Summer Myatt
AT&T has booked a potential 11-year, $161 million task order from the Defense Information Systems Agency to consolidate and modernize disparate U.S. Coast Guard data communications networks onto a single platform.
As part of the task order, AT&T will provide the USCG with a fast IP-based Wide Area Network, commercial satellite communication, optical wavelength, virtual private networking and other network modernization services across 1,200 locations, the company said Tuesday.
“Time is precious for the critical services the U.S. Coast Guard provides, from search and rescue to port security and military readiness,” said Stacy Schwartz, vice president of AT&T’s FirstNet program.
“It’s vitally important they have a fast, reliable, and modernized data network to help ensure rapid flow of data to support their important work daily,” she added.
Rear Adm. David Dermanelian, chief information officer for the Coast Guard, explained that a modernized enterprise mission platform will help deliver vital information at the tactical edge to support warfighters in the modern battlespace.
The task order, awarded by DISA’s contracting arm under the General Services Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract vehicle, will also expand USCG’s use of AT&T’s first responder and public safety network FirstNet and make the company the service branch’s principal provider of telecommunications services.
USCG currently uses FirstNet-enabled tablets for pre-flight planning and awareness purposes across over 1,300 pilots and aircrew in addition to its day-to-day uses of the network.
