GSA orders State network support

FEDSIM Millennia

The General Services Administration announced an eight-year, $107.5 million contract Oct. 1, awarded to Computer Sciences Corp. to support the global network of the State Department's Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office.

GSA's Federal Technology Service awarded the task order on behalf of the State Department through FTS' Federal Systems Integration and Management Center, using the Millennia systems integration contract.

CSC will provide technical and management support for the DTS-PO, including customer service, systems engineering, financial management, overseas field support and training.

The project will provide communications support for 47 government agencies in 240 locations worldwide and make sure communications systems are working in event of an emergency such as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

"This is the pipe that the systems go over," said Joe Keefe, CSC's account manager for the project.

Keefe said the communications system is the "complement" to the diplomatic pouch, long used by embassies to send secure information to the United States via a messenger carrying a "pouch" that could not be searched by foreign officials.

He said there is a secure network throughout the system, and the 100 engineers and computer, financial, training and logistics experts from CSC working on the project are required to have security clearances.

Teaming with CSC are Alphatech Corp., Arrowhead Space and Telecom Inc., American Systems Corp., AT&T Corp., Digicon Corp., Harris Corp., ITEQ Inc., Lynx Technologies Inc., MIL Corp. and SBI Consulting.

The program office, created in 1992 to promote effective use of information technology and telecommunications within the State Department, manages the global information networks used by all foreign affairs agency personnel at overseas diplomatic posts.