The NTIA met with the National Governor's Association to caution the 21 jurisdictions that have been granted 700 MHz waivers by the FCC to consider stopping their work to ensure resources are being used wisely while the nationwide network is deployed.
One such jurisidiction is the San Francisco Bay Area governments that form BayWEB, which is has gotten attention for the funds poured into the no-bid deal with Motorola that went many years with little progress apart from negotiation over price, stumbling over governance and unmet deadlines with uncertain outcomes. The project has been under investigation for perceived improprieties. One of the agencies, Santa Clara County, actually opted out of the Build, Own, Operate and Maintain (BOOM) Agreement offered by BayWEB to its agencies (the County will still consider making sites available for BayWEB equipment).
Late last year in his blog Daryl Jones discussed the $50 million stimulus funds at risk for the struggling system, as well as the fiscal unsustainability of the project.
Hopefully the troubled project will be scrapped before more time and money are spent heading further down a rabbit hole.
To examine the long trail of perceived impropriety, visit Daryl Jones' blog.
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