The Department of Education announced its intent to extend its current contract for mobility services on Monday due to the delay in the Authority to Operate (ATO) process for vendors on the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract.
The limited source justification from the department, which extended its existing mobile device and application management contract with AT&T until September 24, directly cited the delays in EIS ATOs.
“The Department is in the process of procuring these services under PIVOT M off of GSA’s EIS vehicle; however, due to delays in GSA’s EIS ATO certifications, the Department will not be able to make award by the time the current contract expires,” the notice states. The value of the extension was redacted from public documents.
The issue with ATOs for EIS vendors has been a major sticking point for the contract vehicle. GSA extended the lifespan of existing networking contracts until 2023 to facilitate a smooth transition.
However, GSA announced on Monday that two more vendors on the EIS contract have received ATOs under EIS. AT&T and Verizon both completed their security testing and are “fully compliant” with the contract. The announcement comes as agencies look to issue their EIS solicitations by the GSA-imposed deadline of March 31.