Clearspan

Clearspan Awarded 2024 TMC Labs INTERNET TELEPHONY Innovation Award

Isha Mukherjee — Tue, 28 May 2024 15:53:24 +0000

Plano, Texas, May 28, 2024

Clearspan announced today that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named Clearspan PING as a 2024 TMC Labs INTERNET TELEPHONY Innovation Award winner presented by INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine.

The TMC Labs INTERNET TELEPHONY Innovation Award honors products that display innovation, unique features, and significant contributions toward improving communications technology. The awards are bestowed to those companies demonstrating ground-breaking contributions to the industry.

“We are proud of the recognition regarding PING and its innovations. Today’s UCaaS collaboration clients are the focal point for business communications – voice, video, chat, text, etc. PING not only provides a robust set of tools for effective communication but also introduces unique capabilities that enhance user experience and administrative control. These features make PING an excellent choice for service providers looking for a customizable, adaptable, and feature rich UCaaS solution,” said Jim Machi, Chief Marketing Officer, Clearspan.

“The TMC Labs INTERNET TELEPHONY Innovation Award recognizes the best and the most unique products and services that this industry has to offer. Clearspan has proven their commitment to quality and the further development of the IP communications industry through its PING collaboration client,” stated Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC.“Congratulations to the entire team at Clearspan for earning this great honor. I look forward to seeing more innovative solutions from them as they continue to contribute to the future of IP communications,” Tehrani added.

The 2024 TMC Labs Innovation Award winners will be highlighted on TMCnet and INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine’s online news portal.

About Clearspan
Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we have enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. www.clearspancloud.com

About INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine
INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine has been the IP CommunicationsAuthority since 1998™. Beginning with the first issue in February of 1998, INTERNET TELEPHONY has been providing unbiased views of the complicated converged communications space. INTERNET TELEPHONY offers rich content from solutions-focused editorial content to reviews on products and services from TMC Labs. INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine reaches more than 225,000 readers, including pass-along readers. For more information, please visit www.itmag.com.

About TMC Through our news and solutions-focused editorial platforms, live events, webinars, and online advertising, TMC provides global buyers with valuable insights for making informed technology purchase decisions and successfully navigating markets.

In turn, leading technology vendors rely on TMC, TMCnet and our family of sites and events for exceptional branding, thought leadership, and lead generation opportunities. Our live events, including the ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW, offer unparalleled visibility and sales prospects for all participants. With our customized lead generation programs, including a turnkey webinar program, we consistently deliver a steady stream of leads that translate into sales opportunities and database growth.

In addition, display advertising on respected news sites and newsletters generates millions of impressions, bolstering brand reputations.

TMC offers a comprehensive 360-degree marketing solution, with services such as event and road show management, as well as expertly crafted content creation including blogs, press releases, articles, and marketing collateral. These efforts contribute to SEO, branding, and overall marketing success.

To discover more about how TMC can assist you in achieving your marketing goals through our events and online advertising, please visit www.tmcnet.com.

Clearspan Appoints Jim Machi As Chief Marketing Officer

Press Release — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 09:45:00 +0000

Machi brings over 30 years of technology and telecommunications marketing and product experience

Apr 15, 2024, 10:21 EDT

Plano, Texas, April 15, 2024 – Clearspan, a leading cloud communications and collaboration technology provider focused on delivering innovative solutions for service providers, large enterprises, governments, and educational institutions, today announced the appointment of Jim Machi as Chief Marketing Officer. Machi brings over three decades of product, strategy and marketing technology and telecommunications expertise from AT&T, Santa Cruz Operations, Dialogic, Intel and most recently Sangoma, where he was the Chief Product and Marketing Officer.

Jim will be responsible for product management, product strategy, engineering and marketing. He is also accountable for Clearspan’s entire product lifecycle, including roadmap development and execution. His appointment underscores Clearspan’s commitment to innovation and growth, highlighting the Company’s dedication to delivering mission critical cutting-edge solutions to its customers.

“Jim is a proven leader both technically and business wise. He was a VoIP pioneer and has continuously evolved with collaboration innovation and no doubt he will hit the ground running and make a positive impact at Clearspan. Jim’s expertise in both marketing and product development will allow us to execute on our technology vision as we move beyond UC / UCaaS. Since divestiture Clearspan has focused on that forward vision but has been under the radar, however the timing is right to get back on the radar and Jim will help us create our market presence,” said Bill Crank, President and CEO of Clearspan.

“We are in a dynamic industry. While voice continues to be important for enterprises of all kinds, especially in business to consumer vertical markets, multi-modal communication beyond voice such as SMS, social media, and collaboration have also now entered the mainstream. And with AI coming even more productivity improvements will come to the collaboration experience. I’m looking forward to both helping us deliver on keeping our UCaaS platform innovative and primed for the future, and also with reuniting ourselves back with the industry,” said Jim Machi, Chief Marketing Officer.

About Clearspan: Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we have enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments.

Media Contact: pr@clearspancloud.com

E&I Cooperative Services Selects Clearspan as a Provider of Unified Communications to Member Institutions

Chris Boulton — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:57:09 +0000

Oct 05, 2021, 11:55 ET

DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — E&I Cooperative Services (E&I) has selected Clearspan to serve as a trusted provider of unified communication and collaboration services for its over 5,500 members in higher ed, K-12, academic healthcare and related communities across the United States. Clearspan provides flexible, customized unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) technology and services to educational institutions that are futureproof and optimized for today’s requirements.

Through a competitively solicited contract, E&I members now have access to Clearspan’s unified communications platform to deploy carrier-grade voice, video and collaboration services at scale across their institutions. The contract terms and conditions are in compliance with most member institutions’ public procurement requirements, which simplifies and streamlines their ability to procure unified communications technology and services from Clearspan.

“We selected Clearspan for their innovative vision and proven track record serving education and related communities,” said Keith Fowlkes, Vice President, Technology at E&I. “Clearspan offers our members decades of experience in defining requirements, customizing and integrating applications, planning and implementing large-scale migrations, and delivering world-class operational support to educational institutions nationwide.”

Clearspan’s open, standards-based platform powers a comprehensive suite of UCaaS applications and services, including unified messaging, fixed-mobile convergence, interactive voice response, conferencing, collaboration, and call center applications. The platform also offers a mass and emergency notification system, including 911 and campus assist recording, enabling fast communications that improve safety during critical situations.

“We’re pleased to have been selected by E&I to offer its members access to carrier-grade unified communications with the ability to integrate new and legacy applications and infrastructure,” said Bill Crank, Chief Executive Officer, Clearspan. “We have a proven track record serving the unique technology and communication needs of educational institutions across the country, and we look forward to expanding our reach in these markets through our agreement with E&I.”

Clearspan offers flexible cloud-based, hybrid-cloud and premise-based deployment models that seamlessly integrate with new and legacy systems. Clearspan enables institutions to deploy unified communications without replacing existing systems until the time is right for them.

Clearspan’s unified communications solutions are available through E&I contract #EI00084~2021MA. For more information, contact Clearspan at (972) 998-1203 or steve.anderson@clearspancloud.com, or visit www.eandi.org/contracts/clearspan.

About Clearspan
Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we’ve enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About E&I Cooperative Services
E&I Cooperative Services (E&I) is the only member-owned, non-profit procurement cooperative exclusively focused on serving education. E&I delivers unsurpassed value and an exceptional experience to its members through a broad portfolio of competitively solicited contracts with industry-leading suppliers as well as innovative sourcing solutions. The Cooperative empowers its members to make informed, analytics-driven decisions to capture more spend and optimize their education dollars. For more information, please visit www.eandi.org.

Coastline Wireless Selects Clearspan to Deliver Ubiquitous Unified Communications

Chris Boulton — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 17:41:34 +0000

Coastline Wireless Selects Clearspan to Deliver Ubiquitous Unified Communications for Enterprise, Education and Government Markets

Agreement aligns Clearspan’s carrier-grade communication and collaboration platform with Coastline Wireless’ leading edge network connectivity services for customers across New England

DALLA, Aug 10, 2021, 08:25 ET /PRNewswire/ – Clearspan today announced its partnership with Coastline Wireless, the fastest-growing internet service provider in New England. Coastline Wireless will leverage Clearspan’s turnkey unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) platform to deliver modern voice, video and collaboration solutions over its reliable network for business, education and government customers.

“Our business was founded on our ability to leverage innovative technologies to solve complex connectivity problems and deliver exceptional client experiences,” explained Avery Thomas, chief executive officer, Coastline Wireless. “Clearspan’s carrier-grade platform and subject matter expertise helps us deliver powerful communication solutions without sacrificing the ability to offer customized and integrated services to solve specific customer requirements. Given their track record, current offerings and soon-to-be-released platform enhancements, our decision to partner with Clearspan was an easy one.”

Through the partnership, Coastline Wireless can now deliver Clearspan’s open, standards-based UCaaS platform that powers a comprehensive suite of communication and collaboration technologies for its customers. Clearspan’s OpEasy administration layer simplifies service delivery at scale and increases operational efficiencies that helps deliver superior end-user experiences. And new enhancements to the Clearspan platform scheduled in the coming months will initiate an entirely new cycle of service differentiation for service providers, a desperately needed industry development given the consolidation experienced in the UCaaS market over the past five years.

“Great end-user experiences require a combination of robust and reliable network connectivity with powerful UCaaS solutions,” said Bill Crank, CEO of Clearspan. “We’re excited to integrate our UCaaS platform with Coastline Wireless connectivity to bring modern communications and collaboration solutions to the market together. Both companies bring the innovative technologies and technical expertise required to solve even the most demanding of customer requirements.”

About Clearspan
Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we’ve enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About Coastline Wireless
Coastline Wireless provides the leading edge of network and telephony services throughout New England. Customers of large organizations and other customers trust our services to support their connectivity needs. Throughout the years Coastline has delivered connectivity to inner city and last mile locations all across the coast of Maine. With our 24/7 customer support team and fully customized solutions, we provide a truly ubiquitous experience. Learn more at www.coastlinewireless.com

GreenPages Partners with Clearspan to Deliver Unified Communications for the Enterprise and Public Sector

Chris Boulton — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 18:55:21 +0000

Aug 04, 2021, 09:05 ET

DALLAS, Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Clearspan today announced a strategic partnership agreement to enable GreenPages to deliver its comprehensive suite of unified communication and collaboration services (UCaaS) for the enterprise and public sector. GreenPages is a leading provider of cloud, security and managed services to enterprise and midmarket customers across industry verticals including healthcare, technology, financial services, retail and education.

Clearspan’s UCaaS platform and services strategically align with GreenPages’ infrastructure modernization offering. In this process, GreenPages helps clients bridge the gap between traditionally built and operated infrastructures to agile, modern hybrid cloud environments that leverage automation, software-defined approaches, and next-generation managed services. Under the agreement, GreenPages will leverage Clearspan technology to deliver carrier-grade voice, video and collaboration services at scale for its clients.

“We partnered with Clearspan for their innovative vision and proven ability to execute within large-scale organizations,” said Ron Dupler, chief executive officer, GreenPages. “Helping enterprise clients digitally transform requires flexible, modern solutions. Clearspan not only helps us modernize the way people work, they are redefining the integration of communications, applications, machine learning and the internet of things.”

Clearspan’s open, standards-based platform powers a comprehensive suite of solutions that are managed via its OpEasy application that simplifies service delivery at scale to deliver unmatched operational efficiencies and superior end-user experiences. Additionally, Clearspan’s soon-to-be-released platform enhancements will enable a new cycle of service differentiation, a development desperately needed given the market consolidation experienced over the past five years.

“Like GreenPages, we share a mission to help organizations successfully and securely transform and operate in the digital era,” said Bill Crank, chief executive officer, Clearspan. “Given GreenPages’ deep experience helping large organizations digitally transform, they continuously innovate with their eyes on the future. Like us, they are always conceptualizing the future integrations of next-generation technologies and applications with communications, and we’re excited to be their partner.”

About Clearspan
Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we’ve enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About GreenPages
GreenPages plans, implements, and manages secure, high-performance digital operating environments for leading companies nationwide. It is uniquely positioned with extensive technology expertise in security and cloud to deliver complete infrastructure solutions that enable companies to drive business outcomes and compete in the digitally driven economy. Learn more at www.greenpages.com

Achieving Ray Baum Compliancy – How To Get Started

David Chambers — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:59:15 +0000

Achieving Ray Baum Compliance for Non-Fixed Devices

by David Chambers, Chief Service Architect, Clearspan

.Ray Baum and Kari’s Law: A Brief Overview

In August 2019, the Federal Communications Commission adopted statutory provisions to improve access to 911 and timely assistance from First Responders in the form of Kari’s Law and Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act.

Kari’s Law requires direct 911 dialing capabilities in multi-line telephone systems (MLTS), which are typically found in enterprises such as office buildings, campuses, and hotels. The Commission’s rules also implement the notification requirement of Kari’s Law, which is intended to facilitate building entry by first responders. When a 911 call is placed on a MLTS system, the system must be configured to notify a central location on-site or off-site where someone is likely to see or hear the notification. The statute provides that these requirements took effect on February 16, 2020, two years after the enactment date of Kari’s Law.

Under Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act, the FCC adopted rules to ensure that “dispatchable location” is conveyed with 911 calls to dispatch centers, regardless of the technological platform used, including 911 calls from MLTS. Dispatchable location means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 call that consists of the validated street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.

Two compliance deadlines were defined in the RAY BAUM Act. The first was January 6, 2021 and covered MLTS services with ‘fixed’ devices. The far more challenging second deadline to address MLTS with non-fixed devices is January 6,2021.

MLTS Service with Non-Fixed Devices: Challenges

Achieving Ray Baum compliance for MLTS service with non-fixed devices, especially in large campus environments with multiple dispatchable locations, presents a variety of challenges that must be overcome. For example, the same telephone number can appear on more than one telephone (i.e. Shared Line Appearance – SLA) and the telephones can exist in different locations. These multiple locations may just be an area of a floor, a different floor, a different building, or a different Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). In the original E911 service, a PSAP would be able to locate the location of a 911 caller based on a preconfigured entry in an Automatic Location Identification (ALI) database indexed by the caller’s calling party number to provide the static postal address associated with the telephone number. The ALI database provides a single entry per phone number. Anytime the same calling party number can originate from multiple locations, there is the potential that the ALI data query could yield an incorrect dispatchable location or result in the PSTN provider sending the 911 call to an incorrect PSAP.

VoIP based MLTS services also brings the element of mobility to both hard phones and softphones, further complicating the selection of the correct PSAP and providing the correct dispatchable location due to the ability of the phone to change physical location without notification.

Aspects to Consider

How to map, acquire, and maintain dispatchable location information in a VoIP environment
How to differentiate 911 calls from phones with Shared Line Appearances
How to ensure that the 911 call from an SLA is routed to the correct PSAP
How to get the campus and the PSAP informed as quickly as possible

Don’t forget about state specific requirements!

These federal requirements (Section 506 of Ray Baum Act and Kari’s Law) are the bare minimum. Every company operating in the 50 states must abide by both the federal rules and any state specific requirements. Several states have additional, state specific 911 legislation that must be addressed when planning for the January 2022 deadline for MLTS service with non-fixed devices .

States with Existing E911 Legislation

Organizations operated across multiple states will need a method to meet each state’s requirements. Given the layers of complexity, we recommend that organizations work with their public safety group, regulatory advisors, and legal teams to understand how these 911 laws and regulations will impact their operations.

Get Started Now! Recommended Prerequisites

Whether you intend to partner with someone to implement a solution or you plan to handle internally, there are several things you should be doing now to get ready to meet in the January 2022 compliance date.

DISPATCHABLE LOCATIONS

Identify Dispatchable Locations within your environment : We recommended that you start with identifying how many Dispatchable Locations (DL) exist within your environment. This will be the dispatch information provided to the first responders when a 911 call is made. An environment may only require a single DL to cover a small single-story location. Other environments, such as large single-story facilities, multi-story facilities, and campuses, will require multiple DLs to provide adequate location information. The DL entries should be maintained in an authoritative DL database.

Emergency Response Location (ERL) indexes to the authoritative DL database : We also recommended that you create Emergency Response Location (ERL) identifiers associated with each DL. For example, the ERL “EHC-2345” could represent a DL assigned to room 2021 on the second floor in the East Hall campus building. The ERL will be used when a 911 call is made to index into the authoritative DL database to associate the correct Dispatchable Location with the 911 call.

Correlation of your network wire map to the ERL database : Whether your ERL identification/selection for a 911 call is based on the use of the HELD protocol, layer 2 discovery, or some other method, you should maintain a map of your network and associate the ERL information with your network map. This would include both the wired and wireless access points. This will allow the detection device movement/relocation and provide an accurate Dispatchable Location with 911 calls.

911 CALLBACK EXCEPTIONS

Addressing 911 callbacks for phones without DID numbers : In the event a 911 call is initiated from a phone that only has an internal extension number, you should identify a DID that can be associated with that extension only phone when a 911 call is made. This could be an attendant in the same area of the specific phone, a security desk in the local area, or campus police/security. The associated DID will be the destination for any callbacks from the first responders if the initial 911 call is disconnected.

NOTIFICATION OF A 911 CALL

Identify who will receive notifications when a 911 call is made : We recommended that you review and maintain a list of who receives and how they receive notifications for 911 call originations. This could be in the form of a distribution list that includes multiple email and SMS text destination, desktop alerts, directing the call to campus police/security, or even the bridging the call to both the PSAP and campus security.

We’re Here to Help

If you have questions or want to discuss your specific environment, please feel free to reach out. We specialize in helping the world’s largest organizations with complex communication and collaboration environments that digitally transform the way they work. That’s a fancy way of saying we have a lot of experience with complex environments!

Connect with David!

Clearspan Carve-Out

Press Release — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:58:00 +0000

Searchlight Capital Partners and Abry Partners Announce Completion of Clearspan Carve-Out

Clearspan Moves Forward as Standalone Cloud Communications Company

October 21, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PLANO, Texas — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight”), a leading private investment firm with investments in North America and Europe, and Abry Partners (“Abry”), a Boston-based sector focused private equity firm, today announced the successful carve-out of Mitel’s Clearspan Division. As a standalone company, Clearspan will be exclusively focused on delivering innovative cloud communications solutions for service providers, large enterprises, governments, and educational institutions.

The newly established Board of Directors for Clearspan appointed Bill Crank as Chief Executive Officer. “With two experienced private equity sponsors in Searchlight and Abry, talented and committed employees, and a defined vision for the future, Clearspan is well positioned to accelerate already impressive growth,” said Bill Crank, CEO of Clearspan.

Clearspan’s history spans 40 years, evolving through multiple acquisitions and name changes. Several current customers date back to its original inception, highlighting the company’s relentless focus on creating, deploying, and supporting innovative solutions that continuously redefine reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.

“Clearspan has built a reputation of excellence in creating and supporting comprehensive communication and collaboration solutions, both on-premises and in the cloud. Our private equity sponsors recognized the best way to fully capitalize on the market opportunity was to create a standalone business. The transaction allows Clearspan to focus exclusively on what matters most – creating and deploying innovative solutions for service providers and large organizations that deliver superior end user experiences,” said Bill Crank.

About Clearspan

Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, we’ve enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Our standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier grade reliability, scalability, and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About Searchlight Capital Partners

Searchlight is a global private investment firm with over $7 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, London and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com.

About Abry Partners

Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since their founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $82.0 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5.0 billion of capital across their active funds. For more information on Abry, please visit www.abry.com.

Contacts

Clearspan:

John Dumbleton

469-365-3335

john.dumbleton@mitel.com

Searchlight Capital Partners:

Ryan FitzGibbon

Prosek Partners

646-818-9234

rfitzgibbon@prosek.com