FTS Selects for Award Telecommunications Integrator Services Contractor

GSA #9405

April 10, 1997
Contact: Bill Bearden
(202) 501-1231
Internet: bill.bearden@gsa.gov

On behalf of the Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. General Services Administration today selected Electronic Data Systems (EDS) of Herndon, Virginia as the apparent winner of a five-year, $600 million, contract for Telecommunications Integrator Services (TELIS). The actual contract award is subject to a final determination that EDS and its subcontractors are free of foreign control or influence.

GSA's Federal Telecommunications Service/Office of Information Technology Integration, Federal Computer Acquisition Center (FEDCAC), made the selection for DOE.

EDS teamed with GTE Customer Networks, Inc. (Alpharetta, Georgia), McFadden & Associates Inc. (Silver Spring, Maryland), Lucent Technologies (Greensboro, North Carolina), and Native American Sales, Inc. (Englewood, Colorado) in preparing its proposal. EDS and its subcontractors will provide systems integration, network engineering, installation, maintenance, management, and operational support for DOE's voice, data, and video technologies.

"Under the terms of the TELIS contract," Charles Self, Assistant Commissioner for ITI said, "the EDS team will be measured both by how well it satisfies DOE's communications needs and how much money it saves the government."

Under this contract, DOE expects to (1) benefit from innovative telecommunication solutions and processes; (2) realize substantial cost savings by conformance to a department-wide communications infrastructure design and through reduced procurements for like services and products, and (3) improve the accessibility and use of departmental data and information.

"The selection of EDS as the apparent winner for the TELIS award completes a procurement process that was innovative and cost effective for both Government and Industry," Self said. "FEDCAC will continue to use the increased latitude granted by recent acquisition reforms to better serve client-agency needs."

Recognizing its needs for expertise in large information technology procurements, DOE enlisted FEDCAC services in developing the acquisition strategy, preparing the Statement of Objectives, devising the proposal evaluation, and selecting an apparent winner. DOE and FEDCAC sought industry advice in designing, what they and industry believe was an innovative procurement strategy. Pre-qualification of prospective bidders based on past performance, use of a Statement of Objectives rather than the traditional Statement of Work, and the employ of a limited number of precise proposal discriminators were some of the innovative techniques used in the TELIS acquisition.

For additional information, please contact John Ortego at (703) 756-4111 or Jeanne Davis at (617) 860-7138.