First Look at FY 2020 - 2022 Federal Mobility Spending Trends

The ability for federal employees to operate from anywhere and at any time to meet mission, while keeping devices and data secure anywhere and at any time, summarizes the federal government’s goals in mobility. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for wireless and mobility solutions. The return to travel in a post-COVID era and the rise of hybrid and remote work continues that need.

Analysis of federal contract obligations identified $9B in mobility-related products and services from FY 2020 and FY 2022, with a steady rise in spending in the three-year period. Government reliance in areas of mobile device management, mobile security, mobile network infrastructure, and 5G prompted the stable spending of mobility solutions during the three years.

Source: Deltek, FPDS

Observations:

• Civilian spending exceeded that of Defense, with a total of $5.2B and 22% increase from FY 2020 - 2022. Defense totaled $3.8B with an 18% decrease from FY 2020 - 2022.
• As expected, COVID-19 related spending decreased from $50M in FY 2020 to $9M in FY 2022. Sample COVID-19 related obligations include:
  • COVID-19 Network Performance Monitoring (NPM) Mobile Test and Measurement Tools (MTMT) at the Air Force
  • Purchase of over 14K handheld mobile devices and related accessories and services to support South Africa's COVID-19 response out of USAID
• Federal agencies spent $2.7B in mobility-related products vs. $6.3B in services over the three-year period
• Device type totals from FY 2020 to 2022 include: Motorola ($273M), Blackberry ($73M), Apple ($66M), Microsoft ($40M) and Samsung ($6M)
• Obligations with the keyword "5G" totaled $143M over the three-year period, increasing 256% from FY 2020 to 2022
• Agencies purchased 62% of FY 2020 - 2022 total mobility-related obligations via federal contract vehicles, led by GSA MAS ($1.3B), SEWP V ($955M), NETWORX ($648M) and SPIRAL 3 ($369M)
• Top companies in federal mobility spending from FY 2020 to 2022 include AT&T ($1.4B), Verizon ($662M), and Raytheon ($587M)

Sources: Deltek, FPDS

Observations:

• Spending at the Air Force peaked at $570M in FY 2020, and includes $24M in COVID-19 related spending
• Top mobility task orders at the VA in the three-year period include wi-fi upgrades at VISNs, mobile device purchases for OIT and the department's EHRM program, and AT&T circuits
• Defense mobility spending peaked at $359M in both FY 2020 and FY 2021, driven by task orders for Airtime contracts, 5G refresh of mobile cellular networks, and support for DARPA's Operational Fires (OPFIRES) program
• Spending under the Department of State jumped from $77M in FY 2020 to $196M in FY 2022 due to increased investment under the CONNECTION II contract for wi-fi installation at foreign posts
• Data services hub task orders made up 22%, or $73M, of the HHS total over the three-year time frame
• Treasury led spending in federal mobile device management-related obligations with $16M over the three-year period