The General Services Administration has asked nine contractors for advice on how to offer software-defined wide-area network services to agencies through the $50B Enterprise Infrastructure Services telecommunications contract, FCW reported Monday.
“SD-WAN services are being requested and proposed under EIS using existing contract services such as Managed Network Services, Transport Services and Service-Related Equipment,” a spokesperson for GSA told the publication in a statement Friday.
The spokesperson added that the EIS team has sought and received feedback from all prime contractors and a subcontractor with regard to the SD-WAN broadband services and is in the process of reviewing the comments.
Jim Russo, telecommunications manager for EIS solutions development at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, sent a letter to EIS suppliers to ask specific questions about SD-WAN, including standard pricing models for the capabilities and the services’ effect on overall client spending compared with conventional WAN services.