30 Years TKS
Celebrating 30 Years of Service | A word from our CEO
TKS was founded in 1992 and we would like to take this opportunity to look back and to thank all of our customers, business partners, and especially the service members and their families for making TKS “The American telco in Germany” for over three decades.
2022 was a very special year for us because it was a TKS 30/20/10 triple-double:
- 30 years: proudly connecting service members and their families
- 20 years: friendship and corporate sponsorship of USO
- 10 years: as an elite USO Worldwide Strategic Partner
TKS may have an impressive track record so far, but more important is our commitment to proudly serve the U.S. military community for many years to come and we truly appreciate your loyalty and trust in making this happen.
We thank you for your support and look forward to the next 30 years!
Patrick J. Abram, CEO TKS
Our History of Service
TKS was founded in 1992 in cooperation with USEUCOM, the U.S. Army, and the German Ministry for Telecommunications, and at that time was charged with providing American television content as a quality-of-life improvement to service members stationed in Germany.
Over time, TKS has vastly expanded their English-language product offerings and operations and is now an official Exchange Concessionaire for telecommunications, providing telecommunications solutions such as telephone, internet, and mobile phone in Germany and also throughout the entire OCONUS footprint with its easyTV streaming platform.
USO partnership
TKS has supported the USO mission as a corporate sponsor since 2002 and has proudly donated over $500,000 annually since 2012 as an elite USO Worldwide Strategic Partner. Two successive TKS CEOs have furthered their commitment to enhancing the lives of active duty military personnel by also serving on the USO’s Board of Governors since 2007.
In addition to providing the USO with essential telecommunication solutions at their European Headquarters and at USO Centers throughout Germany and across Europe, TKS also has a history of sponsoring various community events throughout the year. And with its highly-agile technical expertise, TKS has been able to rapid-deploy assistance for unplanned military missions, for example:
- Annual TKS sponsorship of the USO Home for the Holidays program for single, junior enlisted service members, annual USO Sun & Fun Day community events, and Super Bowl parties.
- In support of the 2021 humanitarian mission Operation Allies Welcome, TKS CEO Patrick Abram secured an additional $60,000 in funds for use by the USO to provide emergency assistance to service members at Ramstein Air Base.
- Between 2020 - 2021, TKS supported the U.S. Army Europe’s Operation Wilkommen on Rhine Ordnance Barracks by installing and providing free internet at two large warehouse facilities that accommodated over 800 incoming soldiers a day.
- During the September 2012 Non-Combat Evacuation Operation after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, TKS provided 50 prepaid “burner” phones to all 33 survivors that were processed at Ramstein Air Base.
Over the span of 30 years, TKS has a proven track record of connecting service members and looks forward to its continued partnership with the USO, Exchange, and the with military communities that it proudly serves.