CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) has been tapped by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to build a fiber network for three Air Force bases in the Colorado Springs area.
In a contract that could be worth a total of $1.7 million over the next five years, CenturyLink will provide DISA a high altitude electromagnetic pulse-protected fiber system that it said is buried in steel pipe encased in concrete conduit to protect it from the effects of high altitude electromagnetic pulses (HEMP).
Upon completion, the system will deliver fiber connectivity between Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.
A major point of the network is maintaining uptime. The service provider said that the HEMP-protected fiber system will support the Colorado Springs Survivable Communications Network, a private synchronous optical network that can operate even when facing "nuclear threats so that critical voice, message, video and data communications can continue to reach command authorities."
This is the second high-profile public sector win CenturyLink recently won with the defense-related agency. Just last week it announced a $8.5 million contract to provide a team of IT specialists to work directly with more than 20,000 Marine Corps personnel at the Quantico and Washington, D.C., barracks on a 24/7 basis.
For more:
- see the release
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