Networx's First Big Deal- Qwest Down for the Count?

It looks like we have the first really big task order out of the Networx contract- $679m from DHS for Verizon. Here is the write up from FierceTelecom:

The federal government's Networx Universal project is finally yielding some revenue for telcos. The Department of Homeland Security awarded about $679 million worth of work from a $1 billion, 10-year contract to Verizon Communications, with potentially another $292 million from the contract going to AT&T as a back-up service provider. The DHS deal involves more than 5,000 employees and 22 different agencies. Verizon will consolidate multiple wide area network architectures on a secure IP infrastructure.

Perhaps the contract will be an ice-breaker between government agencies and the carriers authorized to bid on Networx Universal deals. Since carriers received authorization more than a year ago, very few Networx contracts have been drawn up. The telecom industry has been expecting that would change as this year plays out. The DHS deal is the largest Networx contract awarded thus far.

And here is some more indepth analysis from NetworkWorld:

Verizon Business has captured one of the largest federal network deals of 2008: a 10-year contract to provide managed network and security services to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that is valued at $678.5 million. AT&T Government Solutions is the secondary provider for the project, dubbed OneNet, winning a 10-year contract worth an estimated $292 million.

Losing out on this much-anticipated deal was Qwest Communications.

If the government is going to split the deals between Verizon and AT&T that doesn't leave much business left over for Qwest, does it? Qwest is going to have to be more creative, more aggressive and bang the drum very, very loudly in order to get any kind of traction.