The same day AT&T Corp. won a $5 million judgment against the government for lost revenue under a long-distance contract with the Treasury Department, the telecom giant announced it would appeal the award and fight for a larger share of the $140 million sought in its original claim.
Information technology companies are uncertain whether they can meet a June 25 deadline that says all electronic and IT products they sell to the U.S. government must be accessible to people with disabilities.
AT&T Corp. has been awarded a $5 million judgment by General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals, far less than the $140 million the company was seeking in its claim against the federal agency. The decision, handed down May 18, gave New York-based AT&T the money as compensation for lost revenue the company claimed should have been generated under FTS2000, the GSA's mandatory long-distance contract put in place in 1988.
Corporate consolidation has been a defining feature of the federal market over the past 10 years. Over the same period, past performance has become a prominent evaluation factor in all negotiated procurements.
A key House lawmaker is planning to introduce legislation that would require the government to use private-sector practices to improve the way agencies purchase information technology services.
Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., and Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., and Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., introduced a "sense of the Congress" resolution May 10, promoting the spread of international electronic commerce.
An equity group that has been snapping up technology companies in recent years has created what industry analysts think could be a major new player in the government market for converged voice, video and data networks.
Fed Outsourcing Panel to Meet: The Commercial Activity Panel, formed to study issues on how the federal government decides what to outsource to the private sector, will hold its first public hearing June 11 in Washington.
The twin effects of a general economic slowdown and the change in administration have clouded business prospects for government information technology companies in the upcoming fiscal year.
Former government officials working in the information technology industry are confident the federal government will gain a chief information officer this year, and legislators and the administration seem ready to compromise to make that happen.
Compelled by new federal regulations to modernize health care information management, state governments are expected to spend $3 billion modifying or replacing existing health care systems, a complex effort that many officials liken to the year 2000 challenge.
Federal agencies must begin posting all government business opportunities worth more than $25,000 on the FedBizOpps.gov Web site by Oct. 1, a federal procurement council said May 16.
Legislation that would allow the Baby Bells to offer high-speed Internet access has passed a key test in the House, but it faces a long road ahead, including stiff opposition from competing legislation in the House and Senate.
The comment period on a rule that would revoke a controversial government contracting rule was recently extended from June 4 to July 6, and a public meeting about it was set for June 18.
A year into the General Services Administration's 10-year, $1.5 billion smart-card program, federal agencies are quietly plugging away, still struggling to figure out how to use the new technology to strengthen security, streamline procedures and save money.
The Administration for Children and Families lost 25 percent of its staff during the last five years, while it gained responsibility for an additional $5 billion in grants.
The lure of the world's largest information technology market ? the U.S. government ? is attracting more and more companies that have primarily played in the commercial marketplace.
