GIG-BE vendor list includes Sprint, Qwest and more for Juniper

The Defense Information Systems Agency—part of the federal government’s Defense Department—has officially announced its suppliers for the global communications network nicknamed GIG-BE.

For the most part, the announcement is consistent with early reports of GIG-BE contract wins that circulated in September. However, whereas those reports credited Juniper Networks with having won the core IP routing portion of the contract, today’s release shows Juniper will also supply the project’s IP edge routers.

The announcement also reveals other participating suppliers not mentioned in initial reports. For example, the cross-connect solution originally attributed to Sycamore Networks is now attributed to Sycamore and Sprint Communications. The multiservice provisioning platform (MSPP) contract, originally attributed to Cisco Systems, is now attributed to Cisco and Qwest Government Services.

Sprint handled Sycamore’s proposal, according to Tony D'Agata, vice president and general manager for Sprint's Government Systems Division. And when deployment begins (which D’Agata thinks is likely around March), Sprint will perform installation, operation and maintenance of Sycamore’s gear.

“We have a lot of expertise doing business with the government, and Sycamore is really a small company without a government presence at all,” D'Agata said. “Sprint has much more expertise integrating products of this nature in large networks.” The two companies are working together to pursue other government contracts, he added.

The optical digital cross-connect portion of the GIG-BE project is estimated to be worth $75 million to $100 million, but D'Agata would not comment on how Sprint and Sycamore would divide that revenue.

With the help of Science Applications International Corp., DISA reviewed more than 55 proposals in four equipment areas: cross-connects, MSPPs, IP routers and optical transport (won by Ciena). Each vendor is expected to earn between roughly $75 million and $150 million through 2005 for their participation in the project.

According to Lehman Brothers analyst Steven Levy, Juniper routers have already been installed in six trial states, which could bring Juniper $4 million to $6 million in the first quarter of 2004. Other vendors may also report revenue from trial deployments in the first quarter, Levy wrote in a research note this morning.

The GIG-BE network will be used to support the U.S. military in 100 sites around the world.