The General Services Administration awarded Verizon Business and Level 3 Communications a $1.8 billion telecommunications contract late Thursday.
Under the Washington Interagency Telecommunications System (WITS) contract, government agencies within D.C. and surrounding areas in Maryland and Northern Virginia will be able to choose between the two vendors to purchase a number of services.
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The award is a complement to GSA’s two-part $68 billion Networx contract, awarded earlier this year, which also was for government telecommunications work.
Agencies will be able to use either contracting vehicle for some purchases, according to Susan Zeleniak, vice president for Verizon’s federal division. Others, such as local telephone services, can be bought only through WITS.
Zeleniak declined to estimate how much business the company expects to gain from WITS, which is a four-year contract with four one-year options. She said the company expects to get work from agencies looking to switch to Voice-Over-Internet Protocol-based services.
“We would certainly like to be the leading provider of WITS services,” Zeleniak said. The company was the holder of the previous WITS contract, awarded in 2000.
GSA and Level 3 did not return calls for comment Friday.
