Telcos at the centre of a row over illegal government spying have been awarded huge government contracts worth billions of dollars.

The companies that co-operated with the US Government's illegal wiretapping operations have all landed huge contracts since they were found out.

Washington Technology magazine claims that Verizon received contracts worth $1.3 billion, Sprint $839 million and AT&T $505 million last year. These figures do not include what the National Security Agency must have paid the telcos directly for their services.

The figures should come as no surprise as the companies have historically been big government contractors. However, Washington Technology said that there had been a 'significant' increase.

Former Qwest chief executive Joseph Nacchio claimed that his former company had lost out on lucrative government deals on moral grounds: 'The government withdrew opportunities for contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after Qwest refused to participate in an unidentified National Security Agency program that the company thought might be illegal,' he stated. X

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