Modernization initiative

Lumen Wins $1.2B Deal to Modernize USDA’s IT Services

Lumen Technologies announced that the Department of Agriculture has recently awarded the company a task order worth more than $1.2 billion to deliver a fully integrated wide-area data transport service with secure remote access, contact center and cloud connectivity solutions to more than 9,500 locations across the country and abroad.

Through the said deal, nearly 100,000 USDA employees will be able to effectively manage vital farming, food and nutrition, forestry and rural economic development services, Lumen said Thursday.

Zain Ahmed, senior vice president, Lumen public sector, said the company is bringing modern technology solutions that will make it easier for the USDA to accomplish its mission of promoting the production of nutritious food for the people while “providing economic opportunity to rural Americans, and preserving the nation’s natural resources through smart forest and watershed conservation.”

As part of the deal, Lumen said it will use its platform’s edge computing architecture and vast fiber connectivity to help the USDA securely acquire, analyze and act on data closer to where it is collected at the edge of the network, which reduces latency and saves bandwidth.

The company will provide the USDA with a managed network, managed security and voice solutions that support speeds up to 100 gigabits per second.

The 11-year task order, awarded to Lumen under the General Services Administration’s 15-year, $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions program, has an initial term through Sept. 30, 2022, with 10 one-year options.

In December, Lumen won a contract from the military, locking in a $23 million networking deal with the U.S. Army Reserve Command. Under the 11-year task order, Lumen will provide virtual private network services and remote access solutions to more than 650 Army Reserve locations.