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T-Mobile US joins suppliers on $2.7B DoD contract for next-gen comms services

Expansive Spiral 4 program to boost capabilities with cutting-edge tech

Dan Robinson Fri 14 Jun 2024  //  17:26 UTC

T-Mobile US was this week picked as a wireless provider by the Department of Defense to supply telecoms services and equipment for the US Navy as part of a ten-year contract worth $2.67 billion in total.

The Spiral 4 agreement is the latest iteration of a wireless and telecommunications services framework commissioned by the DoD to provide communications for services personnel and civilian employees.

However, the contract is not limited to T-Mo, and in fact all of the "big three" US carriers, including AT&T and Verizon, have also been selected for the Spiral 4 program, clearing the way for DoD agencies to place orders for their wireless services and kit over the next decade.

T-Mobile expects defense customers to use its 5G network – and later on space connectivity services – to meet the "evolving" requirements of government ops, as the multiple-award contract includes voice, data, fixed wireless, Internet of Things, and mobility management solutions.

In future, government agencies will also be able to buy comms services from T-Mobile via the Starlink satellite network.

According to Verizon, Spiral 4 includes the DoD more broadly than its predecessor, which was focused on the Department of the Navy (DoN). However, the Office of the Secretary of Defense's previous mandate for the Department of Defense to use Spiral 3 will carry over to the new contract, it said.

Spiral 4 also incorporates improvements in industry standards, advances in technology, and more competitive pricing plans, Verizon claimed.

"Verizon's inclusion in Spiral 4 represents our understanding of the DoN's sophisticated demands for mission critical communications, developed through our history of digital modernization partnership with federal agencies including on Spiral 3," said David Rouse, Verizon's head of defense portfolio.

According to government-watching site Washington Technology, seven companies were awarded positions on the Spiral 4 contract, with the other four being MetTel, Hughes Network Systems, Real Mobile, and WidePoint.

It said that the predecessor, the Spiral 3 contract, had a scheduled completion date of June 2 and saw $993 million in obligations go through it, with AT&T being the largest recipient, pulling in $406.9 million of that. ®
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