Verizon Business Moves Forward With Networx Universal

Verizon Business announced on Monday that it's now able to process orders under Networx Universal, in one of the largest telecommunications contracts in history.

Verizon Business, an enterprise-focused unit of telecom provider Verizon Communications, in March was awarded the Networx Universal contract along with AT&T and Qwest Communications to upgrade the government's wireless and landline infrastructure with the latest voice, data, video, and security services.

"We will offer a variety of network services like IP networking, security services, and call center capabilities, as well as managed services where a customer will have a large network with many sites and we'd operate that network for them and ensure that applications are running at optimum performance," said Susan Zeleniak, VP of Verizon Federal, an organization within Verizon Business dedicated to the federal government.

In order to start offering services to federal agencies, Verizon Business' operations support systems had to be tested and approved by the U.S. General Services Administration. Operations support systems are electronic interfaces that handle ordering, notification, inventory, and invoicing.

Verizon Business said it received approval from the administration to start processing government orders.

Additionally, the telecom provider received the General Services Administration's security accreditation for its operations support systems, which protects government information in accordance with security policies, practices, and processes.

The Networx Universal contract is valued at as much as $48 billion.

Verizon Business said it invested millions of dollars to prepare its federal systems to provide services under Networx Universal. These systems include its customer portal, known as the Networx Universal Customer Center, which provides customers with information on products, services, and training programs.

The General Services Administration in May chose AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Level 3 Communications, MCI Communications Services, and Qwest Government Services as winners of Networx Enterprise, a contract for providing advanced telecom services to federal agencies that's projected to be worth $20 billion.

Networx Universal covers conventional, existing, and legacy forms of telecom services, while Networx Enterprise covers alternative sources that could meet government needs for newer technology.