Windstream enhances public sector play with $12M U.S. Veterans Affairs contract

Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) has added another government contract to its win column with a $12 million award to deploy voice, data and Internet services for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in its Region 4 area. During the course of the five-year contract, the dollar amount can be extended to almost $20 million.

This award is part of the VA's move to use one carrier for each of its newly created four geographic regions that include multiple Veterans Information Service Networks.

Region 4, which oversees more than 300 VA facilities, was the first of these consolidated procurement contracts the agency has awarded.

The service provider said that it expects to have Region 4 products and services fully implemented by the end of 2013.

Windstream may have had a long-standing presence in the public sector, but it enhanced its play when it completed its purchase of Paetec last year. In addition to its Pinnacle IT software subsidiary recently winning a seat on the General Services Administration's (GSA) IT Schedule 70 contract vehicle, Windstream secured a spot on GSA's Region 6 contract which it won in April on the GRITS-II contract.

These wins also raise its profile to serve the more complex needs of large enterprises. In the second quarter, business service revenues rose 2 percent year-over-year to $913 million.

For more:
- see the release

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