AT&T, CenturyLink win spot on GSA’s $50B Alliant 2 contract

AT&T and CenturyLink are among several contractors that won a seat on the General Service Administration’s (GSA) $50 billion Alliant 2 framework contract that enables federal government agencies to purchase IT services.

In all, 61 companies have qualified to provide the services to federal agencies.

Other contractors that were awarded a seat on Alliant 2: Accenture, HP Enterprise Services, IBM, Telos and Vencore. Additionally, GSA said it plans to announce awards for the Alliant 2 Small Business GWAC “separately” at a future date.

RELATED: AT&T, CenturyLink, Verizon and MetTel win spots on GSA’s $50B EIS contract

Alliant 2 is a multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) program that federal agencies can use to buy IT services. Known as a government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC), Alliant 2 offers agencies customizable hardware, software and IT solutions that can be purchased as a package.

The Alliant 2 contract awardees included a mix of service providers, vendors and systems integrators:

  • Accenture Federal Services 
  • Ace Info Solutions
  • ActioNet
  • Agile Defense
  • American Systems 
  • AT&T Government Solutions
  • BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services 
  • Battelle Memorial Institute
  • Booz Allen Hamilton 
  • By Light, Professional IT Services
  • CACI
  • Camber 
  • Catapult Technology
  • CenturyLink QGS
  • CGI Federal 
  • CSRA 
  • Data Networks 
  • Data Systems Analysts
  • Dell Services Federal Government, Inc. (Acquired by NTT Data Federal Services)
  • Deloitte Consulting 
  • Digital Managemen
  • DRS Global Enterprise Solutions
  • Dynetics
  • ECS Federal
  • Engility 
  • Enterprise Information Services
  • EOIR Technologies
  • General Dynamics Information Technology
  • HP Enterprise Services (Acquired by CSC, known as DXC Technology)
  • ICF Incorporated
  • INDUS
  • IBM
  • Jacobs Technology
  • Leidos
  • Lockheed Martin 
  • ManTech Advanced Systems International
  • MAXIMUS Federal Services
  • NCI Information Systems
  • NJVC
  • Northrop Grumman Systems 
  • Parsons Government Services 
  • Phacil
  • Planned Systems International
  • Pragmatics
  • Quality Software Services
  • Raytheon
  • REI Systems
  • Salient CRGT
  • Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC)
  • Serco
  • Sevatec
  • SGT
  • Smartronix
  • Sotera Defense Solutions
  • STG
  • Telos
  • Unysis
  • URS Federal Services
  • VariQ 
  • Vencore
  • Wyle Laboratories

“Alliant 2 provides agencies with a vehicle to help modernize mission-critical IT and meet the government’s requirements not just today, but well into the future,” said Alan Thomas, Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner, in a release.

    Fueling the 2020 strategy

    Joining the EIS program, Alliant 2 is part of GSA’s Network Services 2020 strategy, which aims to give federal agencies the flexibility and agility to migrate to modern communications and IT services that meet government security standards.

    Alliant 1, the predecessor contract, expires in April 2019, but the GSA will let customers with long-term needs consider the new suppliers

    GSA describes Alliant 2 as a “next gen” contract vehicle because of the way it evolves from the original Alliant contract, which was awarded in 2007. The new contract, according to a release, provides enhancements for “scope improvements, new information technology (IT) service labor categories, new cybersecurity standards, and new environmental standards.”

    AT&T and CenturyLink are in a good position to help agencies meeting the 2020 strategy as these providers are also authorized providers of telecom and IT infrastructure services under GSA’s 10-year, $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) program.

    Additionally, AT&T had previously joined 58 other companies to be invited to be a supplier to the first Aliant contract in 2009.

    A long road

    Getting to the point of awarding Alliant 2 contractors was anything but easy.

    Like the awarding of the first Alliant contract in 2007, many contractors who did not get a spot protested the GSA’s lineup.

    GSA has provided those contractors who submitted unsuccessful bids a debrief. According to a Fed Scoop report, one of the companies that did not get a spot on the Alliant 2 contract will protest the decision if it feels it was unfairly denied an award.

    When GSA announced the winning bidders for Alliant 1 in 2007, seven unsuccessful bidders protested the results and a federal claims court went on to uphold them. Those filing protests included STG, which filed two, Advanced Technology Systems, Artel, Client Network Services, Nortel Government Solutions, Centech Group and Stanley.