New York State Wireless- Under the Microscope

The New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has stated that the statewide wireless network will not proceed until the contract terms are met. He has issued a  report that is very critical the incumbent.  The report came out earlier last week stating that the state should not move forward on the $2 billion contract until the requirements were met. The two audits cited major deficiencies , problems and delays. In addition,  within the second audit it is stated that Erie county could save $30 million if they scaled back participation in the network.

On Friday, the state Office of Technology issued a letter of default to the incumbent. This gives the vendor 45 days to fix the remaining problems with the network and certify that it is ready for use. The state can decide at that point if they want to proceed with the network or recoup their costs and move forward. According to the state, the incumbent failed to deliver:

  • Vehicular Repeaters/ VTACs (In building coverage)
  • Gateways to use old legacy systems
  • Unreliable radio equipment
  • Emergency Call/ Priority Status Calls Falling Off
  • Network Performance and Coverage
To date, the state has spent $51.5 million on the contract. The state still envisions that a statewide wireless network is possible and that the administration is committed to interoperability for the first responders. The project office is working on a contingency plan if the incumbent cannot fix the problems.

Why is this interesting?
Well, the during this process the state can look at other options and technologies to see if other systems can be leveraged.

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