The Department of Education is pleased to announce the availability of a statewide broadband telecommunications contract, COVANET, that is open to all public schools. This contract was negotiated by the Virginia Department of Information Technology (DIT) and offers flat-fee pricing on a wide variety of telecommunications and Internet services for public entities.

Governor James Gilmore and Secretary of Technology Donald Upson support and encourage state agency use of COVANET for all telecommnication and Internet needs. The contract does not require a long-term commitment, and because it was bid by the state is exempt from many local procurement requirements. Schools may receive E-Rate discounts on all COVANET services. When bidding the contract, DIT filed an E-Rate Form 470 on behalf of all Virginia schools and libraries.

For more information on the COVANET contract please visit the DIT website at: http://www.dit.state.va.us/telco/covanet . For information on E-Rate, contact Greg Weisiger, associate director of teleproduction services, at (804) 692-0335 (mailto: gweisige@pen.k12.va.us .

JLD/GW/cb