Don’t be too quick to judge New Hampshire harshly for signing deal with Rivada

By conducting the RFP during the past year, New Hampshire received a high level of attention from five bidders, because the state had the first RFP on the street. If New Hampshire waited until next spring, and some of the most attractive wireless markets were available—think about Washington, D.C., or the states of New York, New Jersey, Texas, Florida and California—it’s hard to imagine any bidder prioritizing New Hampshire, especially when the tight FirstNet timelines mean that resources potentially would be stretched very thin for all involved.

In an ideal world, FirstNet will name its contractor in November, they will deliver state plans in May that are so impressive that governors will accept them gladly, and the FirstNet offerings are so compelling that public-safety agencies clamor for the chance to subscribe as quickly as the system is operational in their areas.

But that may not happen, and the only option for states under the current law is to pursue an opt-out alternative that may not be logistically possible for many, because of the timelines involved. This is why called the opt-out was described as a “false choice” for most states and territory by one governors’ representative testifying before Congress this summer.

By conducting its RFP early, New Hampshire is the one state that is positioned to be able to seriously consider the opt-out alternative, because it has conducted its procurement, has a vendor in place and has a comparison point for its governor (and executive council, which is an interesting wrinkle in the state) when the FirstNet state plan is delivered.

I sincerely hope that New Hampshire officials are telling the truth that there is no prejudgment concerning the opt-out alternative—the FirstNet state plan absolutely deserves full consideration, when it is available. If that is the case, it is hard to criticize state officials for conducting “due diligence” fully and maintaining all available options. In fact, it makes me wonder whether other states will take similar actions.