AT&T snags $306M DHS contract to replace Verizon, Lumen

AT&T landed four more government contracts, securing awards collectively worth $306 million to help four divisions within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) upgrade their network infrastructure.

Stacy Schwartz, AT&T VP for FirstNet and public safety, told Fierce the contracts represent all new revenue for the operator. DHS previously contracted with "Verizon as their primary network provider and then they had been using Lumen for some of their local area service…And in both situations they’re migrating their services to AT&T,” she said.

Specifically, AT&T was tapped to provide IP software-based and zero-trust networking capabilities, SD-WAN and cybersecurity protection, as well as voice collaboration services and necessary equipment and labor. The contracts include an option to add mobility services via AT&T’s FirstNet public safety network.

The task orders cover provisioning for DHS headquarters, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Science and Technology Directorate over a 12-year term. Schwartz noted the operator will also provide networking support for two “very large data centers” used by all DHS agencies for email and mission critical applications.

She added the DHS agencies are “very aggressively pursuing” the initial transition of services from Verizon and Lumen to AT&T, but noted some transformation projects may take “a bit longer.”

“We’re going to continue to work with all the different agencies and at the department level to make sure we understand the capacity requirements by location, and that will determine the type of connection we use at each site,” she explained, adding possibilities range from 10 Mbps all the way to 10-gig.

RELATED: AT&T scores $175M network modernization deal with U.S. DOT         

The contracts were awarded as part of the General Service Administration’s (GSA) Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) technology procurement program. Earlier this year, AT&T won a 12-year $231 million EIS contract with the Treasury Department, as well as a $175 million award from the Department of Transportation.

Schwartz said AT&T has won more than three dozen contracts since the inception of EIS several years ago, and is “actively still competing for nearly double that number.”

All government telecom purchase agreements are required to be sourced through EIS by the end of September 2022.