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Telecommunications: GSA Has Made Progress Planning for a New Governmentwide Program, But Critical Issues Remain

GAO-05-361T Published: Mar 03, 2005. Publicly Released: Mar 03, 2005.
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Highlights

In October 2003, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a request for information describing its plans for a new governmentwide telecommunications program known as Networx, which is to replace expiring contracts. The program consists of two simultaneous acquisitions: Networx Universal, which is to provide a full range of national and international network services across the United States, and Networx Enterprise, which is to provide agencies with mainly Internet-based services with less extensive geographic coverage In September 2004, GAO testified on GSA's actions to address challenges related to this program and made recommendations intended to improve transition planning, performance measures, and billing procedures. GSA subsequently issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) in October 2004. In response, the telecommunications industry and federal agencies provided more than 2,500 comments, covering technical issues such as the inclusion of certain standards and more general topics, such as the level of small business set-asides. GAO was requested to provide a progress report on GSA's planning for this program.

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