WorldCom Nabs State Department Deal

Months after losing out on a whopping $1.7 billion FAA contract for telecommunications services, WorldCom announced a 10-year deal to provide IP and ATM services to the U.S. State Department. The contract is valued in the range of $360 million.

The Clinton, Miss.-based WorldCom, which also has GSA deal in place said the newest contract win for the supply of international private lines, satellite, Internet Protocols (IP) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) protocols State Department agencies around the world.

The SPECTRUM pact, makes WorldCom a preferred provider for future Department of State communications business and pushes a regional approach to network management, vendor accountability, managed satellite services and support and maintenance, WorldCom said.

Earlier this year, WorldCom filed for federal bankruptcy protection, the largest in U.S. corporate history. The bankruptcy filing, which lists WorldCom assets at $107 billion of assets, was unlikely to serious affect service for the largest operator of Internet backbone.

The bankruptcy filing essentially protects WorldCom from its creditors while it puts in place a plan to reorganize the company.

WorldCom markets a portfolio Internet services, including Hosting, Internet Access, Managed Messaging, Private IP, Security Services, Voice Portal, VPN, and Web Center.