Governmentwide Initiatives: Critical Issues Facing the Next Federal Telecommunications System

GAO discussed the General Services Administration's (GSA) and Department of Defense's (DOD) initiative to consolidate the acquisition of telecommunications services for civil and defense agencies. GAO noted that: (1) GSA has improved its overall management of Federal Telecommunications System (FTS) 2000 by providing a central management focus; (2) DOD has adopted a strategy to consolidate and integrate existing networks into a global information network; (3) in early 1994, GSA and DOD formed a committee to determine the extent to which the agencies could consolidate telecommunications acquisitions; (4) the minimization of management and oversight complexity, aggressive competition, and system interoperability are critical to the success of the consolidated acquisition; and (5) the successful consolidation of civil and defense telecommunications acquisitions also requires well-defined management structures, acquisition strategies, and service requirements, as well as maximum planning flexibility.