Department of Defense Buys Communications Services

Your Communication News reports that the US DoD awarded Verizon two contracts for voice an data services. The two contracts are worth a combined $1.2 B; and have the ability to grow as new requirements are generated by the US government. Verizon already has had a contract in the past to provide these types of services. Obviously the US DoD is a huge consumer of such services as they have a host of facilities to connect world wide. With tens of thousands of workers relying on phone and email, as well as things such as video teleconferencing and the internet, to communicate so it is not surprising the contract is so large. Most people think of the defense budget as buying large weapon systems, like ships or tanks. Most of it goes to soft things such as pay, benefits, support services including things like IT, and gas. There are these items in the budget but they make up no more than a third of it.