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Jim Barthold
A consortium of companies led by Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Business Solutions subsidiary, has snagged a five-year $228 million contract to provide telecommunications services for the Pennsylvania government.
The consortium will use Adelphia's fiber-based network to deliver telecom services, including voice, data, video, basic digital transport and Internet service for state government offices over the public telecommunications network. In the past, multiple companies, including Bell Atlantic Corp. and AT&T Corp., were under separate contracts to provide the services.
"It's not a cable network," emphasized Rob Sienrukos, GM-government/education markets and project manager for Adelphia Business Solutions. "It's an expansion of the public network for both local voice services, long-distance voice services, high-speed data services and Internet data services."
The network is "an expansion of what we've been doing to the more rural pieces of Pennsylvania. Not only does this bring technology to all corners of the state, it brings competition and choice to all corners of the state," he continued.
Sienrukos said that the consortium will use rights-of-way of cable and power utilities, including those owned by Allegheny Energy, Peco Energy, Comcast Corp., Suburban Cable and Susquehanna Communications Inc. to overlay its fiber.
Adelphia will install about 1,400 miles of fiber on top of its existing 2,500 miles of plant to complete the network.
"The good news is we already have established networks and operations running," he said, pointing to Philadelphia, Allentown-Lehigh, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, York and Lancaster and ongoing construction in Pittsburgh and Erie. Consortium members Lucent Technologies Inc. and Marconi Communi-cations Inc. will be important technology suppliers, he added.
The network also will provide Web-enabled billing, ordering and management through a system being developed by Electronic Data Systems Inc. (EDS).
"If we're going to promote e-commerce, we need to practice what we preach," said Thomas G. Pease, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Administration, in a news release. "By moving these business functions online, we will streamline these processes, reduce errors and make dramatic productivity upgrades."
Pease also pointed out the money-saving aspects.
"This isn't just a technology success story - it's a procurement success story, too," he said. "It's not often you get more value at less cost, but in a nutshell, that's the solid return Pennsylvanians will receive from this new telecommunications contract. We will save Pennsylvanians at least $100 million over five years compared with our existing and projected costs."
It is, finally, a political success story, added William Cologie, president of the Pennsylvania Cable Telecommunications Association (PCTA).
"It shows that cable is finally being recognized as a player in the telecommunications industry here in Pennsylvania," he related. "The (Gov. Tom Ridge) administration was able to let a contract without politics rearing its ugly head. They took it on the merits and Adelphia clearly won."
Consortium members also include Qwest Communications, Verio Inc., Telesoft, Diversified Data Systems, CitX, Development Dimensions International, Barbara Black Training and Innovative Business Concepts.
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