GCI Transforms Security and Availability Services for Education and Healthcare in Pacific Northwest

Expansion into Portland increases technology capabilities, supports growth and meets demand in lower 48

Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) April 07, 2015

GCI GNCMA, the largest telecommunications provider in Alaska, today announced it is expanding its presence in the Pacific Northwest with the completion of a new Point-of-Presence (PoP) in Portland. GCI has operated a statewide medical network called ConnectMD in Washington for the last eight years and is now increasing its investments to offer new services to medical and K-12 customers throughout Oregon and Washington with the PoP.

Through the Portland PoP, hospitals and schools will be able to access GCI's managed and secure services, tackling the growing challenges associated with securing and managing the complexities of their network systems. GCI also reduces the geographic limitations of distance with video services for teachers and doctors—improving access to communities everywhere. GCI has a long history of delivering secure and reliable services in Alaska, home to some of the most challenging geography in North America, along with unpredictable and harsh weather conditions. GCI has applied its expertise and knowledge to provide the same benefits to schools and hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. The new services include:

• Managed network services
• Secure Internet access
• Managed video conferencing
• Network security

"We are excited to continue our expansion into the Pacific Northwest," said Martin Cary, vice president and general manager of Managed Broadband Services at GCI. "The biggest technology challenges facing schools and hospitals today revolve around security, accessibility and reliable network access. We have helped a large number of customers address these challenges in Alaska and Washington with market-leading managed services, and we look forward to partnering with education and healthcare customers across the Pacific Northwest."

The Portland PoP also enables highly available solutions, meaning more reliable services for customers. It strengthens existing service delivery in the Pacific Northwest and continues market expansion. Current healthcare customers in Washington served by ConnectMD will see improved security capabilities not previously available. Also, GCI's managed education technology services, SchoolAccess, will now be available in the Pacific Northwest.

In addition to investing in infrastructure expansion, GCI is growing its Pacific Northwest team by hiring George Wolters as the new Northwest Director of Business Development. Wolters has more than 15 years of experience delivering technology solutions to the healthcare and education industries. He is responsible for growing GCI's Northwest business and expanding its solutions and services through strategic partnerships within the healthcare and education vertical markets.

"George understands the needs of hospitals and schools locally. We are lucky to have George on board," said Cary. "He brings a wealth of experience to help support our growing network in the Pacific Northwest."

About GCI
GCI is a top provider of communications services to enterprise customers, particularly large enterprise customers with complex data networking needs, with customers across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The Alaska-based company is dedicated to providing the best in communication services, including the state's largest wireless network, high-speed broadband, digital cable television and local telephone services. More information about GCI can be found at http://www.gci.com.

#     #     #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/04/prweb12631901.htm