Frequently Asked Questions

There were several reasons:

1. The major satellite operators, including Intelsat, launched an initiative to combat interference, which is having a serious impact on transponder capacity and service quality for all users. GVF has responded to this challenge by creating a new Basic certification that is focused on interference prevention and making it available at lowest cost to installers worldwide.

2. We now have the technology to delivery much more realistic simulators for antenna pointing and polarization adjustment skills practice. This technology has been built into the new courses - in particular, GVF 510, which is the requirement for the new Basic certification and primarily teaches interference-prevention skills.

3. We wanted to make certification more accessible worldwide by enable students to complete their hands-on requirements with an Examiner rather than being required to attend a complete classroom session. To do that, we upgraded the online courses (GVF 520 and 521) to cover theory topics previously taught in the Level 3S class.

4. We wanted to give instructors more flexibility in offering classroom and practical courses. In the new structure, instructors may offer "supplementary" classes (possibly including the mandatory Hands On Skills Test) to students who would like extra time, discussion in their own language, or more practical work than only the test.