Government Telecom Procurement: Navigating GSA Schedules and EIS Contracts

SpendWire Team•3 min read•November 11, 2026

Federal agencies save 15-30% using GSA Schedule 70 and EIS contract vehicles for telecom. Here is how the process works.

Government telecom procurement operates under different rules than commercial purchasing. Federal agencies must use authorized contract vehicles, follow specific acquisition procedures, and document compliance at every step. When done correctly, government buying power produces pricing 15-30% below commercial rates.

Primary Contract Vehicles

Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS)

EIS is the primary government-wide telecom contract replacing the expired Networx contracts. It covers:

Voice services (local, long distance, toll-free, conferencing)

Data services (MPLS, Ethernet, SD-WAN)

Internet services (dedicated, broadband, wireless)

Managed network services

Cloud and hosting services

Security services

**Award holders**: AT&T, Verizon, Lumen (CenturyLink), and several others.

GSA Schedule (MAS) — IT Category

The Multiple Award Schedule (formerly Schedule 70) covers IT products and services including:

Unified Communications solutions

Video conferencing equipment and services

Network equipment and installation

Managed IT services with telecom components

BPAs (Blanket Purchase Agreements)

Agencies can establish BPAs against EIS or MAS contracts for frequently purchased telecom services, streamlining recurring purchases.

The Procurement Process

Step 1: Requirements Definition

Document telecom requirements in a Statement of Work (SOW) or Performance Work Statement (PWS). Be specific about:

Service locations with addresses

Bandwidth and capacity requirements

Security and compliance requirements (FedRAMP, FISMA, CJIS)

Service level requirements

Transition and implementation timelines

Step 2: Market Research

Survey available options on the EIS contract to identify which carriers serve your locations and at what price points. GSA provides pricing tools, but independent analysis often reveals significant rate variations between carriers for the same services.

Step 3: Task Order Issuance

Issue a task order against the EIS contract. For orders above the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000), you must solicit quotes from multiple EIS vendors. Below that threshold, single-source awards are permitted with justification.

Step 4: Evaluation and Award

Evaluate proposals using the criteria defined in your solicitation. Best value evaluations (not lowest price technically acceptable) typically produce better long-term outcomes for telecom services.

Step 5: Transition

Execute carrier transitions with specific attention to:

Number porting (critical for public-facing agencies)

Security accreditation of new services

Cutover coordination with operations

Parallel operation during transition

Common Pitfalls

Buying telecom outside authorized contract vehicles (compliance violation)

Not leveraging government buying power (agencies often pay commercial rates when EIS pricing is available)

Failing to transition from expired Networx contracts (legacy pricing is typically higher)

Under-documenting requirements (vague SOWs produce poor proposals)

Cost Optimization

Even within government contract vehicles, significant price variation exists. SpendWire benchmarks government telecom invoices against EIS contract ceiling rates and identifies where agencies are paying above-contract prices. Federal agencies using automated telecom auditing typically find 10-20% in savings even on competitively awarded contracts, primarily from billing errors, service misconfigurations, and unused circuits.

State and Local Government

State and local agencies can often piggyback on federal contract vehicles or use state-specific cooperative purchasing agreements (NASPO, US Communities). These provide similar pricing advantages without the full federal procurement process.

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