(c) 2011 PrattNetworks LLC – Reprinted with permission

StimulatingBroadband.com 11/25/2011 San Francisco – Key documents relating to the controversial $50 million stimulus-funded public safety wireless project called BayWEB demonstrate that the project is at high risk of funding cancellation by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

BayWEB is one of only a handful of 700 MHz LTE public safety regional interoperable wireless systems to be funded to date by the federal government. It is the only such network funded by a federal agency — the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce — under which the grantee is a private sector company rather than a governmental body.

Since the fourth quarter of 2010, the project’s grantee, Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI), and the ever-changing array of public entities slated to benefit from the project have been negotiating to set the equipment pricing, build out scheduling, eventual ownership conditions, operating subscriber costs, and network design topology itself in non-public bilateral negotiations.

In simple terms, the key no-bid procurement contract for a $50 million federal grant-funded model wireless system has been negotiated in secret for a year. StimulatingBroadband.com earlier this week launched its third round of requests, both informal and under provisions of the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to secure the negotiating instruments called the Build, Operate, Own and Maintain Agreement (The BOOM Agreement).

This morning the draft BOOM Agreement dated November 21, and its existing Exhibits were released to this publication pursuant to our CPRA by a county agency which is a public member of the new entity, called BayRICS, which now manages the project along with MSI. The first draft of the BOOM Agreement, dated September 24, 2010 had been previously released by the previously managing public agency, Bay Area UASI, under a CPRA request made by the Office of Mayor Chuck Reed, of the City of San Jose.

The three documents are attached below.

The most recent BOOM Agreement draft demonstrates that the BayWEB project remains at high risk of project cancellation by NTIA, given the scope of critical portions of the contract still under negotiations, and the tight project deadlines required by federal stimulus timelines.

We publish the documents here now, to be followed by our analysis and commentary from public and industry parties to the negotiations. We publish now, given the significant industry concern expressed about the secret negotiations, lack of transparency around the process, and confidential criticism of the negotiations that have reached us from communications agency professionals here in the Bay Area.

BayWEB Draft BOOM Agreement – 11-22-2011

BayWEB Draft BOOM Agreement Exhibits – 11-22-2011

BayWEB Draft BOOM Agreement – 09-24-2010