Unisys [UIS] on Tuesday said it has received a potential five-year task order from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue technology integration efforts at ports of entry and exit the agency operates in the United States.
A CBP spokesman told Defense Daily on Wednesday that the potential value of the Integrated Traveler Initiatives (ITI) contract is $229.7 million if all options are exercised. The award value for the initial year is $22.7 million. The ITI task order was awarded under the Department of Homeland Security’s EAGLE II contract.
The ITI award is the next iteration of CBP’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and Land Border Integration (LBI) project that Unisys won in 2010.
Under WHTI, CBP has the requirement to validate, using approved documentation, the identity and citizenship of all incoming travelers. CBP awarded Unisys the LBI task order to design, deploy and maintain a number of new operational solutions that leveraged WHTI technology, processes and systems to secure the nation’s ports of entry, including automated license plate reader technology to screen vehicles crossing the border, and radio frequency identification technology to confirm citizenship and identity of travelers with RFID-enabled travel documents.
More recently, Unisys has led integration efforts of biometric-enabled identity solution pilots at some air and land ports of entry and departure to better identify travelers entering and leaving the country.
The CBP spokesman said that under the ITI contract Unisys “will work with CBP to explore and implement new ways to maintain, enhance and refresh existing border security systems as well as develop and deploy new technical solutions to satisfy emerging requirements.”
One of those emerging requirements is a biometric exit solution to verify foreign nationals have departed the U.S. by plane. Earlier this year CBP said it plans to initiate biometric exit procurement in 2017, although whether the agency can hold to that timeline is unclear.
Unisys said that the LBI and ITI programs seek to reduce traveler processing and wait times when crossing the border and to give CBP agents more flexibility through the increased use of mobile devices. The agency is considering innovations such as automated measurement and reporting of commercial vehicle and traveler wait times, the company said.
“Unisys is proud to have CBP’s trust in support of this critical mission, and we are excited for the opportunity to continue providing proven border security technology to CBP and to enhance the country’s border security while increasing efficiency and reducing traveler wait times,” Amy Rall, group vice president for the Department of Homeland Security practice at Unisys Federal, said in a statement. “By taking advantage of advances in biometrics, cyber security and data analytics, CBP can make our borders even safer.”