Verizon received the bulk of the award, worth about $61 million; AT&T will receive about $818,672.
Each company will also help Houston reach its minority- and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) goals, which are above 18 percent for this work. This means that the companies will use subcontractors who are eligible as M/WBE vendors.
These contracts, approved in December, will enable cost savings and faster communications for first responders, inspectors and public officials, according to city documents. Various Internet of Things systems will also be enhanced, according to the documents.
The contracts are in response to an opportunity published early last year that closed April 4. These are three-year contracts with two one-year renewal options.
Additional spending approved in December includes:
- $3 million for the HouPermits system, which is replacing the current permitting system. The project includes a new end-user interface, back-end web application and an inspector app for field use, according to city documents. The system will be built using existing contracts, and the project is headed up by IT Services.
- $1.1 million to Motorola Solutions Inc., to remediate and replace the Riesner Radio Tower, which is more than 70 years old. The work will be completed via Department of Information Resources contracts, and the estimated cost in coming years is $3.7 million, according to the documents. This contract fulfills an M/WBE vendor goal of 12 percent.
