Global Tel Link
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| GTL | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1980 in Mobile, Alabama, United States |
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia, U.S. |
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Key people
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Brian D. Oliver, CEO Jeffrey Haidinger, COO Steve Yow, CFO |
| Products | Telephone services in prisons |
| Website | gtl |
Global Tel Link (GTL), formerly known as Global Telcoin, Inc. and Global Tel*Link Corporation, is a Reston, Virginia-based telecommunications company, founded in 1980, that provides Inmate Calling Service (ICS) through an "integrated information technology solutions" for correctional facilities which includes inmates payment and deposit, facility management, and "visitation solutions". The company's CEO is Brian D. Oliver. By 2015, GTL controlled 50% of the Inmate Calling Services' $1.2 billion telecommunications industry.
GTL, along with the wealthy 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.
According to Bloomberg, in 2017, Brian D. Oliver was Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jeffrey Haidinger was President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), and 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. Board members included Hugh D. Evans and Ramzi M. Musallam from Veritas Capital and Jeffrey C. Weber from DC Capital Partners, LLC.
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.Private-equity firms Veritas Capital and Goldman Sachs purchased GTL in from Gores Equity LLC for $345 million. In October 2011, GTL was sold for $1 billion.
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 receives kickbacks for its contracts. In March 2016, the FCC ruled that Global Tel*Link could be limited on its prison call costs.
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