More diversity among carriers is another goal for Bradley, since it would increase the likelihood of continued operations through disasters like Katrina.

Concerning CPRS, Beer noted, "It took several years for the leadership to say that it was important and to have enough computers so that everyone could use it."

About 250,000 desktops are connected to the network, said David Cheplick, head of the VA's network control center in Martinsburg, W.Va. The biggest management issue facing the network is maintaining control over the various software development efforts under way throughout the VA system serving various groups of specialists, so management can ensure enough bandwidth for new applications, he said. Currently, they are adding full-fidelity telemedicine (which requires 1.2Mbit/sec. per session, he said) to allow a doctor in one facility to diagnose a patient using another enterprisewide business application, plus security that scans down to the desktops.

Spending on the data infrastructure, from the backbone down to (but not including) the desktops is about US$150 million per year, Cheplick said. Voice services cost about another $100 million, and videoconferencing about another $20 million. He hopes to see these three functions converge over the next decade, although he does not expect that convergence will reduce spending significantly.

In the future, Cheplick also hopes to convert from ATM to Multiprotocol Label Switching for increased bandwidth and better quality-of-service controls.