* AT&T unveils plans for massive federal telecom buy
AT&T is pulling out all the stops on its bid for Networx, a 10-year contract to provide legacy and leading-edge telecom services to the U.S. federal government that has an estimated value of $20 billion.
AT&T Government Solutions last week announced that its team members on Networx would include such network industry heavy-hitters as EDS, Cingular Wireless and Global Crossing. Other AT&T team members are prominent government contractors including Northrop Grumman Information Technology, SRA International and GTSI.
“We feel we’ve assembled the cream of the crop among government service providers and systems integrators who will be able to provide agencies with everything they need – from telecommunications to transition planning, system integration, wireless services, custom design and engineering work, hosting, security – you name it,” says Lou Addeo, president of AT&T Government Solutions.
Networx is believed to be the largest pending telecom deal in the world. Most major U.S. telecom carriers – AT&T, MCI, Sprint, Qwest and Verizon – are planning to bid on it.
AT&T is the first bidder to announce its Networx team. Executives from Qwest, MCI and Sprint are keeping their Networx plans mum other than to confirm that they are bidding on the deal.
In a recent interview, Diana Gowen, senior vice president of government services at Qwest, declined to comment on the ISP’s strategy for Networx other than to confirm it is bidding on both the Universal and Enterprise components of the program.
“I really don’t want to launch into whose on the team,” Gowen said. “That’s going to be quiet all the way up until the award next spring.”
AT&T says it plans to bid on both the Universal and Enterprise components of the federal Networx program with the help of its team members.
Networx Universal covers 37 domestic and international telecom services ranging from older frame-relay and asynchronous transfer mode to cutting-edge VPNs and VoIP. Other likely Universal bidders include MCI, Sprint and Qwest.
Networx Enterprise, which is geared toward smaller carriers, includes a core set of IP and wireless services in particular geographic regions. Likely Enterprise bidders include Qwest, Verizon and WilTel Communications.
“Our strategy was to align with firms that have earned great reputations with agencies today and that would complement what we bring to the table, which of course is our global network capabilities and range of professional services skills,” Addeo says. “We also thought about which firms could help us deliver the services agencies will want from day one but could also help them transition to the converged IP world down the road.”
AT&T is putting so much energy into the Networx bid because the deal is worth so much money. The General Services Administration, which administers the Networx program, expects to spend $20 billion over the next decade. However, GSA plans to award multiple Networx contracts.
“Networx bid has the attention of the highest levels of AT&T,” Addeo says. “It is clearly a big priority given its size and the length of the contract. We are devoting substantial resources to put together the best possible bid.”
Networx bids are due in early September, and winners will be announced in April 2006.
Networx will replace a series of contracts known as FTS2001 that will expire in 2007. MCI and Sprint hold the main FTS2001 contracts, but Qwest, AT&T, SBC and other rivals hold what are called crossover contracts that allow them to bid on federal network jobs.
More Networx-related news is due out this week as the GSA holds its annual conference about its network services strategy in Chicago from Aug. 15-18.
