IDOC ENTERS INTO CONTRACT WITH TREASURE VALLEY COMPANY TO PROVIDE SATELLITE AND CCTV SERVICES TO BOISE-AREA PRISONS
On 12/4/2023, the Idaho Department of Administration signed a contract (Number 4543) on behalf of the Idaho Department of Correction with a company located in Meridian, ID to provide closed circuit television (CCTV) services to state prisons (and work centers) located south of Boise.
The vendor/contractor, Praxis Limited Co. (dba A+ Satellite) provided the lowest of 3 bids obtained for providing a minimum 32 "Core Package" channels from Dish Satellite services (including at least one add-on 'sports' channel), all available over-the-air (OTA) channels [FN1] as well as the necessary hardware for two years beginning February 15, 2024. The name of the package to be installed is called the "A+ Satellite Extreme Economy Pack".
The two year, $527,836.08 contract may be renewed, extended or amended three additional terms of one year each. IDOC facilities to receive services under this contract are IMSI, ISCI, SICI, ISCC, TVCRC and SBWCC, and will provide service to nearly 5,000 prisoners at a cost of about $4.19 per month per prisoner. It should be noted that the entire 2 year contract price is actually less than the amount of money received by the IDOC from kickbacks in just one month from prisoners and their families/friends just making telephone calls and sending emails.
Some questions regarding the contract remain - at least in my mind - despite questions submitted by contract bidders and answers supplied by the IDOC.
One such question is whether or not the new system will be received at the 'drop' (where prisoners hook up their TVs to the coax) as a digital signal, or if the digital signal will continue to be converted to analog at or after the headend. This digital-to-analog conversion not only compounds signal degradation over long spans (attenuation), defeats basic television/channel features such closed captions, electronic programming guides, stereo and high definition picture (video) transmitted by local OTA stations.
IDOC's previous excuse was that older televisions still owned by some prisoners cannot process digital signals - despite digital capable televisions (exclusively) being sold in the IDOC for nearly 20 years. In the ITB (Invitation to Bid) Amendment (#1), IDOC states that the combiners and amplifiers are responsible for stripping these features. If that's true, it would likely be due to the bandwidth and/or frequency limitations of these outdated pieces of hardware designed for analog (not digital) signal processing - hardware that needs to be replaced anyway.
Another concern involves the IDOC's statement in the same ITB which plainly says that OTA radio stations (channels), religious stations and shopping networks are not wanted on the system, yet despite the fact there a number of religious channels available OTA, the contract requires the EXACT SAME channels be provided via satellite. The IDOC has previously identified these channels as being funded by religious entities outside the department, yet there were no such records available or provided in the latest public records request to the IDOC asking for such documentation. [FN2] [FN3].
In a related matter, the IDOC requires that BYU (Brigham Young University) TV be used as one of the 32 minimum channels made available to prisoners, stating that this provision is a "State required regulated program" (Attachment 2 - Specifications, 1.12). As a practical matter, this means the contractor will now be free to use one of the 32 channels for BYU TV, reducing the number of variable channels to 31. (It could be that the IDOC meant PBS, not BYU.)
As a legal matter, one has to ask what the IDOC means by BYU TV being a State required regulated program. If it is, there could certainly be First Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) ramifications under the establishment of religion clause.
Although there are several channels available to choose from in the Dish Core Package [FN4] it is unclear which channels prisoners will be able to view. As it stands, Administrative Support Manager Rhonda Owens will choose the programming for ISCC and TVCRC, though according to disclosures by the IDOC, Owens has no criteria by which she is limited in making those decisions - meaning they are arbitrary. Those decisions at the ISCI, IMSI, SBWCC, SICI will be made by another staff member - or possibly a vote amongst the prisoner population (as was once done at the ISCC), and all channels for those institutions will be the same - as each of those facilities will be linked to the same Smartbox.
Let's hope the issues suffered by all over this television fiasco over the past year don't reoccur, and that the best babysitter in the system will once again bring a bit of order to the prisoner population. Let's hope too that the contractor realizes that a minimum of 32 channels required by contract doesn't mean he should only make available 32 channels.
I'll be watching!
_______
[FN1] Excluding shopping networks.
[FN2] ISCC will retain 4 [dedicated] "religious" receivers that should preclude the need for one or more of the Core package channels being used for that purpose.
[FN3] Local OTA channels often change programming content, so the vendor will need to keep up with these changes and provide OTA channels which may once have been a shopping/religious or advertising channel/network but has changed programming to another genre that would need to be provided under terms of the contract. Some channels provide contractually required content in the daytime hours, then switch to advertising or other programming at night. Clearly the most effective and efficient practice would be to add all local OTA channels, then audit those channels weekly/monthly for changes.
[FN4] Between 120 and 250 - depending on package/interpretation of contract.
Over the Air Channels available in South Boise Complex
Despite representations made by the IDOC in their Invitation to Bid of 20 or so channels being available over the air (OTA), below is a list of channels routinely available to some prisoners (depending on housing area) at ISCC using nothing more than a $20 indoor digital antenna (or in some cases, a coax cable stuck into the end of a pencil).
I suppose the inability of staff to lock onto many OTA channels (at least at the ISCC) is likely due to the fact that the ISCC is furthest from the transmitters, and that the antennas used on the roof are inadequate for the purpose, misaligned and there are no pre-amps close to the antenna (signal amplifiers are designed to PUSH a signal, not PULL one - you cannot amplify something that doesn't exist). Further, the ISCC OTA antenna are located on the south side of the facility, while the broadcast transmitters are north and northwest of the prison.
As it stands, most of the OTA channels coming in over the cable system at the ISCC experience complete signal drop (no signal) several times an hour, while another TV - in the same cell, sitting side by side - using the indoor digital antenna sold in commissary (or the coax/pencil combination) will not experience any such drops in signal, proving that the problem is with the ISCC OTA antenna itself. Because the TV continues to show the LOST SIGNAL message from the receiver they're using for the OTA channels, the problem must be prior to the headend.
OK, here's the list. All these channels locked in on a scan on December 16, 2023 using a cheap (but expensive) digital antenna purchased from Keefe Commissary Network. Of course, these channels are subject to change. Other channels are also likely available but the indoor antenna, at ground level, and next to a metal prefabricated building just didn't lock onto them.
2-1 CBS
2-2 CW
2-3 Charge!
4-1 Idaho PBS
4-2 PBS Plus
4-3 PBS Learn
4-4 PBS World
4-5 PBS Kids
6-1 ABC
6-2 Boise 6
6-3 Mystery
6-4 Bounce
6-5 Laff
6-6 GET
7-1 NBC
7-2 24/7
7-3 True Crime
7-4 Quest
7-5 Twist
7-6 Shop LC
7-7 HSN
7-8 Rewind
9-1 Fox
9-2 MeTV
9-3 Oxygen
9-4 Circle
12-1 ION
12-2 Court TV
12-3 Grit
12-4 Scripps
12-5 Defy
12-6 Jewelry
12-7 QVC
12-8 HSN
16-1 NEWSnet
16-2 SNHtv
16-3 Shop HQ
22-1 AVN
22-2 Story
22-3 H and I
22-4 Catchy
22-5 Movies!
22-6 Start
22-7 Weather
22-8 ACE
22-9 KTSY
22-10 KOAY
29-4 NTD (News)
31-1 Advertising
31-2 Advertising
31-3 Advertising
31-4 Advertising
31-5 Advertising
31-6 Advertising
35-1 CW
35-2 TBD
35-3 Comet
35-4 The Nest
35-5 Dabl
39-1 Telemundo
39-2 Cozy
39-3 Antenna TV
39-4 Buzzer
39-6 QVC Plus
41-1 Telemundo
41-2 Estrella TV
41-3 TeleXitos
41-4 Nuestra
41-5 Daystar (Spanish)
41-6 Daystar (English)
43-2 SBN
43-3 Jewelry
43-4 Shop LC
43-5 HSN 2
43-6 TCN
Despite representations made by the IDOC in their Invitation to Bid of 20 or so channels being available over the air (OTA), below is a list of channels routinely available to some prisoners (depending on housing area) at ISCC using nothing more than a $20 indoor digital antenna (or in some cases, a coax cable stuck into the end of a pencil).
I suppose the inability of staff to lock onto many OTA channels (at least at the ISCC) is likely due to the fact that the ISCC is furthest from the transmitters, and that the antennas used on the roof are inadequate for the purpose, misaligned and there are no pre-amps close to the antenna (signal amplifiers are designed to PUSH a signal, not PULL one - you cannot amplify something that doesn't exist). Further, the ISCC OTA antenna are located on the south side of the facility, while the broadcast transmitters are north and northwest of the prison.
As it stands, most of the OTA channels coming in over the cable system at the ISCC experience complete signal drop (no signal) several times an hour, while another TV - in the same cell, sitting side by side - using the indoor digital antenna sold in commissary (or the coax/pencil combination) will not experience any such drops in signal, proving that the problem is with the ISCC OTA antenna itself. Because the TV continues to show the LOST SIGNAL message from the receiver they're using for the OTA channels, the problem must be prior to the headend.
OK, here's the list. All these channels locked in on a scan on December 16, 2023 using a cheap (but expensive) digital antenna purchased from Keefe Commissary Network. Of course, these channels are subject to change. Other channels are also likely available but the indoor antenna, at ground level, and next to a metal prefabricated building just didn't lock onto them.
2-1 CBS
2-2 CW
2-3 Charge!
4-1 Idaho PBS
4-2 PBS Plus
4-3 PBS Learn
4-4 PBS World
4-5 PBS Kids
6-1 ABC
6-2 Boise 6
6-3 Mystery
6-4 Bounce
6-5 Laff
6-6 GET
7-1 NBC
7-2 24/7
7-3 True Crime
7-4 Quest
7-5 Twist
7-6 Shop LC
7-7 HSN
7-8 Rewind
9-1 Fox
9-2 MeTV
9-3 Oxygen
9-4 Circle
12-1 ION
12-2 Court TV
12-3 Grit
12-4 Scripps
12-5 Defy
12-6 Jewelry
12-7 QVC
12-8 HSN
16-1 NEWSnet
16-2 SNHtv
16-3 Shop HQ
22-1 AVN
22-2 Story
22-3 H and I
22-4 Catchy
22-5 Movies!
22-6 Start
22-7 Weather
22-8 ACE
22-9 KTSY
22-10 KOAY
29-4 NTD (News)
31-1 Advertising
31-2 Advertising
31-3 Advertising
31-4 Advertising
31-5 Advertising
31-6 Advertising
35-1 CW
35-2 TBD
35-3 Comet
35-4 The Nest
35-5 Dabl
39-1 Telemundo
39-2 Cozy
39-3 Antenna TV
39-4 Buzzer
39-6 QVC Plus
41-1 Telemundo
41-2 Estrella TV
41-3 TeleXitos
41-4 Nuestra
41-5 Daystar (Spanish)
41-6 Daystar (English)
43-2 SBN
43-3 Jewelry
43-4 Shop LC
43-5 HSN 2
43-6 TCN