Committee advances BayWeb 700 MHz public-safety broadband despite procurement and cost questions

The Budget and Finance Committee on Feb. 6 advanced a site access and use agreement that would allow Motorola to build and operate the BayWeb 700 MHz public-safety broadband network infrastructure in San Francisco as part of a regional project funded largely by an NTIA BTOP grant.

Anne Cronenberg, director of the Department of Emergency Management, said San Francisco—s current 800 MHz radio system is primarily mission-critical voice and is limited in data capability, is approaching end of life and relies on proprietary, aging infrastructure. BayWeb is a regional broadband network intended to provide dedicated public-safety data (text, photos, video and applications) on 700 MHz spectrum and not share capacity with commercial carriers.

City staff summarized local costs and deployment plans: the regional BTOP grant and Motorola match are expected to cover the bulk of infrastructure upgrades (staff described approximately $100 million regionally with roughly $13 million to be spent in San Francisco for site upgrades). City one-time staff and permitting costs were estimated at about $277,000 over two years; recurring local lease, utilities and fees were estimated at $280,000–$410,000 annually; and device procurement for public-safety users was calculated as an incremental city expense to be handled in departmental budgets (staff estimated departments currently use about 875 wireless devices and planned a phased replacement of roughly 300 devices per year over three years). The budget analyst summarized the City—s 12-year site access cost range at $3,013,800–$4,597,800 and reiterated total city costs are not fully known.

City technical staff and agency heads from MTA, Fire, Police and PUC described benefits: better field access to building diagrams and live video for incident commanders, more ability to share data regionally, and improved reliability in large events where commercial networks congest. The MTA described its own radio replacement work and coordination; Fire and Police committed initial allocations this fiscal year (chiefs indicated $50,000 and $42,000 reallocations) to cover the immediate shortfall.

Supervisors raised procurement and fiscal-management concerns: Motorola won the federal grant and is the federal award recipient, which limits the City—s ability to select alternative vendors for the grant-funded build; some supervisors and the budget analyst said total future costs remain uncertain and recommended further COIT (City technology committee) review. Under-sheriff Rich Lucia told the committee that federal grant timing is strict and NTIA would not extend expenditure deadlines.

Given the urgency of federal grant deadlines and broad departmental support for the project—s public-safety benefits, the committee voted to forward the site use and access agreement to the Board without recommendation so the full Board can weigh the project and unresolved procurement and long-term cost questions.

Key figures presented at the hearing: - Regional BTOP grant and manufacturer match estimated in discussion at roughly $100 million regional, with approximately $13 million expected to be spent on San Francisco site upgrades. - City 12-year estimated lease/permit/utilities cost range: $3,013,800 to $4,597,800 (budget analyst). - One-time local staff/permit costs: approx. $277,000 over two years (DEM estimate). - Estimated recurring local costs (utilities, leases, service fees): $280,000–$410,000 per year (DEM estimate). - Current public-safety wireless devices in city use: about 875; phased replacement plan of roughly 300 devices/year over three years; per-device cost estimates vary by device class ($400–$1,500 per device noted in budget analyst table).