Digital Government
DOD flags MCI/BT merger
The Pentagon last month expressed concern about serious threats to national security if the proposed $20 billion merger between MCI Communications Corp. and British Telecommunications is allowed to proceed. Defense Department officials did not say they are looking to block the merger. But in a care
Digital Government
Tools extend reach of management platforms
Administrators of federal networks responding to edicts for downsizing have found a helpful tool in a new generation of products that work in tandem with network management platforms to monitor systems and applications. Until recently federal network managers working from a central site had only li
Digital Government
Skytel offers government nationwide paging service
Skytel Government is offering federal users nationwide paging services following an agreement with the General Services Administration earlier this month that extends the scope of Skytel's contract with the agency. Kathy Garrett chief of telecommunications acquisition at GSA's Greater Southwest Reg
Digital Government
Key IT personnel change on Hill
In the wake of new committee leadership several Hill committees began their biennial staff shuffling reflecting new and evolving agendas of the chairmen. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee last month changed key personnel in procurement reform and information technology oversight a move obse
Digital Government
GSA rate-cutter wired into savings
Margaret Binns the General Services Administration official who can be credited for reducing the rates agencies pay for local phone service didn't know much about telecommunications when she became assistant commissioner of field operations at GSA's Federal Telecommunications Service. But that did
Digital Government
Lawyers group questions legality of GSA proposals
The American Bar Association last month submitted comments to the General Services Administration that question the legality of proposed changes to the multipleaward schedules (MAS) program such as removal of synopsis requirements and maximumorder limitations. Ron Hutchinson vice chairman of the
Digital Government
American Indian tribes to get telecom services
The General Services Administration last month began offering FTS 2000 telecommunications services to American Indian tribal councils and organizations and announced its first agreement with a council to provide voice and data services via the governmentwide network.
Acquisition
CIOs mull plan to rein inmaverick agency buys
In what may be the first pullback from largescale procurement reform the Office of Management and Budget is considering regulations that will prohibit agencies from embarking on a procurement if the purchase would threaten other agencies from obtaining low prices through volumediscounted buys.
Modernization
MCI promotes local service
Representatives from MCI said they met last month with about 50 federal telecommunications managers to encourage them to consider the company as a localservice provider able to compete for contracts traditionally held by regional Bell operating companies. Jerry Edgerton vice president of MCI's Go
Acquisition
It's official: GTE wins wireless pact
Capping off a 27month effort the General Services Administration this month awarded a $300 million nationwide contract for cellular telecommunications services a move designed to cut most federal users' cellular bills by up to 60 percent. The award is the first in a series of PostFTS 2000 contrac
Digital Government
Ipsilon products to support Cisco's router protocol
In an escalation of the market battle between Ipsilon Networks' Internet Protocol switching technology and router leader Cisco Systems Inc. Ipsilon officials said last week they now support Cisco's router protocol. Larry Blair vice president of marketing at Ipsilon said last week that the new capab
Digital Government
Switches challenge routers
Federal agencies are turning increasingly to switching equipment and less to traditional routerbased networks in their quest to meet users' seemingly boundless appetite for bandwidth according to resellers manufacturers and federal network managers. Although the router market is thriving in the fe
People
Navy favors outsourcing IT smorgasbord
The Navy plans to conduct a pilot information technology outsourcing program in the Pacific Fleet that could lead to a whole new way the service acquires computer and communications products and services used on shore and at sea.
Digital Government
Setting an agenda for the 2nd term
Despite the departure from Congress of several strong champions of procurement reform vendors and government managers believe that the new leaders of congressional oversight committees will continue on the path of the last several years and will push for agencies to adopt commercial business practi
Modernization
MCI, DOD explore security issues in upcoming BT buy
In anticipation of its announced purchase by British Telecommunications PLC MCI's Government Markets division has been working with the Defense Investigative Service to ensure that the company's guidelines for protecting federal classified communications meet the standards established by the Defens
Digital Government
GSA brokers AT&T, IRS deal
The General Services Administration's Federal Telecommunications Service late last week brokered a deal between the Internal Revenue Service and AT&T to ensure that the company will correct problems encountered in switching the Treasury Department's FTS 2000 network traffic from Sprint to AT&T. Joh
Digital Government
GSA unveils RFP for $3B support services program
The General Services Administration last Friday issued a request for proposals for a series of telecommunications support services contracts worth up to $3 billion over five years. GSA's Technical and Management Support (TMS) contracts a companion program to the PostFTS 2000 services contracts wil
Digital Government
GSA pushes small firms to compete
The General Services Administration's Federal Telecommunications Service has adopted a new approach advocated by the Small Business Administration to allow small and disadvantaged businesses to compete among themselves for federal contracts. FTS intended to use the approach in its solicitation for
Digital Government
Cabletron offers ATM line
Cabletron Systems Inc. last week announced a set of Asynchronous Transfer Mode products that address the needs of workgroup departmental and backbone network managers. The products will become available on federal contracts by February. The products include the SmartCell ZX250 family of ATM switch
Digital Government
Bill creates new venue for protests
Congress this month passed an amended version of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (H.R. 4194) that will allow vendors to take postaward protests to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in addition to established protest venues such as the district courts or the General Accounting Offi
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