SBC to Provide Dallas With Integrated Network

By Jennifer Freer, Staff Writer


NOV. 16 ? The city of Dallas has award SBC Communications Inc. a $33 million contract for a project aimed at transforming the city's communications infrastructure into a digital system, integrating voice and data.


Under the five-year contract, SBC will create a platform for e-government applications, allowing citizens to access city services, such as extending the due date on a library book or paying a water bill online, according to SBC of San Antonio.


"The new network will enable city employees to work more efficiently and will be a solid foundation on which we can build e-government services that save Dallas citizens time and enable them to access city services over the Internet, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," said Dan McFarland, Dallas chief information officer.


The network, which is to be completed over the next 12 to 24 months, will replace a 10-year-old system and will reduce long-term operating costs.


It will serve 8,000 city employees at 281 sites citywide linked through core sites including City Hall, the police, the central library, the convention center and the city's communications complex.


The new system will also be able to offer new applications, such as unified messaging and IP telephony. Unified messaging will integrate voice mail with e-mail and faxes into a single messaging program.


The system will carry telephone calls as Internet protocol packets on the same network that supports computers. A single network will eliminate the need for separate voice and data networks and the costs associated with supporting them, company officials said.