Verizon, AT&T, Qwest reap huge, multi-billion dollar federal contract

The General Services Administration awarded billions of dollars in telecom contracts to AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. Notably left out of the announcement is Sprint Nextel Corp., which had won previous government contracts.
The Networx Universal contracts will run 10 years and include wireless among the mix of voice, data and video services to 135 federal agencies across 191 countries. The GSA plans to announce the winners of a separate contract, called Networx Enterprise and also worth billion of dollars, in May. The value of the combined Universal and Enterprise contracts is estimated at $20 billion, but has a ceiling of $48 billion.
“Award of the Networx Universal contracts is an historic moment at GSA, and reflects our goal of providing transformational products and services to our federal customers at the best prices available in the marketplace,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, who was grilled by a House panel yesterday over alleged improprieties. “I look forward to working with our new industry partners to provide the best possible service and value to our customer agencies and the American taxpayer.”
“With a proven track record of providing communications to the federal government for nearly 20 years, Verizon Business is well-positioned to continue helping customers meet their special requirements,” said John Killian, president of Verizon Business. “Verizon Business has earned its position as one of the top communications providers to the federal government through continued investment in our networks and our tireless commitment to meeting our customers’ needs for complex end-to-end solutions.”
GSA said the Networx program is the largest federal telecommunications acquisition ever competed, promising to satisfy the federal government’s full range of worldwide telecommunications and networking requirements during the next decade. The agency said Networx Universal will ensure continuity of telecom services currently provided on FTS2001 Bridge and FTS2001 Crossover contracts.
“Sprint is disappointed not to receive a portion of the Networx Universal contract,” the company said in a statement. “Sprint has enjoyed an 18-year relationship with its government customers. The Sprint team spent significant time and energy on the program and has made large investments to meet the diverse requirements of the agencies. Federal agencies have come to rely heavily upon our high performing network, our strong portfolio of converged IP solutions and mobile enablement.
“However, with Sprint’s breadth of capabilities, differentiated products and services, we are confident that Sprint will be awarded the forthcoming Networx Enterprise contract scheduled to be announced in May. Sprint will continue to provide its customers with the most reliable and advanced technologies in the industry. In addition, Sprint will support the FTS2001 Bridge contract, which allows us to potentially serve our existing customers for up to the next forty months. Sprint also has several contractual platforms in place that give us the opportunity to continue serving wireline services to our customers.
“We congratulate the winners and wish them the very best.”
Networx is the third in a series of telecommunications acquisition programs GSA developed in close partnership with federal agencies. To date, these highly successful programs leveraged federal buying power to provide premier telecommunications and networking services and saved American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.