AUGUST 1, 2017 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today Telmate, a leader in correctional technology, announced its acquisition by GTL, a leader in the fields of inmate communications and government payment services.
“My business partner Richard Torgersrud and I, have worked for the last 11+ years to build the most reliable, innovative, and secure technology solutions in the corrections space. We decided that it was time for us to step aside with the hope that GTL could utilize our technology to positively impact millions of additional lives,” said Telmate President, Kevin O’Neil.
“When we looked at the field of companies, GTL was the only one to truly complement Telmate’s suite of corrections technologies and high-standard of customer service and also have the resources to move Telmate forward in the manner we envision. We feel when they acquired the corrections education company, IDS, they showed a commitment to friends and family and inmates that aligns with the philosophy of our company.”
O’Neil added that Telmate was founded as a tech service company with a long-standing reputation based on commitment to service. “We’ll offer the same great service we always have and look forward to spreading our philosophy of ‘service-first’ with the combined infrastructure.”
While Telmate is a technology leader in VoIP telecommunications and tablet and video technology, GTL has made huge investments in other technologies that Telmate is interested in bolstering in its mission reduce inmate recidivism. For example, GTL has an education management offering for correctional facilities to deliver a broad range of learning opportunities and courseware to inmates, similar to LMS platforms used in K-12 education. GTL’s LMS provides role-specific access portals for inmates, educators, and correctional facility officers and administrators. It allows inmates to log into the select coursework in areas of their liking while giving administrators the ability to manage registration and monitor progress — even after an inmate has been released.
And now with the combined engineering expertise of both technology-driven companies, GTL and Telmate will be able to ensure these offerings are the best suite of corrections services available in the marketplace.
“GTL not only is a technology innovator,” explained O’Neil, “they offer the lowest prices in the marketplace, which philosophically aligns with Telmate’s core vision of trying to offer the best possible suite of technology services for the lowest possible prices.”
For the past 11+ years Telmate has been a product and technology leader in the industry and has seen incredible growth – all while operating as a bootstrapped startup. This next step with GTL will allow both companies to rapidly mature and grow to better meet the needs and scale of its customers and partners.
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About GTL:
GTL leads the fields of correctional technology and government payment services with visionary solutions and customized products that integrate seamlessly to deliver security, financial value, and ease of operation for our customers. As a trusted industry leader, GTL provides service to 85% of inmates nationwide, including service to 30 state departments of corrections, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and 73 of the 100 largest city/county facilities, including 39 of the top 50. GTL is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and maintains several regional offices across the country. To learn more about GTL, please visit www.gtl.net or our social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About Telmate:
Telmate is a leading provider of secure corrections and community corrections solutions including inmate phone, tablet, visitation, messaging, education and entertainment content, corrections applications, investigator tools and GPS monitoring. Telmate’s cutting-edge platforms are deployed in over 300 correctional facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Telmate is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an employee presence nationwide. To find out more about Telmate, visit www.telmate.com.
