Army signs on for bandwidth boost
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Months after the Defense Information Systems Agency wired 86 military installations with a $900 million, high-speed, high-capacity fiber network, the Army has taken a major step toward extending the last-mile connectivity reach of the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion program.
The Army will soon be bringing extra bandwidth to its posts, camps and stations.Months after the Defense Information Systems Agency wired 86 military installations with a $900 million, high-speed, high-capacity fiber network, the Army has taken a major step toward extending the last-mile connectivity reach of the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion program.The Army recently awarded a multiple-award contract to 10 vendors under its $4 billion Infrastructure Modernization vehicle, which services will use to place orders under the Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program. Through I3MP, the Army is upgrading the wiring at its major bases to tie into GIG-BE.'IMOD is the contract vehicle that implements I3MP,' said Kevin Carroll, the Army's program executive officer for enterprise information systems. 'IMOD is very important to the Army because it expands the bandwidth on installations. It's helping us on Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory migration. It is key to this whole reachback capability.'Through IMOD, the Army will update the fiber-optic cable and wireless communications lines at major bases and installations by integrating voice, data, cable plant and/or transmission products and services into a single, integrated communications system, Carroll said.'IMOD is a great vehicle for modernizing our enterprise. Newer technologies will ensure standardization at the enterprise level,' added Col. Tom Hogan, the Army's deputy program executive officer for infrastructure, for the PEO EIS organization. 'By providing the latest in technology, we will be able to drive down cost, while increasing capability.'The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts cover a 10-year-period, which includes a five-year base period with one five-year option. The acquisition will replace the Digital Switched Systems Modernization Program (DSSMP) contracts that expire in June 2007. DSSMP supplies telecommunications supplies and support to government and military agencies around the world, including switching and networking technologies, installation, and support services and logistics.The winning IMOD vendors are:
IMOD is very important to the Army because it expands the bandwidth on installations. ... It is key to this whole reachback capability.'
' Kevin Carroll, Army
Henrik G. de Gyor
- AT&T Government Solutions Inc.
- Avaya Inc. of Arlington, Va.
- Bechtel National Inc. of Frederick, Md.
- Engineering and Professional Services Inc. of Tinton Falls, N.J.
- Federal Network Systems LLC of Arlington, Va.
- General Dynamics Network Systems
- Lucent Technologies of McLeansville, N.C.
- NextiraOne Federal of Herndon, Va.
- Science Applications International Corp.
- Siemens Government Services Inc. of Reston, Va.
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