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Corrections Department Seeks Telecom Update

Two state departments — Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Technology — have issued an Invitation for Bid seeking tech companies to refresh vital telecommunications equipment starting next year.

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In a new Invitation for Bid (IFB), the state corrections department is seeking IT vendors to update a critical telecommunications system.

In an IFB released Dec. 1, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), working with the California Department of Technology (CDT), seeks bids to provide a converged telephony enterprise network (CTEN) over a relatively lengthy period of time. Among the takeaways:

  • CDCR’s telecommunications systems, it said in the IFB, “serve a highly critical role” in supporting the state’s adult and juvenile facilities, as communication is connected to “the safety and security of staff, inmates, vendors, visitors, and the general public.” Other “safety and security subsystems, specifically the Off Hook Alarm System (OHAS),” integrate with these telecommunication systems — and the failure of any part “will lead to the catastrophic failure of key public safety communications” and a “critical breach of security and corresponding threat to life/safety” of the institutions and nearby communities.
  • CDCR now uses the Verizon Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) as its data and voice network, and CDCR’s network fails, its Private Branch Exchange (PBX) “will automatically go into a failover state,” which sends outbound calls through the local carrier’s Central Office Trunk. Its telephony environment is made up of 41 standalone PBX systems, each with its own OHAS and centralized data center services. The PBX systems are all identical except for the California Correctional Institution. CDCR has two data centers — one in Vacaville, the other being “customer-owned equipment managed service.” Both utilize primarily Avaya technology.
  • The department seeks responses from pre-qualified vendors to provide several distinct services including system monitoring of all CTEN elements; installation and moves, adds and changes (MAC) services during the contract; “software assurance” for all Avaya elements throughout the contract and extensions; and preventative and remedial maintenance. Bids received will be evaluated “based on the bidder’s total bid,” CDCR said in the IFB, and a contract award will be made to the bidder with the lowest evaluated cost. The contractor selected must also provide an account manager, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)/network engineer, a technical lead, a project manager, a technician, a customer service executive and a sales engineer to work throughout the duration of the contract.
  • Applicants must have an approved electronic Vendor Application of Qualifications (eVAQ) on file and have been deemed a “pre-qualified vendor” before the key action date for final bid submission. Interested contractors must also be an “authorized distributor, reseller, partner” for the “Enterprise Communications” product class and services for the Avaya Global Partner Pricing Catalog, American Power Conversion, Cisco, XMedius and Red Phoenix.
  • The contract’s value is not stated. Written questions are due Dec. 16; state responses are expected Dec. 29. Bids are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 12 and will be evaluated Jan. 13-20. Invitations for negotiations are expected to be sent to eligible bidders Jan. 25 with negotiations taking place Feb. 1-5. The contract award date is Feb. 16. The anticipated contract start date is March 1 “for purposes of transitioning services from the incumbent contractor to the new contractor,” according to the IFB. All other services are expected to begin June 1 or on CDT approval. The contract term is five years and CDCR may exercise five one-year contract extensions for a maximum 10-year term.
Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.