AT&T to wire Capitol Hill buildings

AT&T Government Solutions is working on a project to connect 14 government buildings on Capitol Hill to its local fiber network.

The move is part of AT&T's strategy to compete for phone, data, video and broadband business with Congress, the General Accounting Office and other Washington, D.C., locations.

Chris Rooney, president of AT&T Government Solutions, said the company is "knocking on doors all over Capitol Hill."

AT&T has become much more competitive since Rooney, who had previously headed federal business at Sprint, took over its federal division a year ago, said Warren Suss, president of Suss Consulting in Jenkintown, Pa. Rooney also had been chief executive officer at Priority Telecom, a competitive local exchange carrier.

"AT&T is coming on strong since their new management was put in place a year ago," Suss said. "There are a number of indicators that AT&T is going to be a more aggressive competitor than they've been in the past. They're making strategic investments in these facilities that will allow them to be more competitive," such as the Capitol Hill project.

Last fall, AT&T bought a 100-mile regional fiber network to expand its reach in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area, according to spokesman Jim McGann. The expanded network allows the company to offer its services on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in the area.

The buildings to be connected to the expanded network include the Russell Senate Office Building; the Hart Senate Office Building; the Jefferson, Adams and Madison buildings of the Library of Congress; the Cannon House Office Building; the Longworth House Office Building; the Rayburn House Office Building; the Ford House Annex; the Dirksen Senate Office Building; Postal Square; the Government Printing Office; GAO and the U.S. Capitol.

All 14 buildings will be connected by the end of the year, AT&T predicts.