GSA ready to move on to non-Networx work

The transition to the Networx telecommunications contract continues to move at a snail's pace. The General Services Administration reports as of March 5 that only 40 percent of all agency connections have moved over from the expiring contract, FTS2001.

On top of that, about 60 percent of all statements of work still need to be awarded to one of the five vendors under the Networx.

GSA has said repeatedly that agencies must choose their vendor by Aug. 30, and must be fully transitioned by June 2011.

"Transition needs to get done and quite frankly it's becoming old business," says Karl Krumbholz, GSA's director of the Office of Network Services Programs at a recent event on networking. "We need to move on to other business."

Some of that other business is setting up a new contract to help agencies move to Networx. GSA issued the draft request for proposals March 4 for the Connections II contract. The 10-year vehicle could be worth as much as $35 billion, experts estimate. GSA originally awarded Connections in 2003.

Krumbholz says Connections II is different from the first contract, and would complement Networx by providing professional and technical services and equipment on a worldwide basis.

"This contract will be more of an opportunity to provide the integration support," he says. "It would not be a services a contract such as Networx. We'd expect agencies to still get their services from Networx, but their integration support, their staffing, their ability to implement installation requirements, perhaps event to dig a trench to provide infrastructure. We are looking at infrastructure upgrades in buildings to accommodate voice over IP, this would be a contract we'd look to for that."

The draft RFP states GSA wants comments back by March 29. The final RFP would likely be issued a month or so later.

Krumbholz says GSA expects to make multiple awards under Connections II by the fall.

Along with Connections 2, GSA is working on a handful of other contracts. The agency and the Defense Information Systems Agency have moved on to part two of their joint satellite communications contract, known as comsatcom.

The five-year contract could be worth $5 billion, the agencies say. Part two of the contract will be for end-to-end satellite communications services, including leased bandwidth, teleport services, integration services and network management.

"The draft RFP could be out by March," he says. "The final RFP in the third quarter of 2010 and awards by the fourth quarter of 2011."

Krumbholz says GSA also is readying a new non-conflict of interest technical services contract and has started work on a new wireless capabilities contract under the administration's strategic sourcing initiative.

The non-conflict of interest technical services contract will transform from only a sole source contract to a combination of sole source and multiple award deal, he says. GSA plans to award the contract through the MOBIS schedule.

Krumbholz says the services under this contract include program management, independent validation and verification and others to help agencies develop contract requirements.

"We've always had very technically strong support that provides support for network services and through our regional programs," he says. "We will be putting the blanket purchase agreement in place to meet our requirements at GSA, but the MOBIS schedule is available for every agency to use."

The RFP could be out by April on e-Buy with awards by the end of summer. Krumbholz says the contract could be worth $127 million over five years.

Under the wireless contract, GSA plans to redo the Telecommunications Expense Management Services (TEMS) vehicle. It currently is researching the marketplace and getting a better handle on current federal purchasing trends.

"We want to see what agencies want from wireless," Krumbholz says. "The wireless environment is dynamic. There are new services offered on wireless. Clearly, the wireless environment will do nothing but grow in the future. It's incumbent on us to figure out how we can leverage wireless services such that agencies can see, compare and understand what various carriers can offer."

He adds that the current marketplace is disparate and filled with lot of small buys. Agencies also don't understand how much or who they are buying from.

"We have some tools that we have perfected in the Networx program that we may be able to bring to bear on this," he says. "The important thing is to get the agencies engaged and find out what they want."

Krumbholz says he hopes the contract will make it easier for agencies to track purchases and mange their inventory, such as shutting off inactive accounts.

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