The Communications Revolution

evolution" is not too strong a word for the ferment that's under way in electronic communications. As with most such upheavals, it's difficult to say what the landscape will look like when the smoke clears. But federal managers don't have the luxury of waiting for that to happen. They're taking steps now to meet 21st century needs. This special report takes a look at some of the ways they are upgrading their networks and making the most of the new communications environment.

One important element of that environment is demand for more connections and more kinds of connections. Demand is growing at an unprecedented rate. For example, officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency, the central telecommunications provider for the military services and Defense agencies, say that Web use of DISA's backbone data network is doubling every six months. Peter Paulson, DISA's network operations chief, says there's been an explosion of Web-based systems for all kinds of business operations throughout the Defense Department. Another indicator: According to the electronic publication Messaging Online, the number of electronic mailboxes worldwide grew 84 percent last year, and about 40 percent of the U.S. population now is connected to e-mail at home or at the office.

To meet the demand, agencies are upgrading their networks and taking advantage of new network acquisition and management strategies. They're consolidating old, single-purpose networks into multipurpose "pipes" that carry traffic more efficiently. Some, such as the Treasury Department, are looking to outsource network operations and management.

New companies offering new technological and service delivery options are emerging. In late March, for example, the General Services Administration contracted with Winstar Communications Inc., a New York company less than a decade old, to provide local phone service and data transmission services to federal agencies in Cincinnati, Ohio, over the next eight years. Winstar provides services locally over wireless networks in 60 U.S. cities and connects those cities with a fiber-optic backbone it is building. Winstar also will compete with Pacific Bell for federal phone customers in Los Angeles, under another GSA contract.

The new options and new competition for federal business can mean dramatic cost reductions for agencies. Officials at GSA's Federal Technology Service say the Winstar contract in Cincinnati calls for a 72 percent reduction in local phone rates. Long-distance rates under the government's FTS 2001 contracts are scheduled to drop to 1 cent a minute over the life of the contracts. Though data transmission prices are not dropping as much, these services are costing less too.

During this revolution, lower prices are accompanied by new possibilities. Wireless phones, video training programs, customer service systems and phone calls routed over cable TV systems or the Internet are just some of the alternative communications tactics that agencies are employing. Read about all of them in the following pages.

There's more change yet to come, and federal managers increasingly need to stay abreast of communications as the revolution proceeds. We'll continue to keep Government Executive readers informed of communications developments that can help or hinder their programs, and we'll keep focusing on what's really happening, rather than passing along the hype.