[FedCom] DHS' $3 Billion TacCom Contract Slow To Connect

[bernieS]

http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/dhs-3-billion-taccom-contract-slow-to-connect/c900369b758d79c68406d187557ac2f7.html

"In a report released in November 2012, a DHS IG survey of radio 
users found that only one out of 479 surveyed could access and 
communicate on a designated common channel for the department. In 
addition, only 20 percent of radios tested by the IG office were 
programmed to reach the common channel."

(Apparently the Department of Homeland Security, at the behest of the 
U.S. Secret Service, throwing $3,000,000,000.00 [3 BILLION] for 
improving tactical communications and interoperability, isn't nearly 
enough money!)

-bernieS



DHS' $3 Billion TacCom Contract Slow To Connect

By: Mickey McCarter

07/01/2013 (10:07am)

The Department of Homeland Security in April awarded 30 companies 
seats on its $3 billion, five-year Tactical Communications (TacCom) 
contract. But agencies have been slow to use it to advance their 
interoperability goals, leading to criticism from the DHS inspector 
general (IG) and disappointment throughout industry.

In a report released in November 2012, a DHS IG survey of radio users 
found that only one out of 479 surveyed could access and communicate 
on a designated common channel for the department. In addition, only 
20 percent of radios tested by the IG office were programmed to reach 
the common channel.

DHS agencies can use the TacCom contract to save money through 
consolidated purchasing and also to meet their strategic goals. But 
the program is just now starting to pick up steam, said Steve 
Nichols, director of business development for public safety and 
homeland security at Thales Communications Inc., Clarksburg, Md.

"They wanted competitive pricing and they wanted to have a single 
contract where they could put together some large quantity 
requirements. And they wanted a contract vehicle that covers the 
waterfront for Project 25 land mobile radio equipment that is 
interoperable and has bay stations, repeaters, mobiles, and portable 
system elements, [as well as] the services that support them," 
Nichols told Homeland Security Today.

And that's where the TacCom contract vehicle was supposed to come 
into play. By consolidating the purchasing of tactical communications 
systems through one contract, DHS would avoid having to incur the 
costs of administering dozens of separate contracts for the 22 
component agencies that make up the department.

"In general, the train is really just starting to leave the station 
on that," said Nichols. "The first year, we didn't see a lot. It had 
as much to do with government budget shortfalls as anything. We are 
predicting a much better year this year on it," Nichols said.

Large companies

One of the few companies to receive awards in all five technical 
areas was Motorola Solutions Inc., Schaumburg, Ill. George Boinis, 
the federal TacCom sales manager at Motorola Solutions, expressed 
confidence that the TacCom contract would help DHS agencies get their 
communications in order.

Boinis praised the terms of the TacCom contract as good for DHS and 
good for business.

"They establish technology-neutral requirements when they put out the 
task orders. That allows vendors to be creative in terms of what they 
are going to respond to," Boinis told Homeland Security Today.

"Although this contract was led by Secret Service personnel, all the 
individual task orders are done at the buying agency level," said 
Boinis. "The individual agencies have maximum flexibility and control 
to write their requirements and award contracts. So they don't have 
someone doing that for them. That's always a big plus. We have seen a 
lot of contracts that don't work because they have centralized 
control rather than decentralized control."

TacCom also makes it easy for DHS agencies to obtain the latest 
technology upgrades, Boinis said.

"They have allowed technology refresh and insertion to be automatic," 
Boinis said. "Under historical contracts, you submit a modification 
request and it's approved. But with the way they set this up, 
technology refresh is automatically inserted in the contract. That's 
a good thing for both parties, government and business."

As for Motorola, it offers a wide variety of products and services 
under TacCom.

"We are pretty excited about this contract. It gives us an 
opportunity to showcase our total solutions capability," Boinis said. 
"To us, a contract like this is not just one of many contracts we 
have or a sideline or an auxiliary business. Tactical communications 
is what we do; it's what defines this company; it's in our DNA."

Motorola offers about 19,000 individual line items in the TacCom 
contract across 75 labor categories, enabling it to provide 
customized solutions for any tactical communications challenge, 
Boinis said. TacCom customers can shop those products and services 
through a secure TacCom-specific Web portal.

Boinis highlighted several solutions that provided a particularly 
good fit for DHS under the contract.

The Motorola Solutions Assured Mobile Environment (AME) addresses 
mobility challenges for security-minded customers, particularly those 
using smartphones, Boinis said.

The AME platform has a solution geared specifically for smartphones 
that operates on the global GSM communications architecture. To 
support smartphone security, Motorola Solutions teamed up with 
Motorola Mobility Inc., now a separate company in Libertyville, Ill., 
to introduce a Security Enhanced Android phone. Equipped with AME, 
the Android phone ensures data encryption at a high level.

Motorola also offers TacCom remote device management capabilities for 
mobile devices through its Mobility Services Platform. And, of 
course, Motorola also developed a line of multiband radios for first 
responders. The Motorola APX band of multiband radios are secure and 
rugged and also have internal GPS tracking and priority 
communications alerts along with noise-canceling microphones that 
make it easier to talk in windy or otherwise noisy conditions.

The APX radios also provide users with the unique capability to 
monitor pre-designated channels across two different frequency bands. 
A user can choose two bands and monitor each through one radio, 
easing interoperable communications for DHS components that must talk 
to state and local agencies.

  Small business

Relm Wireless Corp., West Melbourne, Fla., has been developing an 
innovative line of products to challenge market leaders like 
Motorola. The 65-year-old small business is completely dedicated and 
focused on mission critical APCO P25 digital interoperable 
communications, said David Story, CEO of Relm Wireless.

The APCO Project 25 (P25) standard, which requires interoperability 
among compliant equipment regardless of the manufacturer, was 
established by the Association of Public-Safety Communications 
Officials and is approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The company's legacy line of products, called the D-series, is 
popular with agencies like the National Park Service and others at 
the Department of Interior, as well as firefighters at the US Forest 
Service, Storey said. The National Interagency Fire Center has a 
cache of more than 8,000 of the radios.

But Relm Wireless has also seen a steady migration toward its newer 
digital KNG Series of radios. Developed internally, the KNG line 
encompasses products that operate in all the major frequency bands 
utilized by public safety professionals, including VHF, UHF and 700MHz-800MHz.

"There are more than 103 products, and there are still more being 
developed. They are very software-rich and capable," said Storey. 
Relm is also involved in P25 trunking -- the process of sharing a 
limited number of frequencies among a large number of users. "We 
believe that technology can broaden our horizons and give us more 
capability to capture more of the market share," Storey said.

There is a lot of room for Relm Wireless to grow. Motorola captures 
about $7 billion annually in radio communications business, while 
Relm Wireless comes in at about $27.5 million, Storey said.

Relm Wireless went the extra mile to make their systems compatible 
with all competitors' infrastructure by making them adhere to the 
requirements set in the DHS Responder Knowledge Database, Storey said.

"We have a product that is smaller and lighter with world-class RF 
specs," Storey said. "It's got all sorts of other benefits like 
longer talk time because of the engine we have. Digital technology, 
as you know from simply using your cell phone, consumes a lot of 
energy. Our designs are energy efficient, and it has nothing to do 
with the battery."

So Relm Wireless has the capabilities, and now it would like to see 
more opportunities, Storey acknowledged. The TacCom contract has been 
a bit disappointing because it has been underutilized with only an 
estimated $44 million in business in 2012. And too much of that 
limited purchasing activity has gone to big business, he said.

"This is a big omnibus contracting vehicle. It was meant to level the 
playing field. It was meant to add in more diversity. It was to 
stimulate small business participation," Storey said. "Honestly, I'm 
disappointed by what has been produced by it so far."

For Story, DHS' tendency to stick with Motorola feels like the 
government is ignoring the "whole spirit" of APCO P-25 digital 
communication. "This whole protocol is about enabling a common 
protocol so that you can buy many different radios and they all work 
together. This was driven by the US government," he said. "It was 
created by the market leader; it was driven by the US government, and 
Relm is totally committed to it."

Analysis

As Storey noted, business under TacCom has been slow to date. But the 
pace may now be starting to pick up. The only question is whether or 
not small business innovators like Relm and others will get a seat at 
the table.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for example, placed a $45 
million TacCom order with Harris Corp., West Melbourne, Fla., on May 
13, tasking it and partner Computer Sciences Corp. (along with other 
teammates) with providing technical support to 15,000 law enforcement agents.

"Harris and its teammates will sustain legacy systems and provide 
cost-effective, interoperable services for those who depend on 
reliable communications," said Wayne Lucernoni, president of Harris 
IT Services, in a statement. "Tactical communications systems must 
integrate seamlessly to support essential operations, and we are 
committed to helping our first responders to exchange real-time 
intelligence in support of our nation's security."

Of course, Harris Corp. also is a large business with TacCom seats in 
all five technical categories of the contract. So there's plenty of 
opportunity still for DHS to realize Storey's vision for greater 
small business participation under TacCom.