Found on Scan-L approx 6 May 00

Thanks to Wes,  ExLngHrn@aol.com for finding this article on  the web first.

Austin picks Motorola radio system - By Jason Spencer - American-Statesman Staff - Friday, May 5, 2000

After nearly two years of secretive deliberations, the City of Austin will begin negotiating next week with Motorola Corp. to build a $70 million digital radio system -- pending City Council approval.

The radios will, for the first time, link patrol cars, ambulances, fire trucks, buses and government-owned vehicles across Austin and Travis County.

For police, who deal with everything from natural disasters to minor wrecks, the benefits of better communication are obvious, said Bruce Mills, assistant chief of the Austin Police Department. For example, police dispatchers would no longer have to relay messages among different departments, costing valuable time in crisis situations, he said.

"A radio is probably the most important piece of equipment a police department has," said Mills, a member of the team that evaluated bids for the project. "The radio is the life blood for those officers."

On Thursday, the City Council will be asked to allow the selection team to negotiate a contract with Motorola, according to sources close to the project. Once a contract is signed, the radio system could be installed in 1 1/2 to two years.

In a series of private meetings with the bid committee, Motorola touted its extensive experience in installing large-scale, public safety radio systems around the world, according to the company. Communication with fast-growing Williamson County, which recently installed a Motorola system, would be simple.

Motorola plans to rely heavily on area labor to build the new radios, spokeswoman Patricia Sturmon said. Semiconductors will be built by Motorola's 10,000 Austin-area workers, she said, and Dell Computer Corp. will supply computers for radio dispatchers.

Com-net Ericsson, the other company that bid on the project, pushed its product as a more easily upgraded radio system with convenient tie-ins to other Ericsson users along the Interstate 35 corridor, including San Antonio, the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bell County.

Regardless of which company was chosen, the radio system will be the largest expenditure in Austin history for a non-construction project.

Austin voters approved $38 million in bonds in 1997 to pay for the city's share of the emergency radio system. The idea was to have it running last year, but the project was delayed by personnel changes on the bid evaluation team and logistical problems that came with coordinating 13 governmental bodies, according to those involved in the project.

The new radios can transmit a higher volume of calls, replacing an 18-year-old Motorola system strained by growth in a region with few available radio channels. Its weak radio signals have trouble penetrating some buildings or reaching newly annexed areas of the city.

If negotiations are successful, Motorola would install about 10,000 new radios in buildings and vehicles belonging to Austin, Travis County, Capital Metro, the University of Texas, Austin Community College, Pflugerville, the Austin school district, the Capital Area Planning Council, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Legislative Council and West Lake Hills.

Those entities also must approve the deal and are not bound by the city's decision. Austin, Travis County and Capital Metro would use 90 percent of the radio system, said Pete Collins, the city's project director.

The bid evaluation team includes representatives of all 13 entities. The city has kept identities of the team a closely guarded secret, fearing that the publicity could leave committee members open to bribery or lobbying by Motorola and Ericsson. This despite both companies signing agreements promising not to lobby the committee members.

Had the bid committee chosen Ericsson, the coalition members could have seen immediate radio relief by tying into the Ericsson-built LCRA radio network, according to David Cerqua, the company's area director.

Going with Ericsson also would have helped create a radio corridor through Central Texas along Interstate 35, Cerqua said. All Bell County law enforcement agencies use Ericsson systems, as do San Marcos police, he said. In August, Ericsson beat out Motorola to build San Antonio and Bexar County's $44.4 million radio system.

You may contact Jason Spencer at jspencer@statesman.com or 445-3605.