Hawaii Pacific Teleport, the largest commercial satellite teleport in Hawaii, announces the opening in April 2008 of its new center for communications studies - Hawaii Satellite Center in Kapolei on the island of Oahu. Located in the adjacent former Verizon Teleport which it operates, HPT is providing weekend courses in Satellite Communications for managers, engineers and entrepreneurs who want a grounding in this exciting and ever changing technology which touches the lives of so many of us.

These are educational courses unlike any other. They take place in a real satellite teleport complete with two very large antennas which look out over the close by Ko Olina Resort & Marina with its beautiful lagoons.  These are top down courses catering for different interest levels. Managers get to understand the building blocks that make a satellite network function and an opportunity to see first hand how we communicate with satellites. Engineers from other disciplines such a cellular, submarine fiber, television production and last mile delivery networks will have the opportunity to receive 'On The Job' type training at HSC.  Entrepreneurs will learn about communications applications where satellite can be used to great effect and our goal is to inspire them to develop new business opportunities in this field.

We also provide 'hands on' experience in the operation of mobile satellite communications services. Attendees at our weekend courses will participate in a live television outside broadcast between our own SNG (Satellite News Gathering) satellite truck and the satellite teleport using space segment leased on a US domestic satellite.

Attendees will also receive practical and video training on the installation of satellite antennas ranging from 1.2 meter VSAT terminals to goliath 15 meter earth station antennas including antenna alignment and co-ordination with the satellite operators.

Attendees will also be provided with an overview of FCC (Federal Communications Commission) licensing procedures for the operation of satellite earth stations in the US and its territories for both domestic satellites and foreign satellites which have footprints reaching the US.

All aspects of the satellite transmission chain from the satellite to ground station antennas, amplifiers, frequency converters and satellite modem theory and practice will be covered in the course.

Satellite communications today rely heavily on interconnectivity with terrestrial fiber networks so our course will also provide high level overview of routers, fiber networks, peering and switching centers.