ATLANTA - The state has delayed awarding of a telecommunications contract until after the November election. It also has cut the cost from more than $2 billion to $1.87 billion because of the budget shortfall. <br>
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The contract - the state's largest ever - would cover everything from Internet service in schools to a digital upgrade of Georgia public television stations. <br>
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After promising potential bidders that it would spend as much as $206 million a year on the ten-year contract, the state now says its annual spending would fall $24 million short. <br>
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The scheduled date for awarding the contract had been June. <br>
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Larry Singer - head of the Georgia Technology Authority - says pushing it back to November or December allows bidders to reconfigure their bids to conform with recent changes. <br>
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They will have to adjust for the lower price, and the winner will have to sell a data center to the state.
