News & Events

Archive News in Year 2009

June 2009

iDirect Hub Owner User Group Adds Industry Veterans To Board Of Directors

Newly elected Board to increase global membership and drive greater interactivity among members through social media and new communications tools

Herndon, Va.,June 29, 2009 — ST Electronics related US satellite communication company, VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), today announced that the iDirect Hub Owners Group (iHOG), a global forum for owners of iDirect’s universal satellite IP hubs, has completed elections for its new Board of Directors. This Board is the group’s second since it began in 2005, and includes executives from some of the satellite industry’s leading organizations. iDirect is a world leader in satellite-based IP communications technology.

The new Board consists of industry leaders with a wealth of telecommunications and business experience. Rodger Lyman, president and CEO of LBiSat, will continue his role as the iHOG president and co-founder. Ron Long, vice president of operations at CapRock Communications and 11-year veteran with the company, will serve as iHOG’s Vice President. With a strong corporate communications background, Long will develop increased functionality for the iHOG’s website (www.i-hog.org) to keep the growing membership informed and up-to-date. Jerry Creekbaum, a 20-year engineer at Verizon Business, will serve as technical director, utilizing his experience integrating the iDirect platform onto the Verizon Business Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to provide best practices and advice to members. Rounding out the new Board is Yen Choi, group executive vice president and CTO of Netcom Africa, as Treasurer, and Kristin Grassa, owner and president of Constellation Networks and co-founder of the iHOG, as Secretary.

The new Directors will share the common responsibility of expanding iHOG’s worldwide membership and increasing group interactivity. An iHOG page on LinkedIn gives members the opportunity to connect and communicate with each other through social networks. The Directors are active in VSAT forums on LinkedIn, tracking industry issues and answering members’ questions. To increase group communications, each Director will take a turn authoring a monthly newsletter to members highlighting items of interest or issues within the satellite community. The Board also will hold a monthly conference call via Skype to discuss group updates and goals that will be included in the newsletter. This is in addition to a traditional quarterly conference call with iDirect, when the iHOG Board has the opportunity to bring any issues, concerns or feedback on iDirect’s platform from the group to the company’s attention.

Since it was formed in 2005, iHOG has been instrumental in providing an outlet for sharing information, advice and issues to help users get the most out of their iDirect experience. With our new Board of Directors, we hope to continue to grow our membership and take the functionality and interactivity of the group a step further, utilizing social media channels and providing additional communication outlets.

Rodger LYMAN
President/CEO, LBiSat Satellite Communications
President, iDirect Hub Owners Group

iDirect’s commitment to advancing a connected world extends beyond our technology to our ability to understand the unique needs of all our customers and respond to their feedback and concerns. iHOG continues to provide a valuable community for iDirect’s global network of partners who have built and grown their businesses using our platform.

Toni Lee RUDNICKI
Chief Marketing Officer, iDirect

 

iDirect, a subsidiary of VT Systems, is transforming the way the world gets and stays connected. The company’s satellite-based IP communications technology enables constant connectivity for voice, video and data applications in diverse and challenging environments. These include extending private networks to remote offices; supporting mobile connectivity across land, sea and air; providing rural telephony and Internet broadband; and maintaining communications in the wake of disasters and network failures. The iDirect Intelligent Platform™ integrates advanced technology into iDirect’s portfolio of hubs, routers and network management software to address the growing complexity of deploying and managing global IP networks. With more than 13 years of global satellite communications experience, iDirect serves customers in 50 countries through a diverse network of channel partners, including some of the largest satellite providers, operators and carriers in the world and seven of the World Teleport Association’s Global Top Ten. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, iDirect has offices in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Please visit www.idirect.net.

ST Electronics, the electronics arm of ST Engineering, delivers innovative system solutions to government, commercial, defence, and industrial customers worldwide. With presence in more than 20 countries and 30 cities, ST Electronics markets its solutions to more than 70 countries internationally. It specialises in the design, development and integration of advanced electronics and communications systems, such as broadband radio frequency and satellite communication, e-Government solutions, information communications technologies and IT, rail and traffic management, real-time command and control, modelling and simulation, interactive digital media, intelligent building management and information security. Please visit www.stee.stengg.com.

Media contact:

Julie Gouldin
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
iDirect
Phone: 703-648-8155
Fax: 703-648-8015
Email: jgouldin@idirect.net

Magdalen Loh
AVP / Head, Corporate Communications
Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited
Tel: (65) 6413 1788 / 9822 3321
Fax: (65) 6484 8840
Email: magloh@stee.stengg.com