Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
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- Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
- Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
- Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
- Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
Harris declares plan to protest Florida intent to award large P25 contract to Motorola Solutions
Harris has informed the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) that the land-mobile-radio (LMR) manufacturer plans to protest the state’s recent intent to award Motorola Solution a contract to build a statewide P25 network that is expected to be worth more than $200 million, according to Harris officials.
Last Tuesday, the Florida DMS announced that its selection of Motorola Solutions to build the new statewide P25 system, which would replace the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) that was built and maintained by Florida-based Harris, although the company operated under the M/A-COM and Tyco monikers during the early years of the system.
Max Green, vice president of sales for Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications (PSPC), confirmed that Harris plans to protest the award to Motorola Solutions.
“We already submitted our intent to protest on Friday,” Green said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.
Harris is required to file its formal protest by Monday, March 26, according to Green. After receiving the protest, the state will embark on a “lengthy process” to review the merits of the Harris filing that likely will take several months to complete, he said.
In addition, Green noted that the state needs to determine how to pay for the proposed P25 statewide system.
“There is no money to support this,” in the current state budget, Green said.
Danielle Marcella, senior regional sales manager for Harris PSPC, echoed this sentiment.
“This is really a complicated situation. It’s not as simple as just winning an award,” Marcella said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “Nobody’s really won or lost anything right now—it’s a totally unfunded contract.”
Identifying a funding source for the proposed P25 system will be the responsibility of state lawmakers, most of which will be elected in November. Legislators also will be working with a new governor, as current Gov. Rick Scott is completing his second term in office and is ineligible to run for governor in November.
In its request for proposals (RFP), the state of Florida has structured the contract in manner that required bidders to execute “essentially a forklift of a system that has served the state well for the past 15 years,” Green said. During that period, the SLERS has provided Florida first responders with radio communications during a variety of emergency situations, including 11 hurricanes, he said.
The current SLERS contract is funded by revenues collected from a $1 fee collected from vehicle registrations that generated a total of about $18 million annually in recent years—a figure that does not cover Harris’ costs to own and operate the system, Green said. The proposed P25 system would be more expensive, Green said.
Awarded to M/A-COM in 2001, the SLERS is an 800 MHz proprietary EDACS digital system that provides 98% mobile coverage throughout Florida’s geography, including 25 miles off the state’s coasts, according to Marcella. It also is designed to deliver 95% portable coverage in specified areas of the state—primarily more densely populated areas—and includes a 700 MHz P25 overlay that is used primarily to support communications with public-safety aircraft, she said.
I love how the author is
I love how the author is espousing that first responders are anticipated to flock to firstnet. The good news is most in public safety know better and will not fall for the line of BS and will not trust mission critical communications to a cell phone network and teenager designed cell phone devices. The good news is I was at IWCE this year, and the sediment was pro LMR networks and a whole lot of apprehension about firstnet.. and rightfully so. Firstnet is a data network, plain and simple. It provides nothing more than what is currently available by any cell phone vendor, except that it is funded on the backs of the taxpayers.
“Firstnet is a data network,
“Firstnet is a data network, plain and simple. It provides nothing more than what is currently available ” Oh wow this is fake news! Why are so may LMR techs scared of technological advances?
No one even mentioned the
No one even mentioned the State system used to be a Motorola system and the State threw them out for failure to meet contract obligations and wanting to charge an astronomical amount of money to fix their mistakes.
A lot of this is more about
A lot of this is more about politics than performance!
This is simply turn-about is
This is simply turn-about is fair play. M/A-Com (Now Harris) system was developed as they were building out the state with MANY, MANY do overs. The Simulcast coverage was horrible and interference issues because they all the flux in ownership and little money at the time it was being installed. The state is frustrated from M/A-Com’s original project where they proposed only 137 sites to cover the entire state (mobile coverage to 95%) with some portable coverage in metros. The users should have the most input as to what is needed and not the vendor. I know this to be the case.
Keep in mind because Harris
Keep in mind because Harris has a proprietary system it is not the national standard P-25. That means repalcement radios/equipment can’t be put out to bid. The state MUST buy from Harris because the system is proprietary.
Because of the Harris system
Because of the Harris system in Pa I’m not surprised Flordia is bailing out.
P25, the biggest gravy train
P25, the biggest gravy train in Public Safety going in the western world for the last 10-15 years and unjustifiably so. Look at DMR with it’s thriving app developer community and faster to market movement in terms of innovation and feature development. What’s the latest to come from the P25 standards people? TDMA control channels? From a coverage perspective there is little separating the two technologies yet a belief that only P25 will do for Public Safety. All LMR vendors are shaking in their boots at the prospect of their over priced handset and system business being cannibalised by LTE. It’s simply an evolution to another radio technology, nothing more nothing less. Current issues and roadblocks such as direct mode will be solved because that’s what humans do, they solve problems once they’re fully understood. It’s only a matter of time folks. We should embrace and move unless we’re keen on another Kodak moment.