In October 2003, GSA released a RFI describing its initial strategy  for the Networx program. In the RFI, GSA proposed two  acquisitions—Networx Universal and Networx Select. The Universal  acquisition was expected to satisfy requirements for a full range of  national and international network services. In addition, offerors were to  provide these services at all locations across the United States. These contracts were to provide agencies with leading edge services  and solutions with less extensive geographic and service coverage  than that required by Universal. Awards under the Universal and  Select acquisitions were to be staggered; the Select contracts were  to be awarded 9 months after the Universal contracts. In February 2004, we testified on GSA’s initial planning efforts in  support of FTS Networx. After reviewing the RFI and the comments  submitted in response, we identified four major challenges that GSA  was likely to face as it proceeded:  ●  structuring and scheduling the Networx contracts to ensure that  federal agencies have available to them the competitively priced  telecommunications services they need to support their mission  objectives;   initiating the implementation planning actions needed to ensure a  smooth transition from current contracts to Networx;   ●  ensuring that adequate inventory information is available to  planners to provide an informed understanding of  governmentwide requirements; and  ●  establishing measures of success to aid acquisition decision  making and enable effective program management. Instead of having to offer  services in the entire country, service providers need only offer  service where federal offices are located (as well as where the  provider offers the service commercially) to qualify to compete for  the contracts. GSA has also addressed the concern over the time between  contracts, by changing the proposed 9-month lag between the two  types of contracts. GSA currently plans to issue the requests for  proposal (RFP) for both the Universal and the Enterprise contracts  simultaneously. However, GSA has not yet developed procedures to ensure that  lessons from past transitions are applied, nor has it established a  timeline of actions needed during the transition process. GSA Has Developed an Inventory of Current Services, and Has Begun Planning for a More Detailed Inventory

We testified in February that it is important that GSA and its  customer agencies have a clear understanding of agency service  requirements in order to make properly informed acquisition  planning decisions. Second, GSA is planning to work with its  customer agencies to develop more detailed inventories for  transition purposes. According to agency officials, GSA plans to measure its  performance against each of the program’s goals. In addition, GSA has not  developed a strategy outlining how it will use key measures to  monitor ongoing program performance. We therefore  recommend that GSA finalize its efforts to identify measures to  evaluate progress towards program goals and develop a strategy for  using those measures for ongoing program management. In response to industry’s concern about the number of billing  elements, GSA reduced the number of elements required under the  Networx contracts. In response to the concerns about the  accuracy of billing information, GSA plans to introduce service level  agreements with the carriers to hold the carriers accountable for the  accuracy of the billing data they provide. To better  address this challenge, we are recommending that GSA develop and  implement a strategy for addressing the billing data issues raised by  its customer agencies.
Why GAO Did This Study

The General Services Administration (GSA) has begun planning for a governmentwide telecommunications program known as Networx. GSA issued a request for information in October 2003 that proposed two acquisitions: Networx Universal, which was to provide a full range of national and international network services across the United States, and Networx Select, which was to provide agencies with leading-edge services with less extensive geographic coverage. Contracts under the Select acquisition were to be awarded 9 months after the Universal In February, we testified on GSA's initial plans and identified four key challenges GSA faced in ensuring a successful outcome for the program: structure and scheduling, transition planning, service inventories, and performance measures. GAO assessed GSA's progress in addressing the challenges identified as well as GSA's efforts to address long-standing issues related to billing.

What GAO Found

GSA has addressed several of the significant challenges facing the Networx program. Work is either planned or underway on other challenges, but additional efforts will be necessary to fully address them. Specifically, GSA has addressed concerns about the structure and scheduling of the two acquisitions, now known as Universal and Enterprise. Instead of a 9-month lag between acquisitions that might complicate agency decision-making, GSA now plans to issue the requests for proposal (RFP) for the contracts simultaneously. In addition, the Universal contracts will now require that offerors provide services only where federal agencies are located, rather than in the entire country, to allow more potential industry participants to compete--a concern raised in prior comments. GSA has solicited for contractor support to assist with the development of plans to transition to the Networx contracts. However, GSA has not yet developed procedures to ensure that lessons from past transitions are applied, or established a transition strategy. GSA worked with agencies to develop a service-level inventory as input into the requirements for the new contracts. In addition, it plans to work with agencies to build a more detailed inventory of currently-used telecommunications services for use during transition. GSA plans to implement performance measures that evaluate progress against the program's goals. However, some of the measures are still under development, and it does not have a strategy for using the measures to monitor ongoing program performance. GSA has reduced the number of billing elements it will track and has begun a study designed to identify potential improvements in the billing process, but it lacks a strategy for addressing agency concerns about the usability of billing data. Until GSA develops and applies strategies for addressing the outstanding challenges facing Networx, it risks not being able to deliver all of the operations and cost improvements outlined in the program's goals.