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The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA (News - Alert)) has announced solicitations for the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract, the massive telecommunications overhaul that seeks to draw more competition and business into the marketplace.

FedScoop’s Billy Mitchell writes that the EIS contract vehicle will replace the Networx vehicle and expand its offerings with cloud, voice, video and other products and services.

GSA issued the EIS pre-solicitation notice in September, the report said.

Mary Davie, an assistant commissioner in the GSA’s Office of Integrated Services, took to Twitter (News - Alert) to alert the masses that the RFP was due to drop this month.

“We are planning to release the #EIS solicitation on Oct. 16,” the tweet said.

The RFP will bring relief to federal CIOs and technology decision-makers by creating a set of contracts that will simplify the purchasing of network-related services. GSA’s strategy promotes competition, which ultimately keeps prices competitive for agency customers.

“That is what GSA does best. It creates a flexible market purchasing environment for agencies that caters to their needs with the implicit acknowledgment that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to complex government technology requirements,” according to federal technology business website FCW.

We’ve learned about the benefits of better telecom competition on the residential and business side of things. Congress made a clear choice to prefer competition over regulation when it enacted the Telecommunications Act of 1996, whose stated goal was "to provide for a pro-competitive, de-regulatory national policy framework designed to accelerate rapidly private sector deployment of advanced information technologies and services to all Americans by opening all telecommunications markets to competition."

Investment in telecommunications is a necessary step for communities for business growth. With so many areas in the U.S. lacking in broadband, firms are answering the call by investing in the necessary infrastructure. It makes sense that government agencies should have the same benefits.

Federal departments and agencies recognize the need for advanced communication solutions, so the need to simplify the purchasing process can help ensure reliable, secure networks, control costs, streamline processes, and empower mission-critical applications.

Understanding the network service needs of federal agencies has been no easy task, but this step of the GSA will give said agencies flexibility and ease when it comes to obtaining better, more updated systems.