Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Pentagon Cuts Mobile Device Costs By Half

Nextgov: The Pentagon’s phone bills just got a lot cheaper.

The Defense Information Systems Agency slashed the device rates from $7.50 a month per device to $4.30 for smartphones and tablets for used for unclassified purposes. Devices accessing classified networks will soon cost $59 a month, down from $130 a month per device, according to DISA.

A “rapid growth of new users” made the cost cuts possible, Jake Marcellus, Defense Department Mobility program manager, said in a statement. There are now about 100,000 participants in the Pentagon’s Mobility Program, which intends to provide employees with smartphones, tablets and work-related applications—often commercial products repurposed for the government. Fiscal 2017 cost projections had pegged users around 65,000.

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