AT&T and Verizon Supporting DHS Emergency Communications

Both AT&T Corp., Columbia, Maryland, and Verizon Business Network Services Inc., Ashburn, Virginia, were awarded firm fixed price modifications to exercise option year four of previously awarded, sole-source contracts. Under the contract options, the companies will support the Priority Telecommunication Service (PTS) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications (OEC). The companies will aid the National Security/ Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) PTS via public switched networks. The program provides communications under all circumstances, including crisis or emergency, attack, recovery, and reconstitution, when network congestion or damage renders conventional communications ineffective, by utilizing the surviving assets of the public switched network to provide priorities and routing alternatives. 

For AT&T, the face value of the contract action is $11,678,027, funded by fiscal year 2018 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $79,875,418 with lifecycle amount of $309,800,000. Performance is throughout the continental U.S. For Verizon, the face value of this action is $7,153,036, funded by fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $83,057,583 with lifecycle amount of $291,500,000. The period of performance is April 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.