FBI wireless network at risk

A report into the US Department of Justice's wireless network project says that after six years and $195 million it is falling to bits.

According to Network World, Inspector General Glenn Fine blames uncertain funding, conflicting department agendas and a poor decision-making for the network improvement project failing.

The Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) is set to cost $5 billion and is supposed to be ready in 2021. It is based on several highly successful trial runs in pilot networks. The technology works it is just the politics which is causing it all to fail, the report says.

Fine said that the IWN seems mired in bureaucratic and policy pettiness. Last year more than $772 million earmarked for he project was nicked by the DOJ's Narrowband Communications Account. This was used to prop up the department's ageing and increasingly insecure radio systems and to fund the integrated IWN effort that's intended to replace it.

This money was effectively wasted because the technology was out-of-date and would be better spent on getting the new stuff online, the report said.

More here.