Georgia delays awarding telecom contract

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> <br> The contract - the state&#39;s largest ever - would cover everything from Internet service in schools to a digital upgrade of Georgia public television stations. <br> <br> 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> <br> The scheduled date for awarding the contract had been June. <br> <br> 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> <br> They will have to adjust for the lower price, and the winner will have to sell a data center to the state.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/196849