CA spent over $450 million on a new 911
system. It’s now scrapping the flawed design
New York Times,
by
William Melhado
Original Article
Posted By: sunset,
11/24/2025 12:01:21 AM
In 2018, as California was laying the groundwork to build a new 911 system for the state, a massive fire ripped through Butte County, decimating several Northern California communities and killing over 80 people.
The devastating Camp Fire, which wiped out cell towers and hampered emergency communication during critical hours, was on everyone’s minds as the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services worked to design the state’s future emergency communication system. Between 2019 and 2025, California paid four technology companies over $450 million to build out its Next Generation 911 system, But when the time came to turn that system on, it didn’t work.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
crashnburn 11/24/2025 12:50:22 AM (No. 2033419)
CA and Newsom and hi-tech. Why am I not surprised it failed? Instead of replacing the entire system all at once, you build a pilot project, get the bugs out and then scale it up. What do I know. I’m an engineer.
27 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 11/24/2025 12:58:37 AM (No. 2033420)
Brillcream Boy never met a state expenditure he didn't approve...as long as he got his cut some way or another.
Not directly pertaining to our state's 911 system but indicative of how messed up everything is; in the last two days we've received several automated phone calls from the City of Los Angeles Emergency Notification service. It warns us of the toxic fumes emanating from the ship fire in the L.A. harbor. The thing is, we now live 600 miles north of L.A. in Mendocino County. We did move here from San Pedro, but we sold our townhouse 26 years ago. How did they get our current phone number, and why would they add a number with a northern California area code?
Someday, someday the strangle-hold the Dims have on this state will loosen and melt away. Someday, California will be golden again.
21 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
kono 11/24/2025 1:20:46 AM (No. 2033424)
That's the People's Republic of California for ya. It's only a matter of time before Brylcream's crown jewel bullet train pipe dream goes under from cost overruns and failure to meet projections, before it gets more than one segment operational.
11 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Birddog 11/24/2025 1:23:20 AM (No. 2033425)
From this and other stories....The "Fired" 3 partners/regional providers actually OWN the equipt, operate and maintain it. Not the State. How is THAT going to be resolved?
Monies spent already are well over the $450Million mentioned, and the "Retained" statewide provider has already been promised $700Million just to keep the "Old system" up and running for the next five years, No estimates at all of the NEW costs of the NEW-er system that needs to replace the abandoned "New" system. The guy who had been running the program since 2019 quit....while being sued by three different women claiming sexual harassment, but at least part of their grievance is that they had been ordered to actually come into the office a couple times a week, they all have been remote workers for the last several years...One, hired and "working" in Sacramento, actually moved to southern Calif nearly 4 years ago and refuses to return to her office 2 days a week..
The Southern Calif and Central Calif regional partners claim that THEIR networks are up, ready to run, functioning, that the pinpoint location aspects are already in use, as are the text/video, sms...it is the Norcal and Statewide companies that are not, yet it is those two that are "Good to go" that have been let go...While the two failed companies have been retained and promised future contracts.
Actually...it sounds like a Job for Starlink/DOGE...but, that bridge has been burned.
15 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
gramma b 11/24/2025 1:35:58 AM (No. 2033427)
Same as the Obamacare rollout. Wanna bet affirmative action programmers were somewhere in the mix?
17 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 11/24/2025 4:31:31 AM (No. 2033429)
Do they need to call 9-1-1 about their 9-1-1 problem?
Just add this to their growing list of failures, starting with the colossal boondoggle, the California "High Speed Rail" System.
"The California high-speed rail project has faced significant delays and cost overruns, with billions spent since its inception in 2008 without laying any track. Originally projected to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020, estimates have ballooned to $135 billion, with service not expected to begin until at least 2031."
The more leftists are allowed to run projects in California means an ever increasing number of program delays, stoppages, and outright program failures, until the, "plug must be pulled" to stop the hemorrhaging of funds.
15 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
mifla 11/24/2025 5:53:05 AM (No. 2033436)
It's only taxpayer money. Plenty more where that came from. Just raise taxes (again).
14 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
chumley 11/24/2025 6:45:37 AM (No. 2033450)
Our state has a big fancy high tech communications system that uses trunked radio and digital talkgroups so any agency, be they federal, state, county or local, can talk to each other any time. It is a nightmare to program a scanner nowadays as you almost have to be a radio engineer to figure it out.
But it works. As long as all the links in the chain are working. Take out one weak link and we are back to plain old Adam-12 simplex VHF. I notice my local and county governments are still using those old frequencies for lower priority comms. Presumably holding them in reserve just in case.
7 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Strike3 11/24/2025 8:12:03 AM (No. 2033479)
Four companies to build one system? That's a recipe for disaster before it even gets started. The inevitable politics and infighting will kill anything. #1 has the right idea. On the other hand, of what use is a slick 911 system if you can't keep water in the reservoirs and hydrants? Incompetence will get you every time.
14 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 11/24/2025 8:14:42 AM (No. 2033482)
Throw it into the dust bin along with Cal's train to nowhere project.
14 people like this.
Sounds like the only "smart" in the system is the sharp pain taxpayers feel in their wallets.
8 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
DVC 11/24/2025 11:35:41 AM (No. 2033553)
My bet is that is was a scam payoff to some donor.
6 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
MickTurn 11/24/2025 1:58:42 PM (No. 2033616)
The back story is this: Californication politicians didn't set this up to fail, but by hiring their totally incompetent cronies to design the system, they GUARANTEED FAILURE! And don't forget the normal Democrap Politicians KICKBACKS for funneling boatloads of CASH to their Cronies!
8 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
paral04 11/24/2025 3:45:30 PM (No. 2033652)
I guess the folks on the selection committee of that sale are running all the way to their banks.
4 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 11/24/2025 7:58:29 PM (No. 2033694)
Per #5. I still remember that guy in his pajamas sipping hot chocolate and trying to sell Obamacare. The people that tried the website early found a giant CF until it was fixed.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Krause 11/25/2025 6:40:44 AM (No. 2033750)
Newsom, a fancier version of Joe Biden.
5 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
mc squared 11/25/2025 8:36:57 AM (No. 2033813)
You can be that not every Cal resident got fleeced.
3 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
czechlist 11/25/2025 9:24:16 AM (No. 2033842)
Emus and ostriches of a feather. Australia just did the same with their weather system:
https://joannenova.com.au/2025/11/boms-awful-new-website-redesign-cost-96-million/
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
NotaBene 11/25/2025 11:45:26 AM (No. 2033951)
The Pacific Palisades fire was not caused by bad phones. It was two Lesbian Firechiefs in command making over $800,000 each annually and a Latina in charge of the Water Department. Having an incompetent DEI LA Mayor did not help either.
6 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
NessunDorma 11/25/2025 11:48:29 AM (No. 2033952)
The number of multi-million/billion dollar computer systems that CA has had to scrap is endless. You might think that the government of the state that claims the largest, most vibrant technology sector in the country would have state-of-the-art computer/communication systems, but you would be wrong. How much of this can be attributed to sheer incompetence and how much to graft and corruption? I have no idea.
4 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
kangus 11/25/2025 2:17:20 PM (No. 2034006)
For a lot less then $450 million Elon Musk can provide 911 service 7/24 anywhere in California. An AI based ground station can route the calls or provide location information to the responders. Why in 2025 would any sane person build out a ground based 911 system except to fund fraud by deception.
2 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Omen55 11/25/2025 5:51:34 PM (No. 2034039)
Something else for JD to bring up in 2028.
3 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
doctorfixit 11/27/2025 6:16:31 AM (No. 2034548)
Every time the government in Sacramento embarks on creating a system, it is a disaster I worked for a few years as a consultant to a CA State department and it was shocking how ideology rules every decision, and how rationality is removed from every discussion. Liberals are lunatics. They cannot manage or run anything. It is only by borrowing billions that the madness continues. .Somehow, someone must find a way to shut off their money.
0 people like this.
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Newsom lobbied for and has been watching this waste since inception in 2019.