Fort Wayne bidding process met with controversy

Deltek Analyst Joanna Salini reports.

Proposals were received from several agencies in response to Fort Wayne, Indiana’s solicitation for a new emergency communications system for its police, fire, and paramedics agencies. After the bidding process was complete, Motorola was found to have submitted the only complete bid for the system.

The city of Fort Wayne along with Allen County encompass the Multi-Agency Communications Partnership (MACP) responsible for releasing the request for proposals (RFP) that has created backlash from participating vendors, most notably Raytheon.

Raytheon Network Centric Systems submitted a letter on October 26 claiming Fort Wayne’s bidding process was unfair, not subject to competition, and that the specifications were biased and catered toward Motorola. The core of the argument comes from the need for compatibility between the requested P25 radio system and the current SmartNet system provided by Motorola. The county’s SmartNet system is an 800MHz trunked radio system used by all public service entities. The specifications for the new radio system required interoperability and full integration with the existing Motorola SmartNet system, but the city stated it is willing to consider other solutions.

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