GTE Awarded $110 Million Contract for Pentagon Information-technology Renovation.

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1998--GTE announced today that it was selected to renovate the information technology and telecommunications infrastructure at the Pentagon, one of the world's largest office buildings.

The renovation contract, officially known as the Above-Ground Telecommunications Backbone (ATB) program, was awarded by the Defense Supply Service Washington on behalf of the Dept. of the Army's Information Management and Telecommunications (IM&T) project management office. The contract is valued at approximately $110 million over ten years.

Through this program, GTE and its team of subcontractors will design, engineer, test, install, document and continuously refresh a totally integrated information-management and telecommunications backbone system and infrastructure in the Pentagon. The ATB will satisfy the Pentagon's voice, video and data communications requirements, both unclassified and classified, into the 21st century.

When completed, the ATB will support the telephone, computer, fax, video and data communications needs of approximately 24,000 users in the Pentagon. Comprising nearly 135,000 individual service 'drops' (e.g., jacks in the walls to which computers, phones and other electronic instruments will be connected) throughout the five above-ground floors of the Pentagon building, the new backbone will replace more than 100,000 miles of cabling installed in the building since 1943. The ATB will be installed in five, two-year phases as sections of the Pentagon called 'wedges' are demolished and reconstructed from the inside out.

Thomas W. Muldoon, president of GTE's Government Systems business unit, said, "The Pentagon ATB program is the one of the most important information and telecommunications projects anywhere in the world, and we intend to make it a model for large scale systems of the future."

Richard Perreault, GTE Government Systems vice president and program manager for the contract, said, "This win is the culmination of nearly three years of effort by some of the most talented engineers, planners and telecommunications experts in the industry. We are proud to have been selected as the Defense Department's partner on this effort and intend to do our best to exceed their expectations on every level over the next 10 years."

In addition to the Pentagon ATB program, GTE is an information technology/ telecommunications infrastructure contractor with several of the individual services within the Defense Department, and the General Services Administration. Other GTE infrastructure programs include the U.S. Army's Outside Cable Rehabilitation (OSCAR II), Major Command Telecommunications Modernization (MTMP) and Long-Term Life Cycle Support (LTLCS) programs; the U.S. Air Force's Worldwide Integrated Digital Telecommunications Systems (WIDTS) and Regional Distribution System (RDS) programs; the U.S. Navy's Voice, Video and Data (ViViD) contract for upgrading the telecommunications infrastructure at Navy bases around the world; and the General Services Administration's Wire and Cable Systems (GSA WACS) program.

GTE's team on the project comprises eleven other companies, including Advanced Systems Development, Inc., Arlington, Va.; Artel, Inc., Reston, Va.; Global Management Systems, Inc., Bethesda, Md.; Henkels & McCoy, Inc., Lorton, Va.; ITEQ, Silver Spring, Md.; J.G. Van Dyke & Associates, Bethesda, Md.; Lightwave Spectrum, Inc., Chantilly, Va.; NCI Information Systems, McLean, Va.; SIGCOM, Greensboro, N.C.; SRA International, Inc., Fairfax, Va.; and Sytel, Inc., Bethesda, Md. The two major electronic equipment suppliers on the contract are Fore Systems, Inc., of Warrendale, Pa., and Cabletron Systems, of Rochester, N.H.

With 1997 revenues of more than $23 billion, GTE is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and a leading provider of integrated telecommunications services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 17 states; nationwide long-distance and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies. GTE is also a leader in government and defense communications systems and equipment, directories and telecommunications-based information services.

Note to Editors: An exterior photograph of the Pentagon is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/Apr1998/DF-ST-87-06962.html. Historical background information (capacities, construction details, facilities) about the Pentagon is also available at http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pentagon/index.html

CONTACT: GTE

Rob Doolittle, 703/818-5409

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