Apptis lands Pacific Air Force network deal

Both wired and wireless network components within buildings of the Air Force's Pacific region will be developed under a contract won by Apptis Inc.

The five-year contract with the Air Force is potentially worth $100 million. Apptis of Chantilly, Va., won the contract through its partnership with the Centech Group of Arlington, Va, the prime contractor on this Air Force project.

The contact was awarded from the Netcents vehicle, of which Centech is one of several prime contractors.

Apptis will provide an intrabuilding distribution network for Air Force facilities throughout the Pacific region.

The program, defined as the "First 400 Feet," involves reconstructing physical layer network infrastructure to comply with the Air Force's growing needs. The intrabuilding cabling and electronics complete network runs from individual wall outlets in each facility to the backbone switch, also known as the End Building Node.

The contract also includes wireless technologies such as infrared, radio frequency and free-space optics. Apptis will conduct assessments of existing infrastructure and perform an analysis of the Air Force's requirements. Based on that analysis, Apptis will provide the design and installation of the approved upgrades.

The upgrades will support voice, video and data connectivity for unclassified, U.S. secret and coalition secret networks. Pacific Air Force commands about 45,000 military and civilian personnel at locations in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Diego Garcia, Japan and South Korea.

Apptis, a privately held company, has annual sales of $600 million. The company ranks No. 33 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.