WASHINGTON—Federal agencies are doing well in transitioning to a $68 billion telecommunications program that includes upgraded voice and data networks from the nation’s largest providers, but some lawmakers remain concerned about taxpayer dollars at risk.
The Government Accountability Office said the departments of Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture, as well as the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are following “sound transition planning practices” as the government prepares to convert to the new Networx program in 2010.
The GAO report, released Monday, found all six agencies have established telecommunications inventories, and that most have transition preparation tasks and timelines for completion.
Still, several agencies’ plans have some gaps. The Commerce Department, for instance, does not plan to clearly define all key transition roles and responsibilities, according to the report.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Tuesday the GAO’s findings show the Networx transition appears to be on the right track. But he is concerned that some agencies still have not developed “reasonable standards for this massive transition.”
“Inability to do so may result in the waste of millions of taxpayer dollars,” Lieberman said.
Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the committee, requested the GAO report to try to avoid a repeat of the cost overruns and delays that occurred with the transition to the current telecom contract in 2001.
The General Services Administration awarded the “Networx Universal” contract last year to AT&T Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. The 10-year deal, potentially worth up to $48 billion, will provide voice, video and data services and technologies—including Internet-based telephone service and network security—for as many as 135 agencies operating in 190 countries.
The GSA also awarded a related “Networx Enterprise” contract—worth $20 billion over 10 years—to AT&T, Qwest, Verizon, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Level 3 Communications Inc.
