Big awards for small firms at DISA.

The Defense Information Systems Agency has awarded another billion-dollar satellite communications contract to small firms.

The 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to provide equipment, airtime and maintenance for International Maritime Satellite Network (INMARSAT) communications will be shared by five companies: AOS Inc. of Dallas: ADC International of Arlington, VA; Arrowhead Space and Telecommunications of McLean, VA: Global Communications Solutions Inc. of Victor, NY; and O'Gara Satellite Systems Inc. of Deer Park, NY.

Arrowhead was one of three companies selected last year for DISA's $2.2 billion satellite transmission services contract, the biggest small business set-aside ever.

The satellite communications market is well suited for small firms because it is "not infrastructure-dependent," said Arrowhead CEO Mary Ann Elliott. The companies are resellers of airtime and commercial off-the-shelf equipment.

One of the winners of the latest contract, ADC International, is a year-old startup. ADCI was founded by TechBank, a Northern Virginia merchant bank.

The company won a $3 million INMARSAT airtime contract from DISA in January. That paved the way for the bigger award, said acting CEO William Wisecarver: "We showed them we were quite capable of handling anything they wanted to throw at us."

Telemar, an Italian telecommunications company, is a major investor in ADCI along with TechBank. The partnership with Telemar, a major player in satellite communications, gives us market leverage in the price of airtime," Wisecarver said.

Because of the relationships with Telemar and with major equipment manufacturers, Wisecarver said, "we were able to develop a business plan that can live on a very, very thin margin."

The INMARSAT contract is the latest in a series of high-dollar awards to small firms at DISA.

In April, DISA included four small businesses along with three large corporations in its billion-dollar Next Generation Engineering contract. The small and large companies will compete separately for task orders under the seven-year contract.

The small awardees are ARTEL Inc., Femme Comp Inc., FGM Inc. and Pragmatics Inc., all based in Northern Virginia.

On May 29 the agency awarded a blanket purchase agreement to Dynamic Systems Inc., a Los Angeles 8(a) firm, for Sun maintenance warranty services. The agreement is worth up to $180 million over nine years. Dynamic Systems was awarded the contract agreement off its GSA schedule.

On May 2 four small firms won a six-year, $28 million IDIQ contract for the Global Enterprise Management Support program and for information technologies program management services. The winners are Bloodworth Integrated Technology of Reston, VA, a woman-owned business: Keylogic Systems, a HUBZone firm in Morgantown, WV; Pragmatics Inc., a small disadvantaged business in McLean, VA; and Taylor-Oden Enterprises, an 8(a) firm.

Lt. Col. Stephen Wallace, who is retiring this week as director of DISA's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, credits "unbelievable support" from the agency's top brass for its success in small-business contracting.

He also gives credit to small-business contractors for their excellent performance. "There's no better advertisement than that," he said. "The fights I used to have two or two-and-a-half years ago, I don't have to fight now" to open up opportunities for small firms.

"We're out of the mom-and-pop shops. Now it's real companies with real capabilities," he added.

DISA awarded 21% of contract dollars to small businesses in fiscal 2001, below the governmentwide goal of 23%. "Our core contracts are for long-haul telecommunications -- billions of dollars," Wallace explained. "No small business does that."