The task order includes 24/7 direct access to Verizon’s IT development team and support for a wide range of applications, like cloud computing and video transmissions
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has awarded Verizon Public Sector a more than $400 million Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) task order aimed to help the federal agency meet the increasing demand for more bandwidth. The task order includes 24/7 direct access to Verizon’s IT development team, support for a wide range of applications — like cloud computing, video transmissions and data applications. Further, Verizon Public Sector will integrate mission-critical technologies and processes into the FBI’s existing IT infrastructure.
“From ethernet access capabilities and a resilient global Virtual Private Network Services (VPNS) with a Verizon 4G LTE and 5G Nationwide cellular fixed wireless access arrangement, the FBI will benefit from faster speeds with low latency, enabling the move to wireless connections provisioned on-demand for faster deployment at FBI locations, and support for high-speed connectivity for FBI agents working in the field,” Verizon stated in a press release.
According to Maggie Hallbach, senior vice president, Public Sector at Verizon, the carrier has worked with the FBI for “nearly 20 years,” and this latest task order will build on this previous experience. “This phase will provide stable solutions and a modern network that is faster, more scalable and secure that will help the FBI achieve its mission,” she said.
Hallbach also stated that Verizon will specifically help the Bureau “improve network availability, enhance operational efficiency, use tailored approaches to meet individual division needs, and help modernize technology.”
The deal is an important development for Verizon, which in 2020, lost a $92 million FBI contract to rival AT&T in what AT&T claimed at the time was the largest commitment that FirstNet — the carrier’s first responder mobility service — had ever received from a law enforcement or public safety agency. At the time, Stacy Schwartz, vice president of AT&T’s FirstNet program, told IWCE’s Urgent Communications that the win means that the FBI will shift the remaining users from Verizon to FirstNet-AT&T in 2021.
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