Comcast Business (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has been awarded a $9.3 million 10-year contract by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to establish commercial Ethernet gateways to provide Ethernet connections to its Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) in the northeastern United States.
In May 2016, the Department of Defense was directed to migrate to Ethernet-based services in an effort to reduce overall telecommunications costs. As a result, the DISN's 17,000 legacy, point-to-point public switched telephone network (PSTN) circuits will be replaced with Ethernet connections. The migration will take place across 12 regions, providing coverage to the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Region 1 has been awarded to Comcast Business and covers the northeastern United States.
"This award lets us do our part to support the nation. Transforming DISA's network to an Ethernet-based solution will deliver a performance-based network to DISA and its mission partners," said Ken Folderauer, vice president, Federal Government Sales, Comcast Business. "The U.S. government is one of the largest IT buyers in the world. Only the very best earn their trust, and Comcast Business is honored to be on that short list. We look forward to continuing to build out this incredible partnership with DISA."
Comcast Business will deliver its Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) service to fulfill DISA's network requirements and provide a flexible Ethernet solution capable of meeting the agency's demands. Comcast Business' EVPL service is designed to improve application performance across a network with a private, point-to-multipoint network design between multiple locations.
DISA provides enterprise network and IT infrastructure to support the requirements of the Department of Defense's more than 40 military services, combatant commands and support organizations worldwide.