Feb 26 2014
Windstream, a leading provider of advanced network communications, was recently awarded a 36-month contract, valued at more than $3 million, by the United States Department of Defense, to supply two U.S. military bases with upgraded fiber networks.
The new fiber connections will provide a faster, more reliable network for both Fort Knox in Louisville, Ky., and Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas, offering four times more bandwidth than their current network. The upgrades to the service will enable Fort Knox and Red River to communicate more efficiently and effectively during day-to-day tasks and mission-critical operations. The bases are in the process of having the service installed.
Fort Knox covers more than 100,000 acres and spans three Kentucky counties. It is the current home of the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence and also includes the United States Army Human Resource Command, United States Army Cadet Command and the United States Army Accessions Command. Red River Army Depot is often recognized as one of the largest ammunition storage facilities for the United States Army, and currently provides maintenance support for MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) and HUMVEEs (high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles).
"Expanding our partnership with the United States government, extending reliable voice, data and network services to even more U.S. military establishments is quite an honor for Windstream," said Matt Preschern, Windstream's senior vice president and enterprise chief marketing officer. "We are proud to provide our servicemen and women with reliable and diverse 'smart solutions, personalized service,' contributing to the success of their missions."
Leveraging Windstream's expansive fiber backbone, Fort Knox and Red River will expand connectivity to additional military bases - Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, Kelly Field Annex in Texas, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio - to create an intra-agency network.
This most recent contract award is the latest in a series of almost 20 similar contracts that Windstream has won over the past three years, as it continues to expand its network directly into military installations across the United States.
"This award is integral to Windstream's strategy of partnering with the Department of Defense and leveraging our significant fiber optic network assets, providing the DoD with physical route diversity and a more robust network than it has had in the past," said Mike Magliato, Windstream's vice president and general manager of government solutions. "By teaming with Windstream, the Department of Defense realizes the benefits of more cost-effective network access, as well as Windstream's expansive product suite and its team of experts, dedicated to the success of all DoD operations and initiatives."