AT&T Co’s OEM agreement with Pyramid Technology Corp for the latter’s MIPS Computer Systems Inc RISC-based Unix multiprocessors has won a big reprieve with the news that AT&T has won the US Treasury Department contract, which could be worth over $1,400m if it runs its full seven-year term. It is for 3,200 of the Pyramid machines, 50,000 WorkGroup Systems and networking products. Computer Sciences Corp will provide professional services under subcontract. The kit is primarily for the Internal Revenue Service but other Treasury operations can buy computers under the contract. The award is a terrible blow to struggling Arix Corp, whose machines were bid on the contract by IBM Corp: the Arix share price plunged $1.5625 to just 43.75 cents on the news. Lockheed Corp bid Hewlett-Packard Co boxes.
