Qwest on Wednesday launched its suite of products and services for a 10-year, $20 billion government telecommunications contracting program.
Denver-based Qwest was the first to debut its products among the three companies vying for contract work under the so-called Net worx Universal program, which is intended to upgrade video, phone, data and other communications systems for as many as 135 government agencies.
Contracts will be awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration, which picked Qwest, Verizon and AT&T in March to submit bids for the work.
“Qwest is committed to helping government customers take a strategic view of the range of services and technologies under Networx Universal that will transform their agency’s communications,” Qwest government- services general manager Diana Gowen said in a statement Wednesday.
Qwest chief executive Dick Notebaert has said the company expects to receive some revenue from Networx by the end of the year.
“We can start to see some in the December quarter,” Notebaert said last week. “I think it will be meaningful next year.”
Qwest’s stock price has gotten a recent bump since it announced its fifth consecutive quarterly profit last week. At least one analyst, John Hodulik of UBS, has a price target of $11 on the stock, which closed Wednesday up 6 cents at $9.66, the sixth straight trading day it has set a five-year high.
Notebaert joined other Qwest executives in Washington on Wednesday to showcase Qwest products to a number of government agencies, beating Verizon and AT&T to the punch.
Verizon has scheduled its launch event for today, said company spokeswoman Debbie Lewis. AT&T plans to host its event May 24, said Margaret Rooney, an executive with AT&T Government Solutions.
Qwest is also competing for a separate, smaller piece of Networx, called Enterprise. The GSA has said it will pick companies to submit bids for that part of the program this month.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
