Oxygen8 Communications has expanded its business activities in Australia with the acquisition of Call Parents Pty, which provides messaging solutions to the education sector. Oxygen8  says the acquisition will enable it to broaden its product offering and establish a market-leading position in the education sector. It follows the firm’s recent purchase of Information Dialling Services (IDS), one of the longest-established providers of voice and mobile services in Australia. 

Call Parents is used by schools to send time-sensitive and emergency text messages to the mobile phones of parents, students and teachers. If parents do not have a mobile phone, Call Parents will translate the text into voice, using text-to-speech technology from Telstra, and deliver this to any landline phone.

“The acquisition of Call Parents Pty further strengthens our position in the Australian market,” says Louise Ford, CEO of Oxygen8 Communications in Australia. “We are continually looking to enhance our vertical expertise, and the Call Parents messaging solution enables us to establish a strong presence in the education sector. In addition, the acquisition broadens the number of messaging and communication services that Oxygen8 can provide, and enables us to utilise these services across a number of other industry sectors.”

Oxygen8’s network now offers premium domestic mobile and phone billing in over 110 countries, supported by international billing covering 200 countries. The company has offices in the UK, Ireland, Australia, US, S. Africa, Canada, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and the Caribbean.

“The Oxygen8 Group will continue to extend its geographical reach in 2011 through acquisitions and investments in businesses that complement our core offering,” says Group CEO, Shane Leahy. “Throughout the year, we will be increasing our staff globally, enhancing our technology offering, and broadening our coverage in order to support ongoing business growth.”