WorldCom's woes make Georgia think twice about project bid

The state of Georgia may be forced to find more bidders for its huge outsourcing communications project if troubled telecommunications and Internet services giant WorldCom Inc. cannot sustain its bid, according to state officials and industry observers.


WorldCom of Clinton, Miss., is leading one of two teams pursuing the Georgia Convergent Communications Outsourcing, a 10-year deal worth $1.87 billion. The other team is led by Electronic Data Systems Corp. of Plano, Texas. The two teams submitted bids June 17.


Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes believes that if WorldCom drops out of the running, the state should re-bid the project rather than proceed with a single bidder, said Jocelyn Baker, the governor's spokeswoman.


Barnes' comments on the evaluation process now under way reflect his opinion but carry no official weight, Baker said. The Georgia Technology Authority would determine the course the award would take if WorldCom dropped out, she said.


"It's not the governor's decision to make," Baker told Washington Technology.


WorldCom will continue to pursue the Georgia communications outsourcing opportunity, said Debbie Lewis, a company spokeswoman.


More than 100 individuals from state and local government agencies throughout Georgia have formed 14 different evaluation teams to help the Georgia Technology Authority evaluate the two bids for award in November or December, said Michael Clark, a Georgia Technology Authority spokesman. The state has not asked for additional financial disclosures from either bidder, he said.

Still, state technology officials are following WorldCom's situation and will take appropriate steps as necessary, he said.


"At this point in time, we're going forward with our evaluation," he said.