Nextgov

It’s as slow as molasses in Colorado Springs in January. That's a good way to describe the progress of the Air Force Space Command’s $800 million Uniform Communications (Uni-Comm) information technology services contract. The contract â€" once awarded â€" will provide a single network for 40,000 personnel at Los Angeles and Vandenberg Air Force bases in California, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, and Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases in Colorado. Besides voice, video and data networks, the Uni-Comm contract also calls for operation of base land mobile radio systems.

Uni-Comm was originally hatched in December 2005, with a request for proposals slated for this summer and an award date planned by Oct. 1.

But summer is almost over, and the Colorado Springs-based Space Command said Aug. 10 that it does not anticipate issuing the RFP until early or mid-September. The command gave no deadline for awarding the contract.

The Uni-Comm contract, which some vendors view as a Naval Marine Corps Intranet for Space Command, has attracted interest from a wide pool of bidders, including integrators such as CSC, EDS, Lockheed Martin and communications companies such as the federal business unit of Verizon Business.

They probably hope they do not have to wait another two years for the Air Force to award the contract.