Legacy systems, urgent deadlines and a blueprint for national transformation
In defense communications, modernization rarely arrives at a convenient moment. But for the National Guard, the clock wasn’t merely ticking it was almost up. A long‑standing legacy network contract was nearing expiration, forcing a decisive choice: renew outdated infrastructure or seize the moment to re‑architect the Guard’s digital backbone for the next decade of mission readiness.
They chose the latter. And that decision set off a complex, high‑stakes overhaul led by MetTel and TekSynap one that now stands as a model for Guard units across the country.
The Expiring Contract That Triggered an Overdue Reckoning
The urgency didn’t begin with a security breach, a performance failure, or a regulatory mandate — it began with a calendar notification.
“The contract expiring really drove this,” says Don Parente, VP of MetTel. “But they were not interested in like‑for‑like because our solution is modern and saved them a lot of money.”
For years, the Guard’s legacy network had remained functional but fundamentally constrained. Bandwidth ceilings limited operational flexibility. Scaling required cumbersome provisioning cycles. And extending connectivity to temporary or remote deployments a hallmark requirement of Guard missions was slow and resource‑intensive.
The contract deadline didn’t just force action; it opened an opportunity to rethink the architecture from the ground up.
“The Guard wasn’t looking for a like‑for‑like replacement — they wanted a leap forward. And that’s exactly what a modern SD‑WAN architecture delivers.”
— Don Parente, VP, MetTel
Why SD‑WAN Became the Clear Modernization Choice
In the landscape of modern networking, several architectures promise next‑generation capabilities. But for a geographically distributed, mission‑critical organization like the National Guard, the choice became surprisingly straightforward.
“SD‑WAN is the best solution for wide‑area networks today because they can leverage all emerging IP‑based network technologies like broadband and LTE,” Parente explains.
SD‑WAN offered something older architectures could never match: the ability to blend diverse connection types into a single, resilient, intelligently managed network.
For Guard units that operate everywhere from urban headquarters to rural emergency sites, that flexibility is no longer optional it’s mission‑essential.
More Bandwidth, More Mobility, More Mission Readiness
The new SD‑WAN network delivers performance improvements that ripple through every layer of Guard operations.
“First, this network provides significantly more bandwidth than they had previously,” Parente notes.
But raw speed isn’t the biggest game‑changer. The architecture itself transforms how quickly and easily new network endpoints can be deployed.
“An SD‑WAN architecture makes it very easy to extend network endpoints to anywhere IP connectivity is available,” he says. “They can deploy temporary networks simply by sending SD‑WAN equipment with LTE or Starlink.”
During natural disasters, mobilization exercises or civil‑support missions, that capability directly translates into faster coordination, more reliable situational awareness, and greater interoperability across agencies.
Joint Responsibilities: How MetTel and TekSynap Pulled It Off
Modernizing a live mission network isn’t a one‑team job especially under time pressure. MetTel and TekSynap split responsibilities with precision.
- MetTel handled design, engineering, and Day 2 operations the long‑term monitoring and optimization crucial to SD‑WAN environments.
- TekSynap provided program management, project management, and implementation support across the full rollout.
It was a partnership model designed not only to build a network but also to sustain it through every mission and every unexpected crisis.
Measurable Gains Without the Traditional Budget Pain
Even in defense modernization, financial efficiency matters. The Guard’s upgrade delivered both performance and savings.
“The Guard is getting significantly more bandwidth for less money,” Parente emphasizes.
The SD‑WAN equipment also arrives preconfigured for redundancy. Units can add failover circuits or additional paths immediately or in the future, depending on mission needs and budget cycles.
It’s modernization without the traditional trade‑off between capability and cost.
A Blueprint Already Spreading Across the Country
One of the strongest validations of the project’s success is its replicability.
“The success in Georgia led to the win in Tennessee,” Parente says. “There’s no reason why this can’t be replicated everywhere.”
The combination of cost savings, rapid deployment, and mission‑ready flexibility makes the architecture highly attractive to other state Guard units. What began as one state’s upgrade is quickly becoming a model others can follow.
The Operational Challenges: Availability, Unknowns, and Constant Adaptation
Upgrading a mission‑critical network while keeping operations live is never simple. The biggest challenge came down to one word:
Availability.
As Parente explains:“In our industry, we do not always know if a circuit is truly available until we order it. Desktop surveys get us close, but often we learn construction is required or in some cases the network is not actually available.”
That meant MetTel’s access‑management team had to scramble, sourcing alternatives through the company’s extensive ecosystem of industry partners. Every obstacle required a fast pivot and every pivot required additional engineering, management, and coordination.
Fortunately, that partner ecosystem proved mission‑critical in its own right.
Interoperability and Future Joint Operations
While the specifics of federal interoperability frameworks weren’t detailed, the SD‑WAN foundation inherently strengthens coordination by:
- standardizing transport across states,
- offering flexible IP‑based connectivity, and
- enabling rapid deployment of interoperable field networks.
In modern multi‑agency operations, those capabilities are a force multiplier.
Lessons Learned: Start With the Hardest Connectivity Challenges
Looking back, one lesson stands out clearly. “The connectivity challenges were significant,” Parente reflects. “Looking at things like Starlink right out of the gate would have made things easier.”
The takeaway is clear for future federal or public‑sector modernization projects: assume that traditional circuits will be unpredictable and build alternative technologies into the plan from day one.
A Network Ready for the Next Mission – Whatever It Is
The National Guard’s modernization illustrates something fundamental: networks are no longer passive infrastructure. They are mission enablers. Their agility, mobility, and resilience determine how fast the Guard can respond, how effectively units coordinate, and how securely information moves across agencies and states.
By moving decisively to SD‑WAN with MetTel and TekSynap, the Guard didn’t simply replace a contract they rewrote the playbook for what a modern defense communications network should look like.
And as more states follow, this model may quietly become one of the most consequential defense technology upgrades of the decade.