Level 3 is negotiating with GSA to offer MTIPS services, but spokesman Skip Thurman says he'd like to see more information from OMB about how the TIC initiative will change under the Obama Administration.

"Last year, a number of agencies were approved by OMB to self provide a TIC compliant solution," Thurman says. "This information has not been generally released, so it is unclear for Networx vendors what services should be discussed with what agencies."

Bill White, vice president of federal programs at Sprint, says he expects to have MTIPS services available to federal agencies within 120 days.

"We're going through the internal processes of building the solution and working with the GSA and the DHS and an outside party to get our MTIPS solution environment certified and accredited," White says.

White says it will be less expensive for federal agencies to buy bundled MTIPS services from a carrier than to build comparable cybersecurity capabilities.