Utah Communications Authority

Utah Communications Authority, doing business as Ucan, operates as a U.S. state government entity providing 800 megahertz radio services, microwave backhaul infrastructure, and critical telecommunications support to federal law enforcement and emergency response agencies across Utah as a prime contractor exclusively. Ucan holds no set-aside designations and competes on a full-and-open basis, though its unique position as Utah's sole communications infrastructure provider results in sole-source procurement across the federal customer base.

Ucan's capability portfolio centers on statewide radio network access, monthly radio service provisioning, repeater site utilization, and mobile and handheld radio frequency programming for law enforcement operations. Recent representative work includes a $111,360 definitive contract (July 2023 – June 2028) with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for access to Utah's statewide communications network; a $90,980 purchase order (May 2025 – April 2030) with the Forest Service Research Service Rocky Mountain Research Station for mobile and handheld radio frequency and programming services; a $152,126.40 purchase order (September 2022 – September 2027) with the Utah Region for microwave radio backbone services; and recurring annual $37,634 purchase orders with the Drug Enforcement Administration for monthly 800 MHz radio services covering multiple radios and reprogramming. Ucan also holds a five-year $17,500 BPA (August 2024 – July 2029) with the Utah Army National Guard for repeater communication support services enabling emergency telecommunications for military units, the State Emergency Operations Center, and flight operations.

Customer concentration sits heavily with interior and justice agencies. The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Utah Region leads by potential value ($813 thousand across 8 awards), followed by the Drug Enforcement Administration ($491 thousand across 15 awards) and the Forest Service Research Service Rocky Mountain Research Station ($275 thousand across 9 awards). The Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration round out the active set. The two rankings align — BLM and DEA anchor both volume and dollars — indicating stable, repeating customer relationships rather than one-time or variable contract patterns.

Ucan places work against a single named parent vehicle: Blanket Purchase Agreement W911YP24AA002, under which two task orders worth $7 thousand in combined potential value have been issued. The vendor maintains a federal vendor registration dating to February 2002. Activity has remained relatively flat across the past five years (2 awards in 2022–2023, growing to 4 in 2025), with 67 total prime awards and no subcontract footprint. Five awards (combined potential value $496 thousand) reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and face recompete exposure. Ucan's award portfolio carries $2.3 million in combined potential value, with $12.5 million obligated across all awards — a ratio reflecting the recurring, annual-renewal structure of its radio service contracts with law enforcement agencies.