SBC connects to Texas voice services deal

SBC Communications Inc. won a three-year, $100 million contract from the Texas Department of Information Resources for voice services for state agencies and schools, the company announced today.

SBC of San Antonio will provide government agencies and other public entities with communications services, including business access lines, analog lines and trunks, digital trunks, disaster routing services, integrated services and digital network services.

Institutions that will use the service range from state and local government agencies and school districts to colleges, universities and hospitals.

The contract is an extension of a previous five-year deal with SBC companies that gave state agencies and schools local voice and related services. Under the new contract, SBC is providing Texas with 38,000 business lines, 10,000 analog PBX trunks and 6,500 digital trunks, the company said.

The new technology will let the state maintain high-quality voice service and give it flexibility to incorporate services or technologies to meet business needs, state officials said.

SBC, a provider of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising services, has 168,000 employees and annual sales of $40.8 billion.