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Committee approves retroactive one-year extension of AT&T master agreement for city telecom services
Summary
The Department of Technology won committee approval to retroactively extend and increase the AT&T master agreement by about $18.2 million for one year, with the department saying costs did not decline during the pandemic and the extension allows evaluation of the new state CalNet contract and alternative vendors.
The Budget & Finance Committee on March 3 recommended a retroactive fifth amendment to the citywide telecommunications master agreement with AT&T to extend the contract through Dec. 31, 2021 and increase the not-to-exceed amount by about $18.2 million.
The Department of Technology (Hao Xie) said the amendment adds one year of coverage and that telephone and data costs did not decline during the pandemic because many costs are fixed; the department included a 10 percent contingency in the amount request and said it will evaluate the state CalNet contract when new CalNet pricing is available later in 2021 and pursue alternative vendors where appropriate.
BLA reported the item to the committee in November and continued to recommend approval, noting the department’s plan to work with the Controller’s Office to evaluate CalNet’s new rates. Public commenters raised concerns about digital access for seniors and neighborhood participation in virtual meetings; another commenter suggested the city’s ICT plan should be used to review such procurements.
The committee approved amendments reflecting retroactivity and voted 3–0 to send the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
