Winstar awarded 4 fed contracts.

Winstar Communications, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded four Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) awards from the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Technology Service (FTS). Under four separate contracts, Winstar has been selected as an eligible provider of data and local switched voice services, as well as dedicated transmission services, to government users in Atlanta, GA, Indianapolis, IN, Miami, FL and St. Louis, MO. Each four-year contract includes four additional one-year options. The total value of these awards is up to $1.04 billion over eight years for the approved companies.

The contracts awarded include a shared contract in Atlanta, GA valued at up to $520 million; a contract valued at up to $240 million in Indianapolis, IN; in Miami, FL, a contract valued up to $140 million; and in St. Louis, MO, Winstar will share a contract valued at up to $140 million.

In March, Winstar received three MAA contracts to supply voice and data services to federal government users in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Baltimore. Those awards have a combined potential value of $620 million. All previous awards had been made to incumbent local exchange carriers or AT&T.

"Within the last five weeks, Winstar has received a total of seven long-term contracts from the federal government with a potential total value in excess of $1.6 billion," said Robert McGuire, president of Winstar's Large Account Solutions group. "In the course of vying for these awards, Winstar has successfully competed with incumbent local exchange carriers from a variety of regions."

"With MAA awards in markets throughout the country, we are beginning to demonstrate the breadth and significance of Winstar's widely available broadband network," said William J. Rouhana, Jr., chairman and CEO of Winstar. "These substantial contract wins reflect the ability of Winstar's Large Account Solutions business to serve government and private business customers of any magnitude."

The MAA contracts allow Winstar the opportunity to offer new technologies and services, as they become commercially available, ensuring that government users can benefit from the same technology enhancements and cost savings as the private sector.