U.S. Department of Defense Agency Selects Verizon Business for Data and Voice Services

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. --- Verizon Business will provide a broad range of data and advanced voice services to the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) through two agreements worth as much as $1.12 billion. The services will be provided under the federal Networx contracting program.>> Under one agreement valued at as much as $752 million, DITCO, the contracting arm of the department's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), selected Verizon Business in a Networx Fair Opportunity conducted in June 2008 to provide Defense Department agencies with data services. They include network-based Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network services based on multi protocol label switching; Internet protocol services; asynchronous transfer mode; and wireless and point-to-point private line for existing services.>> DISA provides real-time information technology (IT) and communications support to the president, vice president, secretary of defense and the military services including the combatant commands. Critical IP VPN data traffic will ride on the Verizon Business vBNS+ (Very High Performance Backbone Network Service) network, which is dedicated primarily to government and educational institutions with high-performance network requirements.>> In a separate agreement valued at as much as $368 million, DITCO designated Verizon Business in a Networx Fair Opportunity held in February 2008 as the primary provider for voice services to help more than 700,000 users at military locations worldwide communicate and collaborate effectively. Long-distance, toll-free, calling-card, ISDN (integrated services digital network) and video-teleconferencing are among the services Verizon Business will provide.