Verizon Business to Help Update Army Communications

Verizon Business announced a contract under which it will help modernize and upgrade the telecommunications infrastructure on U.S. Army posts, camps and stations worldwide over the next decade.

Verizon Business, through its Federal Network Systems (FNS) arm, was among the prime ten contractors chosen by the Army to participate in future bidding for task orders in its $4 billion Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Infrastructure Modernization (IMOD) program. Each contractor is guaranteed a minimum amount of the overall program.

IMOD is a 10-year contract effort managed by the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, Fort Belvoir, Va.; and Project Manager, Defense Communications and Army Switched Systems, Fort Monmouth, N.J., to update fiber-optic cable and wireless communications facilities at major Army facilities. Voice, data and video systems will be integrated into a single communications system. The IMOD project replaces the Digital Switched Systems Modernization Program (DSSMP), which expires in June 2007.

"We are supporting Army communications from the installation level all the way up to the front lines," said Paul Bates, vice president for global professional services and enterprise solutions for Verizon Business. "This effort is intended to increase network capabilities and boost bandwidth around the world. As the Army moves to EoIP - or Everything over IP - Verizon Business will provide the latest technology to help the government increase networking capabilities while maintaining affordability."

The Internet protocol (IP) services will provide network efficiencies while increasing the speed of the flow of information - including voice and data - from the front lines. In addition, the Army will have increased flexibility to turn up communications quickly.