Qwest gets final GSA Networx green light

Qwest Communications International Inc. is now cleared to take orders under the Networx Enterprise contract. The company announced today that it has received authorization to operate from the General Services Administration.

The Networx Enterprise contract is a companion to Networx Universal, and offers a smaller number of required services and more limited geographical coverage than the Universal contract. According to GSA, contractors may be able to offer lower prices under Enterprise, giving agencies an ability to fill narrow requirements less expensively.

Qwest, AT&T Corp. and Verizon Inc. hold places on both Universal and Enterprise. Level 3 Communications LLC and Sprint Solutions Inc. are on Enterprise only.

Before the vendors can begin filling orders, they have to pass Operational Support Systems verification testing to show GSA that their back-end ordering, billing and other systems meet the standards specified in the Networx requirements.

GSA awarded the Networx Universal contracts in March and the Enterprise contracts in May. The contracts could span a total of 10 years and have a combined ceiling of $68 billion, although GSA officially estimates that agencies will do about $20 billion worth of business through them.

Qwest, based in Denver, ranked No. 54 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.