FTS2001 Contract to Replace FTS2000--may result in price adjustments (probably increases) this FY Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 08:38:28 -0500 To: "AO - All Administrative Officers" From: "Alice A. Sabatini, Division Administrative Officer, WRD" Subject: FTS2001 Contract to Replace FTS2000--may result in price adjustments (probably increases) this FY Cc: "Catherine L Hill, ACH/Operations, Reston, VA ", "Robert F Wakelee, Network Manager, Reston, VA " Our FY 1999 FTS2000 cost estimate is much higher than FY 1998. This increase has from a 10% cost escalation resulting from the need for "bridge contracts" and what GSA calls transition costs to the new FTS20001 contract. Transition costs include a possible period of parallel services. Cost centers should plan on an increase in their FY 1999 FTS2000 cost distribution bills of at least 15% above the FY 1998 cost distribution. As we get more specific information on our charges, we'll pass them along. The following is an article on the FTS2001 contract for your information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- Government Computer News, October 26, 1998 FTS HUSTLES TO REPLACE ITS LONG-DISTANCE SERVICE By William Jackson GCN Staff As the General Services Administration last week celebrated the FTS 2000 contract's 10-year run with representatives of AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp., the agency's Federal Technology Service was scrambling to award an FTS 2001 long-distance replacement before FTS 2000 runs out Dec. 7. The latest estimates put the award in late next month. "I think we're in that range, maybe early December," FTS commissioner Dennis J. Fischer said. Meanwhile, he is negotiating interim contracts with AT&T and Sprint to tide agencies over during the transition to FTS 2001. "We tried real hard to have them in place by the beginning of October," said Frank E. Lalley, assistant FTS commissioner for service delivery. But he said a number of issues remain to be resolved with each company. A Sprint spokesman said the interim contracts would run for one year with monthly extensions available. The interim arrangements probably will involve price adjustments, but Lalley would not say whether they would be up or down. Even if an FTS 2001 award comes before FTS 2000 expires, a bridge contract will be necessary to cover the transition period. FTS 2000's inaugural call was not placed until October 1989, although GSA had signed with AT&T and Sprint the previous December. It took until June 1990 to complete the government's cutover to FTS 2000. The interim contracts not only will make a bridge for transitions, they will leave some breathing space to agencies that do not want to switch to new telecom services while coping with year 2000 code fixes, FTS officials said. They said FTS 2000 has supplied 37.5 billion minutes of service to more than 2 million customers in fiscal 1998.