Engineers working within the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany have been taking advantage of the flexibility of online learning from the UK training provider PTT. The engineers work complex shift patterns monitoring the operation of ground stations that track and communicate with the ESA’s spacecraft. So when a need arose to provide these engineers with industry standard training, PTT’s “Level 3 Award in Principles of Telecommunications” online study programme was ideal for the engineers’ professional development.

This accredited programme includes e-learning courses, tutor support and formal examinations all provided online. At the end of the programme, trainees receive a certificate from the UK Awarding Organisation NCFE.

PTT was asked to provide the study programme by Thorn SDS, the UK company which provides managed services into the European Space and Defence market and supports the ground segment services of the ESA.

Paul Brooks, European Service Delivery Manager for Thorn SDS said “After a painstaking search process and a review of our requirements with PTT staff, I enrolled our team on PTT’s programme. One year later, at the end of that programme, our team have successfully completed the course, passed the exams, and received their certificates. The knowledge of telecommunications fundamentals provided by this course is proving invaluable to our staff as they continue to develop their telecommunications skills.

We found the course content to be perfectly targeted and the training material and method of delivery to be well organised and highly professional. The course content and accreditation provided an excellent return on our investment, and the technical and administrative support we received from PTT staff was superb throughout the programme, making light work of a complex and challenging training schedule.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this PTT training.”

Ross Trewhella, Technical Director of PTT said “PTT has been providing technical training to individuals and businesses in the telecommunications and ICT sectors worldwide for 24 years. The fact that the European Space Agency, where accurate technical knowledge is imperative, has had success with PTT courses is testament to our years of experience and commitment to providing the highest quality online training possible.”

Details of the “Level 3 Award in Principles of Telecommunications” can be found at www.telecomsqualification.com

Telecoms companies are the most vulnerable businesses in Britain to cyber attacks, yet spend the least on defending themselves against hackers, according to an industry-wide survey. Mobile and broadband providers were found to be most at risk of being attacked by hackers because they hold highly-prized customer information, according to the study from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR).

Economists at the CEBR modelled how a real cyber attack would affect a cross-section of the British economy, including the telecoms, utilities, retail, banking and insurance sectors. They found that telecoms companies were the most vulnerable due to the nature of sensitive information stored, the value of this data and low levels of investment in cyber security.

More than half of telecoms bosses who took part in the survey believed their company would experience a significant breach within a year’s time.

PTT is currently developing an online course that provides an overview of the threats faced by telecommunications providers and describes ways of reducing the vulnerability of telecoms services to unauthorised access, disruption and personal data theft.

This Telecoms security online course is suitable for all those involved in ensuring service availability and data protection in the telecoms sector.

To receive further information about this course including its release date, please contact PTT.

On the 29th of June 2007, Apple launched the first iPhone. Although the iPhone was not the first smartphone, its innovative user interface became the template for the design of the phones that we depend on today.
Right from the start, the device had the full-colour, multi-touch screen and had the same basic interface still in use today, from pinch-to-zoom to inertial scrolling on lists. It looked like nothing else, and sold a million units in just over two months.

The first iPhone, however, lacked the high-speed connectivity we take for granted now. It relied on the second generation mobile systems available at the time and used GPRS/EDGE technology. The App store, perhaps a major influence on the iPhone’s success was not launched until a year later.

Another birthday – the 999 emergency service was launched 80 years ago in London although the rest of the UK could not call 999 to reach the police, fire or ambulance services until after the end of the second world war. Most emergency calls are now made from mobile phones.

PTT offers online courses covering all aspects of mobile communications including those that provide an introduction to mobile technology.