now happening at c spire

C Spire Leverages Recent Major Acquisition to Bolster Business Services

2018-08-13

Combination creates nation’s first full-stack managed IT solutions provider

Ridgeland, Miss., (August 13, 2018) – C Spire is using its recent acquisition of Birmingham, Alabama-based TekLinks to bolster its reputation of offering businesses and enterprises the nation’s most comprehensive suite of cloud and IT managed and professional services.

With the launch of a new, comprehensive cspire.com/business website today, the company has finished the latest phase of efforts to incorporate the highly regarded and rapidly growing cloud and IT managed and professional services company and staff into its consolidated operations.

C Spire, a Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company, announced plans to acquire TekLinks in June in a private transaction designed to help the firm continue its aggressive growth and expansion into the lucrative sector that helps businesses manage their complex data and communications needs.

The new website touts the fact that C Spire is now the nation’s first full-stack managed solutions provider, capable of offering advanced connectivity, cloud, software, hardware, communications, professional services, cybersecurity, business continuity and technology support in a single, seamless managed IT solution portfolio.

“With integrated sales and product teams, websites and signage, we are truly operating as one team and one company from an employee and customer perspective,” said C Spire Chief Integration Officer Keith Paglusch. “Our new team supports a comprehensive device-to-cloud portfolio of products, services and solutions for new and existing customers.”

The combined C Spire business unit features a workforce of over 500 service professionals, over 8,600 route miles of fiber optic infrastructure with major locations in 12 cities and operations in three states – Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee - multiple data centers in several states and the ability to serve voice, IP/data, cloud and managed and professional services customers anywhere in the country.

“One of the things we’re really excited about is that our C Spire Business services are not limited by our geography,” said C Spire President Stephen Bye. “We can follow and work with our business customers wherever their needs are both today and into the future. Since we can support the products and services our customers need, we can manage the end-to-end solution from the device all the way to the cloud.”

Former TekLinks President Don Monistere is leading the new consolidated C Spire Business operations as general manager. “We’re excited to be part of a company that shares our long tradition of passionate focus on superior customer service, “best in class” IT expertise, and the delivery of outstanding services,” he said.

With the acquisition of TekLinks, C Spire is now ranked ninth in the world among all cloud services providers. The company was honored earlier this year by Cloud Computing Magazine with a national cloud computing industry award for expansion of its Cloud Metro Edge services across most of the Midwest and Southeastern regions of the U.S.

The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves by C Spire that signal an accelerated and expanded focus on innovative voice, IP/data, IT and cloud solutions for businesses across its footprint and around the country. “Every customer is on their own unique journey to the cloud and we can meet them anywhere along that path,” Monistere said. “Whether they want to put workloads or workflows into the public or private cloud, we can help them succeed.”

From fostering smartphone adoption at twice the national rate to launching in 2013 one of the nation’s first Gigabit-speed Fiber-to-the Home initiatives, C Spire is a leader in helping spur consumer and business adoption of the latest technology. The company offers businesses availability to a myriad of value-added services through its multiple data centers.

C Spire’s FTTH program, the fastest in the U.S. to connect thousands of consumers to Gigabit speed internet, digital streaming TV and home phone services, is an unqualified success. The data center business serves as a springboard for the company’s aggressive expansion into complex voice, data, dedicated internet and cloud services for firms of all sizes.

C Spire reinforced its commitment to innovation last fall by launching the C Spire Tech Movement initiative designed to leverage the company’s technology leadership and investments to help transform its service areas. A key element is the massive expansion of ultra-fast broadband and fixed wireless internet access with the goal of reaching thousands more consumers and businesses.

Other elements include leading the development of a high-tech workforce in Mississippi through education initiatives and related efforts, expanding tech innovation and education in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence and IOT and development of a state-of-the-art digital customer care platform.

Bank Street Group served as the exclusive financial advisor to C Spire in connection with the acquisition, which officially closed on July 31.

About C Spire
C Spire provides a full suite of world-class, customer-inspired dedicated Internet, IP Voice, data, managed services, cloud services, value added resale and mobile communications to businesses and wireless, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access and related home services for consumers. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at twitter.com/cspire.