Innovative. Trusted. At your service.

SkyBlue is a subsidiary of CL Tel, North Iowa’s leading telecommunications service provider headquartered in Clear Lake, Iowa. Since its founding in 1895, CL Tel has kept North Iowans connected – across town and across the world. As the newest member of the CL Tel family, SkyBlue continues the hallmark tradition of customized, turnkey service on industry-leading tools – with a passion for helping you and your organization succeed.

Leading from the front

One of our greatest core competencies is embracing, mastering, and delivering the latest and best technologies to our customers. It’s in our DNA.

  • CL Tel’s founders deployed telephone service just two years after it was invented
  • CL Tel was a founding member of Iowa’s first statewide fiber optic network
  • CL Tel has deployed fiber optics since 1993 and continues to operate a 100% Fiber-to-the-Home Network
  • NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association certified CL Tel as a Gig-Capable Provider in 2015 (that’s back before it was cool), and CL Tel now provides Internet speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second
  • SkyBlue and CL Tel leverage the best partners in the industry, including Calix, Metaswitch, Polycom, and Cisco, to name a few
  • SkyBlue and CL Tel invest millions in product enhancements, including the MaX UC mobile app, redundant network backbones, and state-of-the-art Network Operations Center tools

Innovation is kind of our thing.

Percy Fissler (right), CL Tel Manager, early 1900s

Deep in the heart of the Silicon Prairie.

Silicon Valley tech—without the ‘tude

We’re proudly Iowan – we value hard work, fairness, transparency, and respect. When you partner with SkyBlue, you’ll work with real people who truly care about your success.

Built on 125 years in the communications business and the best partners in the industry, our stuff works—period. That’s what you expect, and that’s what you’ll get with SkyBlue. But should an issue ever arise, we’ll resolve it as fast as possible. We’re in this for the long-haul, and we’re with you every step of the way.

CL Tel is a valued and trusted company. They always make us feel like they care about our needs as a customer.
Doug Gee, Superintendent, Clear Lake Community School District
View testimonials
CL Tel is a valued and trusted company. They always make us feel like they care about our needs as a customer.
Doug Gee, Superintendent, Clear Lake Community School District
View testimonials

The trusted partnership you deserve

Organizations of all sizes rely on us for their communications needs. We serve Fortune 500s, Mom ‘n Pops, educational institutions, and everything in between. We’re proud of the job we do, but don’t just take our word for it:

Leadership

The leadership team at SkyBlue and our parent company, CL Tel, has many decades of experience in the telecommunications industry. We’ve enjoyed substantial growth, even during challenging times, by placing first things first: our customers and the communities we serve.

Jan Lovell

Jan Lovell

President, CL Tel

Jan Lovell is the President of CL Tel. In over 32 years at the company, she started the company’s first interconnect business selling equipment throughout North Iowa, was Marketing Coordinator, Assistant Manager, and continues to lead Human Resources. She focused on strategic planning as part of her Masters of Science in Telecommunications degree coursework to help guide the company through technology innovations in switching, Internet, wireless communications, and a fiber optic infrastructure to ensure that area businesses and residents have advanced communications while enjoying living and working in rural Iowa. Jan is proud of the CL Tel staff’s technical expertise and how they live out the CL Tel customer service credo of “treat people as you want to be treated.” Jan has been active in numerous community and statewide organizations. She enjoys being with her family (especially her granddaughter!) and friends, and enjoys being outdoors kayaking, biking and gardening.

President, CL Tel

Tom Lovell

Tom Lovell

General Manager, CL Tel

Tom Lovell is the General Manager of CL Tel where he also serves as General Counsel. Tom began his work at CL Tel in 1989 and has been General Manager since 1999. Tom has led CL Tel’s wireless efforts for over 30 years, including service on the Board of Directors of regional wireless carrier, Midwest Wireless. In addition to his role at CL Tel, Tom is the President of an Iowa company which provides a roaming network for one of the nation’s largest wireless carriers. Tom enjoys golf, music, hiking, and working on his family’s prairie and woodland area.

General Manager, CL Tel

Dan Nichols

Dan Nichols

Vice President of Sales, SkyBlue

Dan Nichols is the Vice President of Sales for SkyBlue, where his main responsibility is the expansion of the company’s business sales and relationships. Dan has over 20 years telecommunications management experience and has been a member of the CL Tel team since 2012. During his time at CL Tel, Dan has led the deployment and expansion of SkyBlue Hosted VoIP and has led a team that has significantly expanded fiber-optic-based business sales in Mason City, IA. Dan is originally from Clear Lake and returned in 2011 to be closer to family. He enjoys fishing, golfing and spending weekends boating on the lake.

Vice President of Sales, SkyBlue

Blaine Archer

Blaine Archer

NOC Supervisor, CL Tel

Blaine Archer is the NOC Supervisor at CL Tel and has more than 30 years of experience in the communications field. Blaine has led the technology implementation team to successfully deploy thousands of SkyBlue Hosted VoIP endpoints. Blaine started at CL Tel as an installation technician and has significantly broadened his skills throughout his career, currently managing the class 5 telephone switch and associated servers and assisting with Calix and ECI transport systems and Cisco firewalls, routers, and switches. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, playing volleyball, and airsoft. As a boat and grill owner, he is an avid leisureist.

NOC Supervisor, CL Tel

Brad Emerson

Brad Emerson

Network Operations Manager, CL Tel

Brad Emerson is the Network Operations Manager at CL Tel, where he leads the Network Operations Center Team and the Outside Plant Construction Team to deliver communication services to CL Tel and SkyBlue customers with the highest level of service and support. Brad is a United States Air Force veteran who came to CL Tel in 1995 and has held numerous roles including Installation and Repair Technician, Plant Installation Supervisor, and Information Technology Administrator. He has participated in North Iowa’s local scouting program for over 20 years,has been active in the local community and youth mentoring, and participates in community activities to help make Clear Lake, IA a better place to live. Brad is married and has raised his two sons in Clear Lake.

Hometown: Cedar Rapids, IA

Hobbies: Camping, fishing, hunting, street rodding and cooking

Favorite statement: “Lead by example, make a difference”

Network Operations Manager, CL Tel

Chris Lovell

Chris Lovell

Assistant General Manager, CL Tel

Chris Lovell is the Assistant General Manager at CL Tel, where he leads operational efficiency and revenue generation efforts, including business intelligence, product development, and expense optimization. During his time at CL Tel, Chris has helped generate YoY Operating Income growth, YoY service call reduction, and has led numerous product enhancement and marketing initiatives. In addition to his work at CL Tel, Chris is an inventor and entrepreneur.

Hometown: Clear Lake, IA

Hobbies: Hunting, hiking, conservation, fitness, spending time with family and friends

Favorite quotes: “Good.” “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Assistant General Manager, CL Tel

Hal Berding

Hal Berding

Business Account Executive, SkyBlue

Hal Berding is a Business Account Executive for the SkyBlue division of CL Tel. With nearly 30 years of experience in telecommunications, he coordinates sales and customer service for businesses throughout North Iowa. Hal enjoys the opportunity to help business owners find the best data and voice solutions for the future. His goal is to help businesses understand what new technologies are available for them and how that can help their business with increased efficiency and productivity. In addition to his work at CL Tel, Hal has been involved in the Clear Lake and Mason City communities through various service organizations and local events for most of his working career. Hal enjoys lake living with family and friends in the summer months and traveling to see family (especially grandchildren) and friends the rest of the year. He is originally from Sheffield, Iowa.

Business Account Executive, SkyBlue

Kent Beatty

Kent Beatty

Business Account Executive, CL Tel

Kent Beatty is a Business Account Executive at CL Tel, where he helps organizations analyze their telecommunications needs and provides them with cutting-edge solutions that optimize productivity and performance. He has helped many North Iowa businesses connect multiple office locations through use of SkyBlue Hosted VoIP. Kent is passionate about helping businesses–especially in today’s environment–find efficient solutions to allow some or much of their workforce to work remotely while still being connected to the office. In addition to working at CL Tel, Kent enjoys spending time with family and friends, biking and fitness activities, and he is an avid fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Business Account Executive, CL Tel

Kevin Jessen

Kevin Jessen

Business Support Specialist, SkyBlue

Kevin Jessen is the Business Support Specialist at SkyBlue, where he serves as project manager for Business customer service, service conversions, phone number porting and Hosted VoIP services training. While not at work, Kevin enjoys woodworking, furniture making, and motorcycle riding.

Favorite quote: “The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it…. we are in charge of our attitudes.”

Business Support Specialist, SkyBlue

Sarah McChesney

Sarah McChesney

Controller, CL Tel

Sarah McChesney is the Controller at CL Tel, where she leads the Accounting department. Sarah believes that there are always ways to improve and that everything happens for a reason. During her time at CL Tel, Sarah has helped to improve efficiencies in the Accounting department and created an enhanced budgeting process to monitor performance throughout the year. In addition to her work at CL Tel, Sarah is a wife and mother. Originally from Gladbrook, IA, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, being on Clear Lake, and watching sporting events.

Controller, CL Tel

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