A blockbuster of a contract

It is only fitting as 2007 winds down that we have a cover storyon the Networx telecommunications contract, arguably thebiggest award of the year.Although only a small number oftask orders has been awarded, there islittle doubt that this contract will be ablockbuster.Agency communications needs gobeyond local and long-distance telephoneservices. The need today is tomove voice, data and video anywhereat any time. Major telecom companiesmay be the prime contractors onNetworx, but the teams under themillustrate the reality of converged communications.Associate Editor Michael Hardy explores the teams and howthey view the contract. Teammates bring customer relationshipsand domain expertise along with their technical skills. It isn't hardto imagine task orders under Networx in which the teammates willmake the difference between winning and losing.Also in this edition, staff writer Alice Lipowicz covers the contentiousissue of award fees paid to contractors. When HomelandSecurity Department Inspector General Richard Skinner said thatChenega Technical Services Corp. improperly received a solesourcecontract, the news sparked a response from presidential hopefulSen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). She wants the IG to expand theinvestigation to see if award fees also were improperly paid.As Lipowicz explains in her story, Clinton's interest might sparkreforms, but determining the propriety of award fees is no easymatter. It seems granting an award fee is more art than science.As our print publication year comes to a close, don't forget tovisit us online where we'll continue our daily coverage of the governmentmarket. Look for our next issue, our annual forecastissue, in January.