Solicitation for SBInet Switch is Coming Soon. Maybe.

The Homeland Security Department is expected to start taking bids on a project to replace a botched $1 billion southwest virtual fence around April 6, which, for those keeping count, is the fourth release date for the work order. DHS has said it will quit the project if the department can't find apparatus already on the market that is able to function in the extreme climate.

DHS first initiated a market survey among vendors interested in the successor to the failed Secure Border Initiative network in January 2011.

The new effort is intended to dot the border with camera-clad, stationary watchtowers that will feed imagery of suspicious individuals and vehicles to border patrol agents. SBInet, which ultimately wilted in the desert heat, was designed as an interconnected series of towers equipped with all sorts of gadgets, mobile surveillance devices, intelligence databases, and communication networks.

In November and December 2011, the department issued hopeful vendors a detailed concept of what it wanted and said it would kick off the competition around January or February 2012.

In February, DHS distributed a scaled-back concept of what it wants, and said it would kick off the competition on March 7. On March 7, the release date for the solicitation got pushed back to around March 26. Now, the date is set for early next month.

DHS says it's not taking any more financial risks this time. It's unclear when "this time" actually is.