Georgia delays awarding $1.87 billion contract

ATLANTA - The state has delayed awarding of a telecommunications contract until after the November election - cutting the cost from $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 10-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, said 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, Singer said. <br> <br> The Technology Authority has been shopping for a home for its telecom equipment for several months. Rolling a data center into the contract may help the state get a better price for the building, Singer said. <br> <br> Atlanta-based BellSouth has teamed with Lockheed Martin, AT&T and EDS to bid on the contract. The competing team is headed by WorldCom and has BellSouth as a subcontractor. <br> <br> Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, said awarding the contract in June might have curbed campaign contributions from hopeful companies. <br> <br> ``If you don&#39;t decide it yet, then all of those who are bidding have incentive to continue making campaign contributions to keep their place at the table,&#39;&#39; Bullock told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. <br> <br> Companies, employees and lobbyists associated with the two teams donated $74,000 to Barnes&#39; re-election campaign. Another $26,000 was contributed by those connected to three companies that have withdrawn as primary bidders. <br> <br> Barnes spokeswoman Joselyn Baker said the changes being made to the contract were determined by the Technology Authority. <br> <br> ``They&#39;re not being driven by the campaign,&#39;&#39; Baker said. <br> <br> BellSouth and Lockheed Martin declined to comment on the delay. Jerry Edgerton, a senior vice president at WorldCom, said his company could be ready with an updated bid sooner than July, the new date for bids to be submitted. <br> <br> Edgerton said the delay has advantages and disadvantages. It allows WorldCom to polish its bid, but it also means it will be longer before the winner gets down to business, he said.

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