, “Semaphore’s service and support unparalleled.” Between the industry awards, world class certifications, and loyal customers, it is not surprising that US Electrodynamics is building more data centers across the nation. Right now, Darryl’s only frustration is simple, “Given Semaphore’s customer service, experience, expertise, response time and competitive rates, we wish that we could use Semaphore for all of our datacenters. All of them.”