California's Telecommunications Strategy: Business and Management Challenges

Collaborative on E-Governance
Prepared for the Chief Information Officer, State of California

March 2007

The State of California is currently undertaking a major restructuring of the way it procures, manages, utilizes, and, in fact, thinks about information technology (IT). Driven by benign neglect in IT infrastructure investment along with management deficiencies culminating in a major procurement scandal in the past; and pulled by a future of new technologies, the promise of the Internet, and a new kind of electronic service delivery and governance (e-government); the State has over the past four years engaged a new approach toward the use of IT throughout California.

The overall goal is nothing less than positioning California once again at the forefront of government innovation, delivery of high quality public services, management efficiency and citizen satisfaction. This report focuses primarily on the business and management challenges involved in telecommunications and network planning for the State of California within the broader context of Statewide Vision for IT and Egovernment. It includes a list of preliminary recommendations, each of which is detailed in the conclusion of the document and supported by the research and analysis.