It is now time for a Thumbs Up Award to the Alabama Department of Homeland Security (ADHS) who only recently was the recipient of our infamous Doofus Award. This rarely happens, but we are as quick to congratulate, as we are to criticize. This time we not only congratulate ADHS, but also retract our earlier Doofus Award. How’s that for being fair and balanced?
The basis for our Thumbs Up Award is the offer made by ADHS to all Alabama County Points of Contacts (POC’s) to allow them to assist agencies in their county to use federal funds for narrow banding and interoperability. They didn’t tell the POC’s what they had to do. They gave them the option of choosing what was best in their local area.
The response time was a little tight, but more than adequate for a POC to respond in a timely manner. We developed a number of different solutions, all of which were within the maximum allowable amount of $37,500 ($30,000 from DHS with a $7,500 match by the entity receiving the benefit). A partial listing of the alternatives offered by Falcon Direct are available at www.info4u.us/P25_Fire_Specials.pdf.
Thank you Alabama DHS for doing a very good thing. You provided every county in the State of Alabama the opportunity to fund both narrow banding and interoperability. Unfortunately, many of the Point of Contacts statewide were unwilling to take the time to respond to your offer. Somehow, I think there may be another Doofus award in the works, but it will not be for ADHS. Thanks guys - the effort was, and is, appreciated. In the meantime, for others seeking affordable alternatives for meeting narrow banding and interoperability solutions, you may want to review the products and services available on the link above.
