Global Tel Link

GTEL Holdings, Inc.
GTL
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1989; 35 years ago (1989) (as Global Telcoin, Inc.)
Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
,
U.S.
Key people
Deb Alderson, CEO
ProductsTelephone services in prisons

Global Tel Link (GTL), formerly known as Global Telcoin, Inc. and Global Tel*Link Corporation, is a Reston, Virginia–based telecommunications company, founded in 1989, that provides Inmate Calling Service (ICS) through "integrated information technology solutions" for correctional facilities[1][2] which includes inmates payment and deposit, facility management, and "visitation solutions".[2] The company's CEO is Deb Alderson. In 2020, GTL delivered 4.1 billion call minutes to incarcerated individuals and their families.

Board of directors

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In 2019, Deb Alderson was Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jeffrey Haidinger was President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Steve Yow was Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Anthony R. Bambocci was Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, and Matthew Caesar was Senior Vice President of Engineering and Development.[3] Board members included Hugh D. Evans and Ramzi M. Musallam from Veritas Capital and Jeffrey C. Weber from DC Capital Partners, LLC.[3]

History

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GTL was founded in 1980 in Mobile, Alabama, under the name Global Telcoin, Inc. The company changed its name in 1999 to Global Tel*Link Corporation.[2] Private-equity firms Veritas Capital and Goldman Sachs purchased GTL from Gores Equity LLC for $345 million.[4]: 23  In October 2011, GTL was sold for $1 billion.[5]

Controversies

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GTL, along with other similar entities such as Securus Technologies and the private-equity firms that own them, such as Veritas Capital, have been criticized by advocacy groups, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Business, and some lawmakers, for charging overly high prices in their monopoly in communication with incarcerated individuals. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has tried unsuccessfully for many years to cap the price of phone calls, an effort deprioritized in the late 2010s under industry lobbying by the Trump administration.[6] The Biden administration's FCC reduced the cost of minutes for inmates in May 2021.[7]

Litigation

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The company has faced a number of class action lawsuits for violating the Federal Communications Act. The plaintiffs claim that the company uses its position to establish high rates and pays kickbacks to facilities which award it the contract.[8] In March 2016, the FCC ruled that Global Tel*Link could be limited on its prison call costs.[9]

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a lawsuit against Global Tel Link for racketeering, stating that the company was "involved in a conspiracy, scheme and/or enterprise that included bribery, kickbacks, misrepresentations, fraud, concealment, money laundering and other wrongful conduct."[10] The suit alleged that GTL had paid "consulting fees" to an agent of the company, which were used in exchange for Mississippi Department of Corrections public contracts.[11] Global Tel Link paid $2.5 million to settle the bribery lawsuit involving former Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps in August 2017.[12][13]

The company faced a class action lawsuit in 2024 with the plaintiffs claiming that the company engaged in a "quid pro quo kickback scheme" with county jails in Michigan which banned in-person visits in order to maximize revenue from voice and video calls.[14]

Reception

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GTL came under scrutiny for entering into concession contracts with local prisons in order to have a monopoly on the provision of inmate telecom. The FCC reported that an inmate call from GTL could cost as much as US$17.30 for a 15 minute call,[15][16] The company claimed that these high costs were required in order to securely monitor these calls.[17][18]

In 2015, the FCC implemented a rule to cap the fees for interstate inmate phone calls at $3.75 for 15 minutes. But, in March 2016, a federal court ruled that the FCC could not cap rates on prison phone calls, but upheld its ability to cap other ancillary charges.[9] In June 2017, the US Court of Appeals further rolled back the FCC rule.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Lee Fang (June 24, 2015). "OPM Contractor's Parent Firm Has a Troubled History". The Intercept.
  2. ^ a b c "Company overview". BusinessWeek. February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  3. ^ a b People, Company Overview of Global Tel*Link Corporation, Bloomberg LP, February 6, 2017, retrieved February 6, 2017
  4. ^ Private Equity Firms Profit Handsomely from Prison Phone Services, Prison Legal News, February 15, 2012, retrieved February 5, 2017
  5. ^ Timothy Williams (March 31, 2015), "The High Cost of Calling the Imprisoned", The New York Times, retrieved February 5, 2017
  6. ^ Ann E. Marimow, "FCC made a case for limiting cost of prison phone calls, but not anymore", The Washington Post, Washington
  7. ^ "FCC Lowers Interstate and International Prison Phone Rates". 20 May 2021.
  8. ^ Melissa LaFreniere (June 18, 2015). "Global Tel*Link Class Action Alleges Unfair Rates for Inmates". Top Class Actions.
  9. ^ a b Ina Fried (March 7, 2016). "Court Ruling Puts Cheaper Prison Calls on Hold". Recode.
  10. ^ Gates, Jimmie E. (8 February 2017). "Mississippi AG files lawsuits in Epps bribery case". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  11. ^ Girardeau, Tripp (7 April 2017). "Lawsuit lurks over Aiken County jail's new contract for inmate call service". Aiken Standard. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Prison Phone Firm Pays Mississippi $2.5M Over Bribery Case".
  13. ^ "2nd company settles in lawsuit in Chris Epps' prison bribery case, AG says".
  14. ^ "Jails banned visits in "quid pro quo" with prison phone companies, lawsuits say". Ars Technica. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  15. ^ Ryan Dezember (April 17, 2014). "American Securities Puts Prison-Phone Operator GTL on Block". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  16. ^ Joshua Brustein (December 17, 2014). "Serial's $2,500 Phone Bill and the Prison-Calling Racket". Bloomberg Business.
  17. ^ Ashley Nicole Black (February 21, 2015). "Here are 6 Companies That Get Rich off Prisoners". attn.
  18. ^ Jones/Ap, Dow (2006-07-04). "Phone Card Issuers Must Pay Access Fees". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  19. ^ US Court of Appeals For the District of Columbia Circuit (2017-06-13). "Global Tel*Link v. FCC No 15-1461 Opinion" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-12-14.
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