As a case in point, the State of Mississippi has spent millions of dollars on a statewide 700 MHz P25 trunking system. Until recently, only a single vendor was acceptable. However, over time, other vendors were finally able to gain approval. So what happened? One of the largest cities in the state moved to an alternate closed standard technology.
The premise being that they could not afford the higher priced P25 equipment selected by the State. But they COULD afford a closed standard alternative with no competitive offerings. This appeared to be acceptable to all concerned since they could use a "bridge" to connect between the state system and the county/city systems. Did I happen to mention that the approved "bridge" equipment is also limited to a single vendor?
On the bright side, there are some nations that are developing open equipment standards, one of which is China, which by the way, is the home of the second largest communications manufacturer in the world - a relatively new company called Hytera, which is producing over 60,000 radios per month! They are now the second largest communications manufacturer in the world, and they did it, and are doing it, by doing business in the old fashioned way - good products, at fair prices, based on open standards, and free market competition.
For an example of why China is leading the way, click here. For what it's worth, there is an American company that plays by the rules and we are proud to be associated with them. Additional information is available by clicking here. For those of you who are entrusted with spending taxpayer dollars and buying sole source based on closed standards, SHAME ON YOU!
