THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512160283
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
A contract between AT&T and the Navy Exchange Service Command will put AT&T in the money - $1.5 billion or more - and will make it easier for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard troops stationed at U.S. bases to call home.
Under the deal, members of the three military branches will get the same service civilians have in their homes, and in many cases at equal or better prices.
Also benefiting will be the Navy Exchange Service Command, NEXCOM, in Virginia Beach, which made the deal with AT&T.
NEXCOM will receive an estimated $357 million in commissions during the 10-year contract, said NEXCOM Rear Adm. Jack Kavanaugh.
AT&T will provide personnel in the three military branches phone connections in their rooms at bachelor quarters and in transient lodging. The arrangement is similar to the way college students have phones in their dorm rooms, Kavanaugh said.
``This really will more or less revolutionize how military personnel can stay in touch with home,'' AT&T spokeswoman Kelly Statmore said.
Currently, a sailor in bachelor quarters on a military base has to carry a pocket full of quarters - or use a phone debit card or calling card at a public pay phone. That often means waiting outside and in line.
``I would guess they're freezing their buns off, because these phones at the BQ are outside,'' Kavanaugh said. ``You go by and see these kids there every hour of day and night.''
AT&T will begin providing military bases with phone lines early next year and will phase in service at 200 installations during the next two years.
The phone giant called the deal its biggest contract win of 1995. The 10-year, $1.5 million contract could grow to a 15-year, $2.5 billion contract if NEXCOM exercises five, one-year renewal options.
AT&T will provide more than $40 million in private branch exchange and voice messaging infrastructure, as well as $15 million in cable, fiber optic lines and transmission equipment.
NEXCOM Telecommunications Director Mary Hov said AT&T agreed to adapt some of its billing structure to fit the transient lifestyle of the military.
The phone company, for instance, will not charge connection fees each time a Navy, Marine or Coast Guard member changes rooms or gets reassigned, Hov said. AT&T will also provide free voice mail on each line.
Personnel who bunk two or more to a room will be able to split the monthly service charge for a $2 additional fee per person. A $20 monthly service charge split four ways would then cost each member $5 plus the $2 fee, although each roommate will be billed separately.
Each AT&T military customer will be assigned a billing number, which will follow them as they are transferred. That gives service members a chance to build up a payment history.
The deal also will indirectly benefit military personnel since NEXCOM will make $357 million in commissions. NEXCOM runs Navy Exchanges, lodges and supplies uniforms to Navy personnel. Its profits are returned to the bases' morale, welfare and recreation funds for things such as bowling alleys, weight rooms and hobby shops. ILLUSTRATION: AT&T calls the 10-year, $1.5 million contract its biggest win of
1995.
Members of the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard on U.S. bases will get
the same service civilians have.
by CNB