Review of BTOP Award for the San Francisco Bay Area Wireless Enhanced Broadband Project

The Department of Commerce's Inspector General has provided the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with a final report on the review the IG conducted in response to a November 1, 2010, letter from the County of Santa Clara, California.

The letter from the County expressed concerns over a $50.6 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant to Motorola for deploying a public safety network and a public access wireless broadband network in the San Francisco Bay Area. The objectives of the review were to I) examine the procedures the NTIA followed in its response to a complaint from the County of Santa Clara and the City of San Jose about the grant to Motorola, and 2) evaluate how NTIA handled Motorola's request for deviating from the approved equipment valuation method. The IG identified areas in which NTIA could have better handled both matters. For example, NTIA did not promptly engage the program's Grants Officer to help address the complaint made against the award or to respond to Motorola's requests to be exempted from an award requirement. The IG recommend that NTIA improve its procedures for handling complaints associated with BTOP awards, and remind its Federal Program Officers (FPOs) assigned to monitor BTOP grants to work with grants officers to address important issues. The IG discussed its concerns and recommendations with NTIA officials on February 17, 20II and March 21, 2011.

NTIA’s handling of the complaint from San Jose and Santa Clara was insufficient for several reasons. The award to Motorola is a significant investment (it is 1 of around 20 awards of more than $50 million); it is complicated (it involves the support of multiple county and local governments); and it is part of a key initiative for public safety. These factors suggest that a complaint about the project deserves a rigorous review, timely responses, and clearly documented review results. However, the IG found several problems in the handling of the initial and subsequent complaints.