Pentagon to use VOIP

The Pentagon is moving to voice over IP as part of continuing renovation work there. The Defense Department has awarded General Dynamics Network Systems a contract worth $18.4 million to design and install VOIP for DOD's Renovation and Construction program office. The award represents continuing work on the Wedge 2-5 stage of the modernization project. Wedge 2-5 refers to a project phase that involves the renovation of four million square feet of space in the Pentagon. The work includes modernizing the physical plant and the information technology and telecommunications infrastructures. Wedge 2-5 also includes completing a new building-wide telecommunications backbone to provide integrated voice, video and data communications over unclassified and classified DOD networks. The renovation project, underway since September 2001, is scheduled to be completed in December 2010. The contract modification, announced recently,  specifically addresses VOIP, said Daniel Busby, vice president and general manager for Army infrastructure sector at General Dynamics IT. The VOIP aspect of the modernization work is part of a larger effort undertaken by the Defense Information Systems Agency to deploy the technology at several installations, Busby said. The aim is to “design and deploy a telephony system that is capable of supporting and meeting the subscriber and network demands of the Pentagon user community,” Busby said. “This includes all call processing support, multiple classes of service, priority service, required adjunct and back-office components, and continued support for legacy telephony equipment.” The award modification also includes work on several other projects for DOD organizations. “This work is primarily for parts of the Office of the Secretary of Defense staff, specifically Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and includes work for offices of several field operating agencies and the military services,” Busby said. The contract also authorizes audio-visual work in several conference rooms, upgrades to a press briefing room and additional security equipment, Busby added.