Digital Government
GBS hits snag
The Defense Department's Global Broadcast Service (GBS), a worldwide network designed to give commanders access to hundreds of channels of intelligence, imagery and live video feeds, has run into hardware and software problems that have delayed deployment of the system by at least three months. Acc
Digital Government
Intercepts
BIG DMS BUCKS. Throwing money at a problem does not always guarantee a cure. Take DISA's muchdelayed Defense Message System which is under development by Lockheed Martin. According to a GAO report released earlier this summer, DISA has spent skads of money but still may fall short of its stated go
Digital Government
DISA launches $4B 'hemispheric' telecom net buy
The Defense Information Systems Agency this month surprised potential bidders for a wideband telecommunications network that would span the Pacific, South America and the Caribbean when it doubled the estimated value of the network from $2 billion to $4 billion. In releasing the request for proposa
Digital Government
Intercepts
MONEY BETS ON THE NAVY. My Ering antenna site has picked up strong signals that Art Money, still awaiting confirmation as ASD/C3I, has tapped Rear Adm. Robert Nutwell, currently the Navy N6, as his new principal assistant for all C4ISR matters, according to one report. Another report says Nutwell
Digital Government
DOD reports more systems need Y2K fix
Amid numerous internal reports that are critical of its management of the Year 2000 problem, the Defense Department last week released a report indicating that it is further behind schedule in fixing computer systems for the millennium than previously reported. In its quarterly Year 2000 progress r
Digital Government
Pentagon taps GTE for telecom pact
GTE Government Systems last week won a 10year, $110 million contract to upgrade the telecommunications system at the Pentagon, providing the Defense Department headquarters with advanced, wideband multimedia technology to manage land, sea and air forces worldwide. Col. Scipio deKanter, the Army's
Digital Government
Cohen: Y2K takes priority
The Defense Department has warned the military services that it will impose a moratorium on all software system modifications in calendar 1999 if necessary to permit all its information technology resources to focus on fixing the Year 2000 millennium bug, according to a memo signed earlier this mon
Digital Government
Intercepts
Y2K SHUFFLE: Deputy CIO Marv Langston has assumed overall managment of Y2K within the Pentagon. This indicates the increased seriousness with which top DOD leaders, including SecDef William Cohen, view the problem. Where does that leave the Pentagon's ''Y2K czar'' Bill Curtis, who reportedly found
Digital Government
Army uses quick-buy method for large satcom pact
The Army's satellite communications program office has embraced the principles of acquisition reform, proving that the same methodology that speeds the purchase of small, lowcost products such as PCs can work with larger, more expensive satellite Earth stations. The Commercial Satcom Terminal Prog
Digital Government
Australian firm eyes DOD telecom pact
In what observers say is a first for the Defense Department, an Australian carrier plans to compete as a prime contractor against large U.S. telecommunications companies for DOD's $2 billion Pacific, South American and Caribbean telecommunications network. Telstra, which is partially owned by the A
Digital Government
House bills take aim at DOD IT programs
When Congress returns to session this September, it will conduct conferences on Defense Department Authorization and Appropriations bills which could realign funding for a number of key DOD information technology programs. This includes a $298.1 million slash in funding in the House Appropriations
Digital Government
War College embarks on 'golden age'
Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski officially took over as president of the Naval War College last month, amid plans to take on new missions to develop warfare concepts and doctrine as well as to place more emphasis on networkcentric warfare. At a changeofcommand ceremony, Adm. Jay Johnson, chief of nav
Digital Government
GPS Plots the Public Sector
During the Age of Exploration, the difference between a good map and a bad one often meant the difference between a successful voyage and ending up feeding the fishes.
Digital Government
DISA unveils new plans for DMS
The Defense Information Systems Agency last week confirmed two changes to the Defense Message System that respond to concerns voiced by the nuclear community and to directions from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to insert commercial products. DISA will operate three Defense Message Transition Centers to
Digital Government
Intercepts
ATM ATTACK. I'm picking up reports of yet another DISA vs. The World turf battle, this one over the agency's desire to install its own ATM switches on Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine bases and stations. This seems a bit redundant because all the services have longrange projects the Army's CUITN
Digital Government
GAO: Rogue networks thwart DISN
The continued operation of separate telecommunications networks by the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and other Defense Department agencies threatens the viability of the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) to provide a global commonuser network for DOD users worldwide, acc
Digital Government
Intercepts
Dumping DISA? My sniffer satellite has picked up a number of signals that Lt. Gen. David Kelley and his crew on Courthouse Road face defections by unhappy customers on both the telecom and data processing sides of DISA's house. I have picked up mediumstrength signals that one of the uniformed serv
Digital Government
Anti-piracy bill threatens security tests
A bill designed primarily to protect digital copyright laws contains a provision that could make illegal the network security testing often used by federal agencies to gauge how safe their networks are from hacker attacks or other unauthorized uses. The legislation, called the Digital Millennium Co
Digital Government
Intercepts
The Interceptor's antennas are folded again this week while he's off taking in the sights in foreign lands. The FCW staff who remain stateside, however, have set up dishes to intercept the latest IT scuttlebutt at DOD and civilian agencies. VIVE NIMA. For weeks, the buzz in geospatial circles has b
Digital Government