T
he Government Accountability Office has recommended the Office of Management and Budget study the potential inclusion of land mobile radio equipment in its category management initiative.
GAO said Wednesday it examined federal agencies’ LMR interoperability and procurement practices through a survey and found half of respondents cited the use of proprietary features and encryption and the scarce investment in LMR systems pose a roadblock to goals.
Forty-percent percent of agencies purchase equipment from pre-approved vendors through a sole-source procurement, GAO said.
“While this approach can facilitate cost savings and interoperability, many of these agencies reported purchasing equipment through multiple agreements, a practice that can reduce these benefits,†the government watchdog noted.
OMB has required agencies to use category management in order to handle spending across government for goods and services except for LMR equipment, according to GAO.
“By including LMR equipment in OMB’s category management initiative, the government could more fully leverage its aggregate buying power to obtain the most advantageous terms and conditions for LMR procurements,†GAO said.
