General Dynamics to build wireless network for government agencies

The Justice Department said it picked General Dynamics Corp. to deploy a wireless network to be shared by three federal agencies, the selection coming just weeks after the department’s inspector general issued a scathing report on Bush administration problems in getting the network off the ground.
“A key principle of the IWN (integrated wireless network) program is flexibility to evolve and account for changes in the wireless technology industry and operational requirements of the partner agencies,” said Vance Hitch, chief information officer for the DoJ. “Through the program, the IWN partner agencies are committed to achieving effective interoperability among federal law enforcement and homeland security agents, as well as between the federal agencies and the state and local agencies with which we partner.”
The DoJ press release did not indicate the dollar value of the contract, but Inspector General Glenn Fine said missteps could end up costing taxpayers as much as $5 billion for a network intended to be spectrum efficient. The DoJ claimed the network, which will serve the departments of justice, homeland and treasury, will be capable of support voice, data and multimedia applications.
During delays with the IWN, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration granted tens of thousands of waivers to the Justice Department to continue operating less efficiently on their frequencies than required by NTIA’s 1993 narrowband mandate for government agencies.