In a deal worth $250 million over five years and the potential to escalate to $1 billion
over 10 years, the state of Texas? General Services Commission announced today that it
has contracted AT&T to build and manage the backbone network for the state?s
communications network, TEX-AN 2000.
The network will serve the state?s local and state government agencies with
communications and e-commerce services. As a coup to the services arm of AT&T, the
AT&T Solutions division will design, build and operate the ATM and frame relay
network, which will span the entire state. The network will connect 250 state agencies
and 4500 sites such as municipalities, counties and school districts.
?We wanted to take a different approach with this network?in the past we designed
the network and had someone else implement it,? said Steve Parker, the Texas GSC?s
director of telecommunications. With the new network, the state provided goals for
AT&T and let its team decide how to implement it. In turn, AT&T designed the network
around the state?s plans for state-of-the-art communications, e-commerce, and equal
pricing and service levels regardless of location.
The network will be a hybrid of ATM and frame relay, which AT&T will manage end to
end. As basic ingredients to the service, AT&T will provide local and long-distance
voice and data service, toll-free services, data networking access, Internet access, Web
hosting, wireless services, equipment purchases, directory publishing and installation
services. AT&T will also integrate services such as networking management, remote
access and multimedia services.
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