REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 18, 2025
FROM
LYNN FYHRLUND, Chief Information Officer, Innovation and Technology Department
SUBJECT
Title
Agreements for Participation in the State of California CALNET NextGen Services Contract with Verizon Business Services and AT&T Corp. for Telecommunication Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the CALNET Authorization to Order Agreement with MCI Communications Services, LLC dba Verizon Business Services for participating in the approved State of California CALNET NextGen Services Contract with Verizon Business Services for telecommunication services in an amount not to exceed $4,400,000 for an additional three-year period beginning July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028.
2. Approve the CALNET Authorization to Order Agreement with AT&T Corporation for participating in the approved State of California CALNET NextGen Services Contract with AT&T Corporation for telecommunication services in an annual amount not to exceed $5,500,000 for the period beginning July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028.
3. Authorize the Chief Information Officer as the authorized official to sign and submit the Authorization to Order Agreements required to participate in the CALNET program.
4. Direct the Chief Information Officer to transmit the executed Authorization to Order Agreements to the Clerk of the Board within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Lynn Fyhrlund, Chief Information Officer, 388-5501)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Improve County Government Operations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of these contracts will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Innovation and Technology Department’s (ITD) operating costs are recovered via service rates approved annually by the Board of Supervisors (Board). The costs associated with approval of the California Network and Telecommunications program (CALNET) Next-Gen Services contracts with MCI Communications Services, LLC dba Verizon Business Services (Verizon) and AT&T Corp. (AT&T) adhere to set competitive pricing schedules. The current countywide annual spend for Verizon CALNET is approximately $4,400,000. The current countywide annual spend for AT&T CALNET is $5,500,000. For efficiency, and per County Policy, CALNET costs are paid as a utility and are not tied to actual Purchase Orders.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ITD operates and maintains the countywide area network, which is an integrated electronic telecommunications network that provides countywide data, voice and video communications. It enables County departments to communicate with one another and offers secure and reliable access to data housed on County-managed information systems.
ITD has used CALNET since 2015 to facilitate the operation and maintenance of the County telecommunications network. CALNET is a centrally managed formal procurement for telecommunication services run by the California Department of Technology. CALNET is focused on providing services that meet the State’s complex critical telecommunications and network business needs.
On September 14, 2021 (Item No. 24), the Board approved participation in the approved State of California CALNET NextGen Contract No. 21-653 for a total not-to-exceed $4,281,000 with Verizon and $1,629,000 Contract No. 21-654 with AT&T through June 30, 2025.
Continued participation in the CALNET NextGen contracts will allow ITD and other County departments to continue to obtain critical telecommunication services to meet the County’s needs.
PROCUREMENT
CALNET NextGen contracts provide an array of comprehensive telecommunication services to all state agencies, which are provided through multiple competitively procured and priced vendor contracts. Per the CALNET NextGen contract, any public agency defined in Government Code Section 11541 is allowed to order services and products under the contract. The CALNET Next Gen contract streamlines the ordering process statewide and eliminates the need for agencies to go through a lengthy procurement process. Local government agencies are encouraged, but not required, to use CALNET Next Gen contracts. These contracts provide a catalog of services and pricing for approved vendors, including AT&T and Verizon.
As a result, ITD has determined that it is in the best interest of the County to continue to participate in CALNET NextGen contracts with Verizon and AT&T due to the streamlined ordering process and to ensure the County continues to have the most cost-effective options available for the various telecommunication services required via competitively procured pricing.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Bonnie Uphold, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 5, 2025; Purchasing (Dylan Newton, Buyer III, 387-2065) on May 20, 2025; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst II, 386-9008) on May 14, 2025; Finance (Ivan Ramirez, Administrative Analyst, 387-4020) on May 28, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 2, 2025.