Hold Put on Big AT&T; Contract

A federal appeals board has temporarily suspended a $1.4 billion computer contract awarded by the Treasury Department to AT&T;, saying the high price did not appear to be justified.

The General Service Administration’s Board of Contract Appeals said that while the Internal Revenue Service, which was to receive the computer equipment, had claimed it would not pay a significantly higher price for slightly superior technical features in awarding the contract, the agency “did just that” in awarding the contract.

The appeals board, in a Wednesday ruling, ordered the IRS to restudy the contract. The award still could go to AT&T; if further analyses show the price is justified.

International Business Machines Corp., the world’s largest computer maker, and a division of Lockheed Corp. had protested the award. AT&T;’s bid was more than $500 million higher than the bids from IBM and Lockheed.