Hopefully they will take another look at the solution that Marcus Communications proposed. The Tait system uses EADS servers, which are 100% compliant to P25 standards. They are part of the P25steering committee, and implememt all approved P25 standards into their systems. If there was a lack of compliance in the bidding, it was probably because the other manufacturer had proprietary features in their system and the specifications were written to require those features. The requirement of proprietary features into a system would put into question whether or not the system is truly P25-compliant, possibly putting grant money into jeopardy.
I would also have to question the integrity of the consultant. I saw a bid a few years ago where two Motorola dealers bid the same equipment (exact same model numbers). The consultant overpromised features to the city, and put the bid out with specifications that could not be met by the Motorola radios (Kenwood could have done it though). One of them said they were compliant and lost points for not being compliant. The other (specifying the exact same Motorola model #) said that the radios would not have all of the features requested, and were awarded points, while still not being compliant. Guess which one of those dealers the consultant used to work for.
There are many choices out there for a quality P25 communications system, at many different pricing levels. Some cities also need to check references. I don't know of any city or county that bought a Motorola system, and had everything covered under the original price. Most projects have several "change orders" and additions that significantly increase the price of the system. Following implementation, there is the ever-present monthly maintenance fee and upgrade fees.
