TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all documents necessary with Industrial Networking Solutions for the purchase of cellular Wi-Fi modems in an amount not to exceed $393,900. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On October 4, 2011, the City Council approved allocations of one-time Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) Uplands Oil Fund revenue of $650,000 for Police Department (PD) patrol car technology upgrades and security camera enhancements, and $150,000 for Fire Department (FD) automated vehicle location. This request is to use a portion of these funds to upgrade to 4G cellular Wi-Fi modems in patrol cars to enhance mobile computer performance, and to leverage GPS capabilities in the modems to enable AVL for Fire vehicles. Additionally, the deployment of these modems will position Police and Fire to support the next generation of vehicle computing devices.
Currently, the mobile computers in the Police vehicles are experiencing unacceptable boot up times (averaging between 10 and 15 minutes) due to aging devices and the current modems. TSD, in collaboration with PD, developed a desktop virtualization solution which essentially transfers computing resources away from the desktop to a centralized server in the City’s data center. Installing 4G modems and using virtualization technology will reduce mobile computer boot up time to three minutes. Additionally, the solution will prolong the life of the existing laptops in the vehicles until an appropriate replacement device is selected. Because Technology Services (TSD) provides installation services and ensures network connectivity, the procurement process for the wireless modems was conducted by TSD.
The bid was advertised in the Press-Telegram on April 18, 2012, and 127 potential bidders specializing in technology hardware were notified of the bid opportunity. Of those bidders, 25 downloaded the bid via our electronic bid system. The bid document was made available from the Purchasing Division, located on th...
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