Bandwidth expansion contracts worth up to $3B

The Defense Information Systems Agency today announced the award of three contracts, worth up to $3 billion, to boost bandwidth on its Defense Information Systems Network. The awards came after numerous extensions.

The 10-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity DISN Access Transport Services contracts were awarded to Qwest Government Services Inc., AT&T Corp. and Arrowhead Global Solutions, Inc. A total of seven proposals were received.

DATS will provide upgraded, leased-access transmission services for the government-owned backbone network and connect more than a thousand military sites to the department's Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion initiative. Performance will be at various locations within the United States.

DOD is requiring the transmission services to support bandwidths up to OC-192, offering 10-Gbps throughput.

As part of the DISN upgrade, many legacy voice, data and video systems as well as emerging capabilities ? such as the department's main network-centric warfare initiatives ? will shift to IP operation. DISN currently is a switched-circuit transport system. The upgrades will also replace two DISN contracts: the DISN Transmission Services CONUS (for the continental United States) and the DISN Switched/Bandwidth Manager Services CONUS.

Dawn S. Onley is a staff writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.