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Easylink and GN Comtext

PHOTO: Klaus Irner.jpg
Caption: Klaus Irner, VP business development of Easylink

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GN Comtext, one of the oldest maritime communications companies, was acquired by a company called Easylink last September. What became of it?

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GN Comtext used to be one of the world's best known maritime communications companies, putting together secure communication networks between terrestrial offices and between ship and shore, with about 4,500 customers in the maritime industry.  

GN Comtext's business offering to the maritime industry was, by and large, extremely stable, with shipping companies contracting the company out to provide them with secure communications networks between their offices. 

Last September it was acquired by Easylink Services, a "network services operator" from New Jersey. Over the past 6 months, the GN Comtext operations have been gradually implemented into Easylink. 

"Its still business as usual for our customers," claims Klaus Irner, VP business development of Easylink and previously president of GN Comtext, who moved from London to New York following the acquisition. "I would be very surprised if every customer has experienced any change," he comments. "We haven't lost any customers at all."

Part of the problems with GN Comtext were that while it aimed to focus specifically on the maritime sector, the maritime industry was too small to generate enough economies of scale to enable it to compete with mainstream communications companies, Mr Irner says. 

"GN Comtext tried to be a focussed maritime service provider it was a brilliant concept but we were too small. It was doomed to be a failure and the owner called it a day."

Easylink employs 600 people, with revenues of $126m in 2001. It has offices in Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philipiines, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the UK. Its customers come from shipping, transportation, petroleum and other industries which require secure and reliable communications, more reliable than the internet. 

The service Easylink offers is all forms of communications, including any networking arrangment, including secure e-mail, faxing and telex. It provides an alternative network to the internet for mission critical communications. Non-core services include inventory management. 

Easylink already had a status in the maritime industry, providing communications to shipping lines APL, K-Line and Evergreen, as well as a number of companies in express shipping, including CSX, Norfolk Southern, UPS, Fedex, Airborne Express and Emery. 

Following the acquisition, Easylink will be able to improve the service offering to the maritime industry through economies of scale, the company says. It is gradually building its service which can meet the specific needs of transportation companies. 

Telex continues to be a major part of Easylink's business, just as it was with GN Comtext; telex is still a very popular communications medium in the maritime industry, because the sender knows that the message is printed out and sitting in front of the recipient, not waiting for him to turn his computer on, download e-mails and separate the one important message from 50 unimportant ones. 
 
"The strategy of Comtext and Easylink is to be the last man standing in telex," comments Mr Irner. "We'll be a very high quality telex provider."

Easylink is currently expanding its service offering to carry electronic messaging in standard protocols, such as the MTML standard for ship purchasing. It is also developing its service carrying fast and reliable messaging over the internet, rather than dedicated telephone lines.