Verizon gets D.C. deal

Verizon Business will provide local telecommunications voice, data and voice mail services at more than 200 Washington, D.C., offices under a new three-year contract the company signed with the city.

The contract could be worth $51 million over the entire term, a Verizon official said.

More than 20,000 city employees ? including police, fire and administrative personnel ? will receive the services.

In 2006, the D.C. government had 26,951 full-time equivalent employees serving 581,530 residents, according to data from the District Office of Planning.

The agreement is projected to save between $6 million and $12 million on basic services and will allow the District to address most of the products and services that it buys from Verizon.

Verizon Business is based in Basking Ridge, NJ. Its parent company, Verizon Communications Inc., ranks No. 19 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.