FBI scuttles contested $500 million, no-bid deal with Motorola

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/08/24/237507/fbi-scuttles-contested-500-million.html?sp=/99/200/111/



Some of the different radio systems available to public safety agencies on November 30, 2013.

FBI scuttles contested $500 million, no-bid deal with Motorola
By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Washington Bureau
August 24, 2014

WASHINGTON — In the face of multiple vendor protests, the FBI has cancelled plans to hand industry giant Motorola Solutions Inc. a sole-source contract worth up to $500 million, saying that it will reassess how to upgrade the bureau’s antiquated nationwide two-way radio network.

The FBI had argued, in a justification for skirting competitive bidding requirements, that switching to another vendor would force the purchase of a complete new system costing $1.2 billion. The existing Motorola network has proprietary features that can’t interact with non-Motorola equipment, so the FBI said sticking with Motorola would extend the use of equipment worth $300 million.

However, the bureau proposal in July was met by three formal protests to the Government Accountability Office, which adjudicates such cases, led by a small Florida radio manufacturer, RELM Wireless Corp. Ken Klyberg, RELM’s senior vice president for sales, said at the time that the industry’s adoption of uniform design standards for radios had ensured that other brands could connect to a Motorola system.

Klyberg said his Florida-based firm sells walkie-talkies meeting the same contract specifications as Motorola’s for about $1,700, compared with Illinois-based Motorola’s average price of about $4,200.

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Walkie-talkies cost $4,200 ?? Who knew ? nt