Wireless clouds enveloping Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are huge. Billion dollar wireless plans that cover whole countries, are even bigger. But the $20 billion plan to network the United States government — Networx — may be the biggest of them all.
Networx is a massive government communications contract that will serve the Department of Defense, the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Energy. The contract covers about 15,000 locations, mostly in the country, but it also requires connections for about 200 non-combat military and U.S. government locations overseas. Essentially, it’s a telephone contract for the U.S. government.
Managed by the General Services Administration, the request for proposal for Networx is 1,000 pages long. It asks for the usual voice, video and data connection capabilities that were in the old government contract, called FTS2000. But Networx adds a wireless component; fixed and mobile satellite communications, IP-based videoconferencing, and wireless and wireless Internet capabilities.
Several giant telecommunications carriers have bid on it. Deadline to bid on the Networx Enterprise contract was Oct. 24th. The GSA plans to award the contracts in the summer of 2006. It’s worth about $20 billion over the next 10 years.
Wireless services, while an important and growing area for government communications, ultimately will be only 25 percent of the total services provided to government users under the new contract, says Tony D’Agata, vice president of federal government operations at Sprint Nextel, one of the bidders on the contract.
The GSA is not specific as to wireless technology’s role in the overall contract as the agency is in the middle of evaluating bids.
In addition to the wireless services expected by the Networx Program, GSA also has introduced Satcom-II, which will provide a range of satellite services to augment the wireless services provided by Networx.
Sprint Nextel is counting on its experience as a wireless carrier and as an incumbent on the current FTS2000 contract to help it win a piece of the Networx contract, according to D’Agata. “GSA is looking to have wireless become part of the [Networx] contract. It will allow some of its other wireless contracts to expire and possibly roll them into Networx,” he says.
Other bidders are looking to leverage wireless services and have incorporated wireless and other partners in their bids. AT&T Government Solutions’ bidding team includes Northrop Grumman Information Technology, EDS, GTSI Corporation, SRA International, Cingular Wireless and Global Crossing. MCI, which has the governmental go-ahead to be acquired by Verizon Communications, is partnering with Verizon Wireless.
The history of GSA’s telecom contracts takes on a near-epic sweep. The initial FTS 2000 award went to AT&T and Sprint in 1988. That contract’s replacement (FTS 2001), was awarded to Sprint and MCI in 1998 and 1999, and now the impending award of Networx will be awarded next year.
Of course The Treasury is planning their own massive global network.
The $10 billion Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), a joint effort between the departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury, is envisioned to support about 80,000 federal officers in all 50 states. The IWN design is based on VHF, Project 25 radios with a packet switched Internet Protocol (IP) backbone.
If the agencies cannot agree to work together, then the Office of Management and Budget will decide the matter.
[...] Networx, a huge telecommunications services contract that replaces FTS-2001, has two parts. One is for nationwide services, while the second is for more niche, localized solutions. Nearly every major carrier is a bidder, but only time will tell if the contract succeeds as a vehicle for improving service and driving down costs. [...]
Left by dailywireless.org » Senate Committee Pushes Interop on January 25th, 2007