CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Cooperative Procurement 21-343, Cellular Phone Services, to Verizon Wireless for an amount not to exceed $278,000 and for a one-year term
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DEPARTMENT: Information Technology
SUBMITTED BY: Jacqueline Nguyen, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
Certain staff positions are assigned mobile phones for communications with each other, the mayor and City Council, while in the field, and with outside contractors.
Systems using wireless technology help ambulance personnel transmit data to the hospital while they are in route with patients and smartphones allow personnel to interact with the City’s computer network to remotely monitor water, sewer, and electric services remotely 24 hours a day.
The City began using a State of Illinois cooperative contract with Verizon Wireless for cellular phone services in 2012 after the City experienced network and equipment failures with the previous provider. The contracted services include voice, text, and data as well as a smartphone for each user. The cost of the smartphone is included in the monthly costs and is available for upgrade every ten months.
Verizon, the current wireless cellular phone services vendor, has provided excellent service with minimal problems. To reduce cost, the Information Technology (IT) Department continues to evaluate any new pricing plans and monitors the City’s account activity to ensure devices are assigned to appropriate staff.
DISCUSSION:
The cellular voice and data service provider market is very competitive. Service providers offer plans and promotions that change regularly and can contain complex terms and conditions.
Other vendors have been aggressive in pursuing the City’s mobile voice and data business. In early summer 2021, and in preparation for the current award, IT staff began drive-test evaluations of Verizon, AT&T, FirstNet, and T-Mobile network performance. Staff also conducted evaluations of the various promotional plans and cooperative contracts with associated terms and conditions.
The IT Department has not identified an alternative that is materially better in performance and total life cycle cost. Additionally, new projects on the horizon such as body worn camera and updates and changes to the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system may bring new cellular service voice and data requirements that will need to be incorporated into the evaluation of cellular service provider offerings.
Staff recommends continuing the current service with Verizon for the one-year term and, at a later date, evaluating service providers against the existing and future cellular voice and data requirements of the City.
The terms of the current state contract with Verizon, CMS793372P, allows the City to terminate service at any time without penalty and expires October 2022. It is worth noting that the cost and work effort of switching service providers is significant and needs to be evaluated along with performance, quality of service and subscription cost.
The term of the Naperville contract will be one year from October 3, 2021 through October 2, 2022, with two, one-year options to extend when the state renews their contract or a more robust solution is determined.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP #: N/A
Cellular Phone service is expensed to the account numbers listed below for the citywide phones and associated lines for the Police Departments’ Special Operations Group. A combined total of $332,00 is budgeted in FY2021, of which $169,375 has been expended. A total of $302,577 has been submitted as a part of the FY2022 budget submission.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
2022 Proposed |
|
16101100-542415 |
General Fund |
$ 532,700 |
$410,499 |
|
21103400-542415 |
State Forfeiture Fund |
$ 25,000 |
$ 25,000 |