Pentagon goes all-IP as part of Verizon $1 billion deal

Verizon has won contracts from the US Department of Defense (DoD) worth a total of close to US$1 billion, including a deal to switch the Pentagon from copper to IP.

The telco is no stranger to hefty government deals, but even by its standards, this is quite a windfall. It has inked three separate accords together worth $966.5 million under the government’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) procurement scheme. And it is – understandably – pretty pleased with itself.

The lion’s share comes from a deal with the Pentagon, valued at a sizeable $515.3 million. That contract will see Verizon migrate the military and civilian population of the DoD’s famous headquarters to IP-based services from copper. It will convert 52,000-plus voice lines to an integrated IP environment, with optimised voice and video services, it said. In addition, it will provide a dedicate support team to help the DoD plan, design and implement network upgrades and the installation of new equipment at the Pentagon.

Slightly smaller at $432.9 million is a deal with DoD-NCR, or National Capital Region, the metropolitan area around Washington DC that extends into parts of Maryland and Virginia. Verizon will provide core voice, transport, Internet and professional services to 370 locations within the DoC-NCR.

The third contract, dwarfed by the first two at $18.3 million, will see the telco supply comms infrastructure, including core voice, transport, Internet and managed services at army base Fort Belvoir. The base provides logistical, intelligence and administrative support to various commands, activities and agencies in the Washington DC area, Verizon said.

“The US Dept. of Defense is at the forefront of technology modernization, and we are proud that Verizon has been selected to grow our existing partnership and continue to serve as its digital transformation partner,” said Maggie Hallbach, Senior Vice President, Public Sector at Verizon.

Nothing much to read into that. But it’s worth noting that Verizon has indeed had a few bucks out of the DoD in recent years, alongside its work with various other US government agencies.

Almost four years ago it announced the completion of the migration of one DoD agency to a unified comms platform, replacing two legacy systems. At the time, Verizon described that as “a significant step forward in its Everything Over IP initiative.” And more recently, in June last year Verizon announced a $495 million contract to deliver a next-generation, high-bandwidth, low-latency, Layer 2 wide area network in support of its research activities.

And Verizon’s announcement suggests it is hoping for more government money to come its way in future.

“Verizon will also work hand-in-hand with the DoD to help develop and implement a long-term, strategic IT vision and plan to promote innovation to remain on the leading edge as technology transforms and improves,” it said.