GSA Awards Networx Universal Contracts
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded its highly anticipated Networx Universal contracts to: AT&T Corp., MCI Communications Services, Inc. (as Verizon Business Services), and Qwest Government Services, Inc.
Networx Universal is the first of two Networx contracts awarded by the GSA to modernize federal government communications. The contract is designed to enable the government to choose among a compre-
hensive range of integrated telecommunications and network services, ranging from converged voice, video and data services over a single network to a variety of next-generation offerings, including advanced IP services, managed services, and advanced security services.
Providing voice, IP, wireless, satellite and IP-centric services to 135 federal agencies across 191 countries, Networx Universal will transform the current federal telecommunications system to a secure, worldwide IP and MPLS-based network, compliant with Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and other major technological advances anticipated throughout its contract life.
“We are proud of the message this program conveys about GSA’s ability to deliver large acquisitions on schedule,” says GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner, Jim Williams. “The advanced technologies and services defined in the Networx program will serve as a platform to transform the government’s telecommunications infrastructure to a more seamless and secure environment.”
The Networx program is the largest federal telecommunications acquisition ever competed, meeting the federal government’s full range of worldwide telecommunications and networking requirements during the next decade. The program’s application-oriented architecture will support the federal communications infrastructure and underlying operations, providing a seamless, secure, and interoperable federal telecommunications environment that is necessary today and in years ahead.
“The GSA has been forward-thinking on the Networx contracts and is offering federal agencies end-to-end solutions that require a service provider with experience at delivering complex services,” says Susan Zeleniak, Vice President for Verizon Federal, an organization within Verizon Business dedicated to serving federal government customers.
The second contract, Enterprise, is expected to be awarded later this spring. It has fewer mandatory requirements than the Universal contract and is intended to allow additional companies to participate in the Networx program.
The Networx program is among the largest federal communication contracts in history and has an overall value of as much as $20 billion over 10 years, spread among all awardees. Networx will replace FTS2001 and several other telecommunications agreements.
