New York: Answer on M/A-COM expected soon
After receiving a letter from legal representatives of Tyco Electronics M/A-COM last week, the state of New York expects to announce soon its next step in determining the fate of the $2 billion contract with the vendor to build a statewide network, according to the state.
New York Office for Technology spokeswoman Angela Liotta said state officials are reviewing a letter received last week from Tyco. Liotta declined to comment on the content of the letter, but multiple media reports indicate that letter included a threat that the vendor would take legal action if the state opts to end the contractual relationship.
“The state anticipates making a decision in the near future,” Liotta said during an interview with Urgent Communications.
Tyco Electronics declined to comment on the matter.
“We remain ready to hear from the state, as we have since testing concluded last fall,” a Tyco spokesman said during an interview with Urgent Communications.
Liotta said the state’s decision would be based on the results of systems-integration testing in November, the results of which have not been made public. Those tests were conducted on the first phase of the network— covering Erie County and Chautauqua County—two months after the state issued a letter of default to Tyco Electronics that cited 19 deficiencies.
Tyco officials said the vendor addressed 12 of the 19 deficiencies prior to the November testing, noting that the remaining items were not part of the contract for the statewide mobile system.
Under the original schedule, the systems-integration test was supposed to be concluded on Nov. 21. If the results were positive, that test was supposed to be followed by an operational test in which first responders in the region would use the network beginning on Dec. 3. To date, the state has not revealed the results of November tests and no operational testing has been conducted.
If the state does not accept the first phase of the SWN network, it has the right to nix the $2 billion contract and not pay any money to Tyco, which already has spent more than $50 million and secured a $100 million performance bond for the project, which is believed to be the largest LMR contract in U.S. history.
