Agencies’ transition to new telecom system slow

Federal agencies' transition to the Networx telecommunications program is slow, with lack of resources and buy-in from top executives and chief information officers to blame for the pace, said an official at the General Services Administration, which manages the contract.

Networx is the largest federal telecom acquisition effort ever, with an overall ceiling of $68.2 billion divided between the larger, more extensive Networx Universal contracts (worth $48.1 billion) and the smaller Networx Enterprise contracts (worth $20.1 billion). The program replaces the FTS 20001 contract, now expired.

GSA put a number of bridge contracts in place to assist agencies as they transition services to the new contract. About 4.1 million services -- or records, as GSA calls them -- must be disconnected and transitioned. These services cover all aspects of telecommunications, from circuits to calling cards to T1 lines, which provide wired Internet access. As of Feb. 19, agencies had completed 10 disconnects.

"I want this to be done," said Karl Krumbholz, director of GSA's Office of Network Services Programs following a Wednesday morning session at the Federal Networks Conference in McLean, Va. "I think it's an issue of [agencies] not having the staff and budget and not making it a priority. Also, fair opportunity is a big deal, so they have to really engage contracting officers [that] are not always used to dealing with network services."

Under the 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, all multiple award contractors must receive a "fair opportunity" for consideration for each task or delivery order over $2,500 issued under a contract. In the case of Networx agencies may not place orders until they have completed a fair-opportunity competition for the services. According to GSA, the 21 agencies making up 95 percent of the services to be transitioned have planned 90 fair opportunities. Only five of those have been completed.

"Agencies have to identify opportunities, [which] helps decide the [appropriate] provider, then write orders for disconnect," Krumbholz said. "That's when the real work begins. In every way, we have to get this done in the time available." According to the schedule released by GSA in September 2007, agencies will no longer be reimbursed for transition expenses after April 1, 2010, and bridge contracts will expire a few of months after that. Executive support is essential for swifter transition to take place, but too often the responsibility lies with IT staff who can't drive progress, Krumbholz said.

"The people we deal with understand the priorities. [But] CIOs are political appointees, so this won't get the same focus. The push is from the bottom, not the top."