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Challenge
Increasing demands for data sharing and heightened network security requirements drove the decision for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to modernize its voice and data networks and to create the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) Program in 2002. Under the FTI contract, Harris Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD) partnered with Sprint consolidated multiple, existing networks into a single, new FAA Operations network.
With this transition underway, the FAA outlined additional requirements to consolidate various administrative networks into one that was both secure and physically separate from the Mission Operations network. These new conditions eliminated traditional Sprint network options, as the legacy backbone either touched the public Internet or carried existing FAA NAS (National Airspace) traffic.
Mission Support success depended on the cooperation of Harris, Sprint, and the incumbent managed services provider. Not only did FAA require that the team meet aggressive schedule objectives, it had to do so seamlessly.
Harris leveraged the FTI partnership with Sprint to introduce Sprint's Peerless IP Network (PIP) as the flexible, turn-key solution to modernize network equipment and upgrade Mission Support service to almost 1,000 FAA sites. PIP incorporates the flexibility of native IP service without connecting through the public Internet or mingling with FAA NAS traffic, to provide the necessary network security and diversity. With Sprint's Peerless IP backbone, the FAA benefits from a network that delivers performance and security. While the Peerless IP backbone leverages the same native IP architecture as Sprint's global IP backbone, it has the distinction of being completely segmented from the public Internet. Beyond the Peerless IP technology, the Sprint portfolio offered technical, management, and maintenance expertise to achieve cost-effectively FAA and Harris transition targets. Sprint's Managed Network Services (MNS) augmented Harris' team by providing a temporary dedicated staff, scaled in size to configure, dispatch, and install equipment as the 12-month implementation demanded. To ensure ongoing operational effectiveness, Sprint's nationwide CPE organization assumed on-site equipment maintenance responsibilities.
Sprint's Peerless IP Network fits the inherent security and privacy needs of the FAA, while the Sprint portfolio offers a variety of complementary services for Mission Support on a wider scale. In support of an increasingly mobile workforce, remote access options have expanded to include both Sprint Dial IP and Sprint PCS Connection CardsTM featuring its EVDO high speed data network. Sprint's national presence combined with its product, service, and staffing options, gave the FAA and Harris the flexibility they needed to create and implement a network that met precisely all requirements.
The Harris Corporation is a technology powerhouse that works within both the commercial and government sectors to provide product, system and service solutions. The company's four divisions serve markets for microwave, broadcast, secure tactical radio and government communications systems.
With over 12,500 employees, including 5,000 engineers and scientists, Harris Corporation has called on Sprint to help provide the FAA with communications services such as traditional transport, Peerless IP, wireless, and traditional hardware.
For more information about the Harris Corporation visit: www.harris.com
The customized Sprint solution made a difference on a number of levels to both Harris and the FAA. Harris used Sprint MNS implementation services and avoided costly investments to establish and to deploy staff and network equipment. Also, a secure and private infrastructure could be leveraged. Data was protected with the most up-to-date encryption methods for secure tunneling which never crosses the public Internet. Lastly, the flexibility and customization were built so that the network can evolve with the FAA's requirements.
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