Verizon scored a ten-year, $176 million contract to provide the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with emergency telecommunications and prioritised wireless services, the operator’s latest win with government agencies. 

The operator announced Verizon Business will work with the DHS’ Emergency Communications Division and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to provide services.

Verizon stated the contract was first awarded in 1993 and positions it as a strategic partner in helping the DHS improve mission-critical communication systems for national security and emergency preparedness efforts.

Emergency personnel from federal, state and local public safety agencies can also access the operator’s priority services through Verizon Frontline, its network for first responders.

A representative told Mobile World Live Verizon Frontline assets include generator-powered cell sites which can replace or enhance network coverage and capacity in a given area, along with drones and a fixed-wing aircraft for aerial support. 

Verizon also uses 200 satellite-based portable network assets to connect cell sites to the rest of the network if a fibre connection is lost.

In May, Verizon was awarded a ten-year contract to provide the US Navy with a range of wireless services and devices.

In December 2023, it bagged a $15 million contract to modernise data services and provide new voice technologies for the US Navy and, in 2022, a contract worth nearly $1 billion from the Department of Defence.