AT&T locked in yet another government contract, securing a 10-year, $182 million deal to provide network upgrades and services to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The deal covers USAID’s domestic and international connectivity needs, with AT&T set to supply wireline voice and data to the agency’s locations across the U.S. as well as connectivity to 90 USAID locations worldwide. Under the contract, AT&T will consolidate USAID’s various networks onto its own global IP voice network, with this transition expected to be completed in early 2023. Chris Smith, VP of Civilian and Shared Services for AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet told Fierce the consolidation effort will include two domestic networks as well as "multiple" international networks.
It will also upgrade the circuits within USAID’s data centers to provide higher bandwidth and capacity, weave global satellite connectivity into the mix and provide solutions which will allow agency workers to set up mobile hot spots in areas where there’s little connectivity. For the satellite piece, Smith told Fierce it will "work with OneWeb and other satellite providers to support service delivery to the Middle East and Africa." Additionally, the contract will enable USAID to tap into AT&T’s cybersecurity capabilities, hosted voice services and cloud solutions.
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“Our aim is to ensure they have the connectivity they need when and where they need it to deliver their mission to bring relief and hope to the needy,” Smith said in a statement.
The contract was awarded through the General Service Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) technology procurement program, through which all government telecom purchase agreements must be sourced by September 2022. The most recent data available from the government’s EIS transition progress tracking dashboard showed 26.2% of EIS task orders had yet to be awarded as of August 31, 2021.
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AT&T’s deal with USAID adds to a growing number of government contracts it has secured under the EIS program this year. Previously announced wins include a $725 million deal with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, $306 million worth of contracts from the Department of Homeland Security, a $175 million order from the Department of Transportation and a $231 million deal with the Department of Treasury.
In May, AT&T VP for FirstNet and public safety Stacy Schwartz said the operator had won more than three dozen contracts since the EIS program began in 2017 and remained in competition for “nearly double” that number.
This article has been updated with additional information from AT&T's Chris Smith.