VIENNA, Va. -- AT&T Government Solutions has been awarded a follow-on 10 year, $61.3 million contract by the National Communications System to provide priority calling services for key government and industry officials during emergencies.

The contract, called Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), was first awarded to AT&T in 1993. It allows federal, state, and local officials, as well as key personnel in critical infrastructure protection roles, to make priority calls during natural disasters or emergencies when normal calls are blocked by overloaded networks.

The GETS contract has two base years and eight, 1-year options. GETS operates as a collaboration among multiple long distance and local carriers, and AT&T Government Solutions is one of several firms awarded follow-on work. Accessible from any telephone nationwide using a special calling card, GETS has successfully served thousands of government customers since 1985 during local and regional disasters as well as national emergencies, such as Sept. 11, 2001.

“We’re delighted that the National Communications System has again placed its trust in us to deliver these critical emergency services,” said Lou Addeo, president of AT&T Government Solutions.

AT&T Corp.