Agencies on track for move to Networx

A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that, for the most part, agencies involved in the transition to a major telecommunications contract are on the right track.

Comment on this article in The Forum."I am pleased that [the General Services Administration] has learned from past mistakes and appears to be on the right track to make the transition to Networx," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Networx is the federal government's largest-ever telecommunications contract, with a ceiling of $68.2 billion over 10 years. GSA is the contract's administrator; GAO's review included the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Small Business Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and the Agriculture, Commerce and Homeland Security departments. The Networx program replaces the existing FTS2001 contract, which has expired. Agencies have until September to submit their statements of work to GSA to recoup costs incurred as a result of the transition.

According to GAO's report, "The selected agencies are generally following sound telecommunications transition planning practices." Those practices include establishing inventory, performing a strategic analysis of telecom requirements, identifying telecom resources and developing a transition plan.

Three of the agencies reviewed, however, are not fully implementing best practices for such a large transition, the report found. For example, Commerce does not plan to define transition roles or responsibilities for employees involved, Homeland Security is not identifying by name local and regional contacts for the transition, and NRC is using governmentwide objectives to measure success instead of agency-specific goals as recommended by GAO.

"While real progress has been made, I am dismayed that some agencies still have not developed reasonable standards for this massive transition. Inability to do so may result in the waste of millions of taxpayer dollars," Lieberman said.

Because the transition period is limited, GAO recommended that agencies look to GSA for guidance on resolving common challenges, including evaluating the costs and benefits of new technology and clearly defining the responsibilities of key personnel during the contract transition. Commerce agreed with GAO's findings. NRC and Homeland Security accepted some of GAO's recommendations, but rejected suggestions for cost-benefit analysis or more concrete transition planning.