The Dearborn Police Department, working with Purchasing, is upgrading its patrol fleet communications from 4G to 5G by purchasing R980 Cradlepoint routers and a four-year router service plan from T-Mobile for a total of 130,200 (32,550 per year). The upgrade is necessary because of increased reliance on in-vehicle applications including Live 911, Fusus, Flock, Axon, and Skydio, and T-Mobile was selected after pricing and service comparisons with Verizon under the procurement ordinance’s continuity of professional services provisions. The contract will run for four years with implementation within 90 days of the purchase order, and future annual payments are subject to budget adoption. While the vendor for routers and connectivity is decided, this move indicates that the Police Department is modernizing its mobile technology stack, creating adjacent needs for integration, configuration, cybersecurity, mobile device management, and training around the applications that depend on these connections.

Procurement used Section 2-568(6)e, continuity of professional services; T-Mobile was the most econo...