Interesting info about WCOM/Kosova...from Federal Computer Week magazine:
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The Defense Department has started to beef up its computer and
communications assets to support tactical and humanitarian operations in and
around Albania, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia, with planning for even more
extensive networks underway to support ground operations in Kosovia, FCW has
learned.......
....a knowledgeable source said any expansion of US military and NATO
networks in Europe would rely heavily on satellite communication,
considering the limited commercial telecommunications infrastructure in the
Balkans.
"Every party provisioning for National Security Emergency Preparedness service
knows it has the highest priority," said Diana Gowen, executive director for
DOD and national infrastructure programs at MCI Worldcom. "If we need a
local loop, Bell Atlantic has to provide it within 24 hours and if we need a
satellite circuit, Communications Satellite Corp. has to provide that
within24 hours."
MCI Worldcom also received an order last week from the Army Air Force
Exchange Service to provide pay telephone service to US troops in Albania
and expects to turn it on this week, Gowen said.
......the Army already has started evaluating its computer needs for any
expanded operation in the Balkans....the Army Small Computer Program at
Fort Monmouth, NJ, has received "informal inquiries on our ability to supply
on short notice anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 laptops." |
