DISA chooses Verizon Business and AT&T as Networx providers

The Defense Department awarded contracts potentially worth more than $1 billion to Verizon Business and AT&T to provide data and advanced voice services under the Networx telecom procurement vehicle, the Defense Information Systems Agency announced on Thursday.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Verizon will be the primary vendor for wireless and traditional phone services, as well as data services including private IP, Internet and wireless services. AT&T will be the primary vendor for frame-relay data services. The Verizon agreement for data services could be worth as much as $752 million for 10 years, while the agreement for voice services could be worth as much as $368 million.

Networx is the government's largest telecommunications contract, with a cost ceiling of $68 billion for 10 years. The contract has two components: Networx Universal, which requires vendors to provide a full range of telecommunications services both domestically and internationally at the lowest possible prices, similar to its predecessor, FTS 2001; and Networx Enterprise, which is designed for smaller companies and is required to offer a minimum of nine IP-related services such as Voice Over IP and network-based VPNs.

Activity has been picking up on Networx in recent months as agencies have rushed to select a vendor and recoup transition costs from the General Services Administration for making the switch from FTS 2001. The Office of Management and Budget set a Sept. 30 deadline for agencies to submit statements of work to GSA, but many missed the deadline. OMB has not yet issued a new deadline.

"I think it's been a busy summer, many [Networx] proposals have been submitted and several more will be submitted or awarded through the rest of the year," said Susan Zeleniak, group president for Verizon Federal. "In the last three to four months activity on Networx has increased at least a few hundred percent. It's really moving now."