2.24 As in most PFI deals, the cost of Airwave was compared to a public sector comparator. The comparator estimated the cost that would have been incurred if the public sector were to design, build, finance and operate a new police radio system to the same specification as Airwave.
2.25 Commissioned to prepare the comparator, Mason Communications designed it in consultation with PITO and the Home Office. To calculate the number of base stations, Mason Communications modelled the coverage requirements using industry standard techniques. Other parameters, including service level requirements, were obtained from information that police forces supplied to O2. Mason Communications priced the service using its own database of costs. The output was a cash flow analysis of capital and operational expenditure over the contract period, that when discounted gave a net present cost of 1,610 million for an Airwave equivalent system.
2.26 Our examination of the public sector comparator indicated that its value was limited by a number of factors.