Cidera Inc. of Laurel, Md., which specializes in using satellites to deliver Internet traffic, has appointed Jim Garrettson senior vice president for U.S. sales. He will be responsible for the continued expansion of the company’s relationships with ISPs, colocation facilities, resellers and enterprise customers.

The company said it now has more than 400 points of presence in North America, Europe and Asia. “It’s my intention, as we continue to expand, to see that Cidera’s customer- facing sales efforts and portfolio of services keep pace with the growing demand for streaming media,” Garrettson said.

He reports to Bob Marggraf, Cidera’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Garrettson has 15 years of experience in sales management, most recently as president of the Teleglobe Business Solutions subsidiary of Teleglobe [TGO].

In his previous job, as senior vice president of Qwest Communications International Inc. [Q], he helped to develop an organization focused on sales of Internet services. Earlier in his career, Garrettson held management positions at the former LCI International and MCI Telecommunications Corp.