Deputy DOC commissioner says $250,000 in assessments will advance prison Wi‑Fi; full proposal expected late summer

Christine Calvert, Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, told the Senate Institutions committee on April 17 that the Department of Corrections has re‑engaged with the Agency of Digital Services and is moving forward on assessments needed to expand Wi‑Fi for staff and people in custody.

Calvert said an intake form with ADS is approved and staff have been assigned, and that DOC needs several concurrent evaluations — network security, physical facility assessments (including heat mapping), and a paper‑to‑digital workflow review — before it can produce a full project cost. "We've re‑engaged with ADS this year to get this project back off the ground," Calvert said.

On cost, Calvert told committee members, "We estimate now to complete these assessments about $250,000 is what we would need," adding that figure covers assessments, not the full installation. She contrasted the assessment estimate with a prior preliminary installation quote: "not the full 3 million that had been put in, but the 250." Calvert said the department expects to return with a full proposal and refined cost estimate in August or September.

Committee members pressed for details on timing and who will perform the technical work. Calvert said prior heat mapping was done in late 2022 or early 2023 and that it took roughly four to five months; the department will prioritize and run many assessments simultaneously. "From what I recall, the first round of heat mapping, it was about 4 or 5 months to complete," she said.

On funding, Calvert said DOC had approached the Vermont Broadband Board but was told those funds were already allocated and are not an option at this time. She also said DOC submitted an application last week for a congressionally designated spending package but had no timeline for approval and was not relying on that source. "We put that application in last week, but we have no timeline," she said.

Members asked for existing analysis and vendor information; Calvert agreed to provide four reports from prior work and said a vendor doing similar work in other state buildings is tentatively secured, which the department hopes to leverage rather than issuing a broad new RFP. Committee members requested the existing reports be provided within a week so the committee could review near‑term progress rather than waiting until August.

Committee members and Calvert also discussed technical options, including using existing conduit and access points already present in some visitation rooms, and raised wireless alternatives such as satellite services. One member noted an operational preference to avoid extensive trenching inside secure facilities and emphasized that wireless approaches are increasingly common.

The committee did not take any formal vote or adopt a policy at the hearing. Calvert said DOC will provide the prior reports and return with a full proposal and cost estimate in late summer; the committee recessed to allow staff to follow up on requested information.