GSA awards FirstGov contract to AT&T

The General Services Administration announced Tuesday that its federal technology services branch awarded a contract to AT&T to provide Web-hosting and security services for FirstGov, the federal government's Web portal.

Under the deal, which became effective Aug. 14, AT&T will provide hardware and software to GSA's Office of Citizens Services and Communication (OCSC), which manages the FirstGov site. The contract will last for one year at $1.9 million per year, giving GSA the option to renew it over the next three years.

"The federal government's e-gov initiatives will be able to use the new contract to design, test, and deploy a wide range of new services to better serve the citizen," said Casey Coleman, chief technology officer for OCSC.

GSA described the deal as an "interim solution" while OCSC improves its Web offerings. OCSC is a new office within GSA that aims to provide easy access to information and services on federal and state government Web sites.

Raya Widenoja contributed to this story.