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State of Florida
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Public Service Commission
Capital Circle Office Center ● 2540 Shumard
Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850
-M-E-M-O-R-A-N-D-U-M-
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DATE:
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April 21, 2017
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TO:
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Office of Commission Clerk (Stauffer)
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FROM:
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Office of Telecommunications (Bates,
Fogleman, Long, Williams)
Office of the General
Counsel (Page)
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RE:
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Docket No. 170039-TP – Request for
submission of proposals for relay service, beginning in March 2018, for the
deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind, or speech impaired, and other
implementation matters in compliance with the Florida Telecommunications
Access System Act of 1991.
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AGENDA:
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05/04/17 – Regular Agenda – Interested Persons May Participate
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COMMISSIONERS ASSIGNED:
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All Commissioners
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PREHEARING OFFICER:
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Patronis
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CRITICAL DATES:
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The current contract with Sprint
expires February 28, 2018. Significant time is needed to issue the RFP,
evaluate proposals, and to set-up the system.
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
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Anticipate the need for sign
language interpreters and assisted listening devices. Please place near the beginning
of the agenda to reduce interpreter costs.
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Case Background
The existing Florida relay
service provider contract expires February 28, 2018. On February 24, 2017,
Sprint provided written notice to the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC
or Commission) that it does not intend to extend the relay provider contract
into the option period when the existing contract to provide relay service in
Florida expires.
This recommendation
proposes that the Commission approve the attached Request for Proposals (RFP) (Attachment
A) to provide a telecommunications relay service system in Florida. If
approved, the RFP will be issued no later than May 11, 2017, with the proposals
due by June 16, 2017. The tentative schedule calls for the Commission to select
a provider at the September 7, 2017 Agenda, and for the provider to begin
providing service on March 1, 2018.
The RFP
describes a relay service in compliance with the Florida Telecommunications Access
System Act (TASA), Chapter 427, Part II, Florida Statutes, the Federal Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC §12101, and Federal Communications
Commission regulations on relay service, 47 CFR Part 64. The RFP mandates many
features for relay service including 24 hour a day service every day of the
year, answering time and blocking standards, confidentiality conditions,
procedures for relaying a call giving substantial control to the user as to how
the call is handled, communications assistant and provider requirements, and
provisions for complaint resolution and consumer input. In addition, the RFP
allows a bidder to provide unsolicited features as part of its basic relay
service for which additional evaluation points may be awarded.
The
Commission shall award the contract to the bidder whose proposal is the most
advantageous to the state, taking into account the factors in Section
427.704(3)(a), Florida Statutes:
a. The appropriateness and accessibility
of the proposed telecommunications relay service for the citizens of the state,
including persons with hearing and/or speech loss;
b. The overall quality of the proposed
telecommunications relay system;
c. The charges for the proposed
telecommunications relay service system;
d. The ability and qualifications of the
bidder to provide the proposed telecommunications relay service system as
outlined in the RFP;
e. Any proposed service enhancements and
technological enhancements which improve service without significantly
increasing cost;
f. Any proposed inclusion of provision of
assistance to deaf persons with special needs to access the basic telecommunications
system;
g. The ability to meet the proposed
commencement date for the Florida Relay Service; and
h. All other factors listed in the RFP.
Each bidder
will be required to submit its Proposal on the basis of a charge per billable
minute for a three-year contract with the option of four one-year extensions.
The price proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope separate from the
technical proposal.
The RFP also provides for a point
system for evaluating the proposals. A weight of 50% will be given to the
technical aspect of the proposal and a weight of 50% will be given to the price
aspect of the proposal.
A Bidders’
Conference was held on March 23, 2017. During the Conference, staff conducted a
detailed walk-through of the draft RFP and allowed participants to ask
questions and present suggested changes. In addition, staff allowed Conference
participants, TASA Advisory Committee members, and all interested persons to
submit suggested changes to the Draft RFP for staff’s consideration. Staff has
addressed all suggested changes, and has presented its basis for acceptance or
denial in Issue One of the recommendation.
The FPSC has authority over TASA
under Chapter 427, Florida Statutes. TASA became effective May 24, 1991, and is
found in Chapter 427, Part II of the Florida Statutes.
Discussion of Issues
Issue 1:
Should the RFP be issued?
Recommendation:
Yes. The Commission should issue the RFP, as set
forth in Attachment A. (Bates, Fogleman,
Long, Page, Williams)
Staff Analysis:
The RFP (Attachment A) was drafted to describe as
specifically as possible the relay service that should be provided. The RFP
includes services currently being provided by Sprint and complies with Federal
Communications Commission regulations. The RFP is substantially similar to the RFP
issued by the Commission in June 2014. Staff is recommending the following
substantive modifications to the June 2014 RFP:
(a)
Section A.21. Limited Liability
Sprint suggests incorporating Section 427.707, Florida
Statutes, into the RFP. Section 427.707,
Florida Statutes, states that neither the Commission nor the provider shall be
liable for any action arising out of the operation of the Telecommunications
Relay System, except where there is malicious purpose. Staff believes that the provisions of Section
427.707, Florida Statutes, should be stated in the RFP and this language has
been added.
(b) Section A.34. Liquidated Damages for Failure
to Initiate Services
on Time or to Provide
Contracted Services for the Life of the Contract
Sprint
suggests that the RFP be clarified by stating that the imposition of liquidated
damages is subject to Section A.33, on Force Majeure. Staff agrees and this
statement is provided in the language of Section A.34 on Liquidated Damages. Sprint also suggests that paragraph f. of
Section A.34 of the RFP be eliminated.
This section of the RFP gives the Commission the right to require
payment by the provider of liquidated damages in the amount commensurate with
the duration and extent of the system deficiencies when the provider fails to
provide contracted services for the life of the contract. Staff believes that
subsection (f) should not be eliminated because of the essential nature of the
services offered by the provider.
(c) Sections B.40-B.45. Billing
Hamilton and Sprint suggest that bidders
who obtain an FCC waiver of Sections 64.604(b)(3) and 64.604(a)(3)(ii) of the
FCC’s TRS Rules should be granted exemption from the terms of Sections 40-45 of
the RFP. In addition, they suggest that in accordance with the August 24, 2016 FCC Order of
Interim Waiver of Sections 64.604(b)(3) and 64.604(a)(3)(ii), the provider will
provide long distance service to TRS and CTS users at no cost to the
users. Further, it was suggested that language
be added to clarify that Operator handled calls from inmates at correctional
facilities, payphones, to and from international locations, to Directory
Assistance, and calls placed to pay per call services (e.g., 900 numbers) shall
be carefully supervised and disconnects made promptly. Staff agrees with
Hamilton and Sprint’s suggestions. If necessary, the Florida Relay Contract
will be amended to reflect any change in the FCC’s temporary waiver at the
appropriate time.
(d) Section
B.48. IP-Relay Service, IP-Captioned Telephone Service, and Video Relay Service
Staff agrees with a suggestion
to replace “IP” with “IP-Relay Service” and “IP-Captioned Telephone
Service” in the heading to more clearly present the services.
Below are additional
suggested changes to the RFP considered by staff:
(a)
Staff considered a suggestion to Section A.6.f. Definitions/Acronyms to change the Blocked Call
definition to calls “blocked by the relay platform” rather than the underlying
carrier. Staff does not agree with the suggestion because it may have a
negative impact on service quality.
(b) Upon mutual agreement between
the FPSC and the provider, the Contract allows the term to be extended for up to four additional one year periods subject to the same terms and
conditions set forth in the initial Contract and any written amendments signed
by the parties. Staff considered a suggestion to amend Section A.9 to add
language to allow bidders to bid a price for one or more of the optional four
year periods. Under the suggested amendment, bidders would be required to bid a
fixed price for the initial three year period and could offer rates for the
option years. It is staff’s position that the process currently in place
operates effectively. Staff is concerned
that awarding points for the optional years could affect the outcome of the RFP
without the ability to enforce the rates in those optional years. Specifically,
either the carrier that is selected or the FPSC can elect to cancel the
contract at the end of the initial term. Thus a carrier could propose an
unrealistically low rate to maximize its points for the optional year without
any consequence of actually have to provide service at that rate.
(c)
Staff reviewed a suggestion
on Section A.20 to change the order of precedence in case of a conflict between
the bidder’s response to the Request for Proposals and the Request for
Proposals. It was recommended that the bidder’s response to the Request for
Proposals take priority over the terms of the Request for Proposals. Staff
believes that the order of priority expressed in the Agreement signed by both
parties is the correct order of priority.
When a conflict occurs between the Request for Proposals and the bidder’s
response to the Request for Proposals, the Agreement states that the
inconsistency shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order:
·
The terms and conditions contained in the
Agreement
·
The RFP
·
Relay Provider's response
·
Responses to Questions for RFP
(d) Staff considered a suggestion to Section A.23 of the RFP to
change the amount of time required to cure a breach of the contract from 14
days to 30 days in the Cancellation/Availability of Funds section. Staff
disagrees since a breach of the contract may affect the health, safety, and
welfare of approximately three million deaf or hard of hearing Florida
citizens. Staff believes it is necessary to cure a breach as soon as possible,
but no later than 14 days after being provided written notice.
(e)
Staff considered a suggestion
that the requirement to destroy documents be performed by the provider upon
written request by the Commission. Staff believes that the written request is not
prescribed by Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. The requirement would also impose
an additional responsibility on the Commission to notify the provider of the
statutory mandate to destroy records upon completion of the contract.
(f) Staff
also considered a suggestion for a provision in the RFP allowing the provider
to suspend or terminate the provision of products or services in the event of
an uncured breach by the Commission.
Staff disagrees with this suggestion since Dispute Resolution is
addressed in Section A.30 of the RFP and invoice disputes are addressed in
Section B.51 of the RFP titled “Submission of Monthly Invoice.”
(g)
Staff reviewed a proposal to allow ANI-based
billing
for captioned telephone service in Section B-20. However, by Order PSC-10-0152-PAA-TP, issued March 15, 2010, the
Commission stated that “...Florida’s
CapTel service no longer allows Roaming or Guest Options.” Allowing ANI-based
billing would permit out-of-state residents to bring their CapTel phones into
Florida and have Florida be billed for their intrastate calls, which would be a
violation of this Order.
(h)
Staff examined a suggestion to revise the blockage
requirement in Section B.28. It was suggested that the Commission delete the
last sentence of the requirement (“Calls that are blocked must receive a
network blockage signal of 120 interruptions per minute.”). Staff believes the
network blockage signal is needed to help inform users that a blockage has
occurred. Blockages can be prevented by the provider by adding more trunk
capacity.
(i)
Staff studied a proposal to add additional
language to the RFP addressing the provider’s waiver of warranties and
assignment of the contract. Staff believes the
proposed changes could create ambiguity with other contract terms as to which
party to the contract has liability. Specific provisions regarding quality of
product may also conflict with other existing terms of the contract. Staff also believes that the provider’s right
to assign the contract could be detrimental to the needs of the
telecommunications relay system users.
Staff
recommends that the Commission
issue the RFP, as set forth in
Attachment A.
Issue 2:
Should this docket be closed?
Recommendation:
No. (Page)
Staff Analysis:
Rather than a Commission order being issued on this contractual matter, the RFP should be issued pursuant to Section 120.57(3), Florida
Statutes. This docket should remain open
throughout the life of the contract, and the provider should be selected to
begin providing service on March 1, 2018.
STATE OF FLORIDA
FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE
COMMISSION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
TO PROVIDE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RELAY SERVICE IN
FLORIDA
A. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND
PROCEDURES............................ 13
1. Issuing Entity
and Point of Contact ............................................................................... 13
2. Purpose.............................................................................................................................. 13
3. Other Applicable Laws/Legal Considerations................................................................. 13
4. Scope
................................................................................................................................ 14
5. FCC Authority
to Provide Relay Services ..................................................................... 14
6. Definitions/Acronyms....................................................................................................... 14
7. Key Dates ......................................................................................................................... 17
8. Commencement
Date........................................................................................................ 17
9. Term
of Contract............................................................................................................... 17
10. Restrictions on Communications ..................................................................................... 18
11. Modifications,
Withdrawals, and Late Proposals ........................................................... 18
12. Bidding Costs ................................................................................................................... 18
13. Rejection of Proposals, Correction of Errors .................................................................. 18
14. Public Availability of Proposals, News Releases and Public Announcements ............. 19
15. Protests .............................................................................................................................. 19
16. Letter of
lntent/Notification to Bidders
.......................................................................... 19
17. Award of Contract............................................................................................................. 19
18. Award
Without Discussion .............................................................................................. 19
19. Oral Interviews/Site Visits/Written Data Request........................................................... 19
20. Contract Document
......................................................................................................... 20
21. Limited Liability
.............................................................................................................. 21
22. Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................... 21
23. Cancellation/Availability of
Funds .................................................................................. 21
24. Public Bidder Meetings and Proprietary/Confidential Information............................... 22
25. Public
Records................................................................................................................... 22
26. Non-Collusion.................................................................................................................... 23
27. Changes in the Contract
.................................................................................................. 23
28. Conflict of
Interest/Standards of Conduct ..................................................................... 23
29. Minority Business
............................................................................................................ 23
30. Dispute Resolution ........................................................................................................... 24
31. Waiver ................................................................................................................................ 24
32. Severability ....................................................................................................................... 24
33. Force Majeure, Notice of Delay, and No
Damages for Delay.......................................... 24
34. Liquidated Damages for Failure to
Initiate Services on Time or to Provide
Contracted Services for the Life of
the Contract.............................................................. 25
B. THE SERVICE TO BE PROVIDED
........................................................................ 27
1. Overview .......................................................................................................................... 27
2. Scope of Service .............................................................................................................. 27
3. Access Numbers................................................................................................................ 27
4. Availability of the System
to Users ................................................................................ 27
5. Minimum CA Qualifications/Testing ............................................................................... 28
6. CA Training
...................................................................................................................... 29
7. Staff Training ................................................................................................................... 29
8. Counseling of CAs and Staff ......................................................................................... 29
9. Procedures for Relaying Communications ..................................................................... 29
10. Languages Served
............................................................................................................ 31
11. Additional Languages
Served ......................................................................................... 31
12. Shift Advisor/Consultant ................................................................................................. 32
13. Confidentiality of Calls .................................................................................................... 32
14. Types of Calls to be
Provided ......................................................................................... 33
15. Call Release
Functionality ............................................................................................... 33
16. Speed Dialing .................................................................................................................. 33
17. Three-Way Calling
Functionality .................................................................................... 33
18. Voicemail and Interactive Menus .................................................................................... 33
19. Voice and Hearing Carry-Over ....................................................................................... 34
20. Captioned Telephone Voice Carry-Over ........................................................................ 34
21. Turbocode™ .................................................................................................................... 35
22. Speech to Speech ............................................................................................................. 35
23. Access to Pay
Per Call Services (i.e. 900/976) ............................................................... 35
24. Caller ID ........................................................................................................................... 35
25. Last Number
Redial ......................................................................................................... 36
26. Obscenity Directed
at the Operator ................................................................................ 36
27. Emergency Calls ............................................................................................................... 36
28. Blockage ........................................................................................................................... 36
29. Answer Time .................................................................................................................... 36
30. Equipment Compatibility ................................................................................................. 36
31. Transmission Levels ......................................................................................................... 37
32. Measuring Equipment
Accuracy ...................................................................................... 37
33. Emergency Operations and Uninterruptible Power ....................................................... 37
34. Intercept Messages ........................................................................................................... 38
35. Service Expansion ............................................................................................................ 38
36. New Technology
.............................................................................................................. 38
37. Consumer Input and Participation in Advisory Committee
and FPSC Proceedings ... 38
38. Complaint Resolution ...................................................................................................... 39
39. Charges for Incoming Calls ............................................................................................ .39
40. Billing Arrangements ....................................................................................................... 39
41. End User Billing for Intrastate Calls .............................................................................. 40
42. Relaying Interstate and International Calls .................................................................... 40
43. End User Selection of Carrier ......................................................................................... 41
44. Recipient of Toll Revenues ............................................................................................. 41
45. Long Distance
Call Billing .............................................................................................. 41
46. Special Needs ................................................................................................................... 42
47. Unsolicited Features
in Basic Relay Service .................................................................. 42
48. IP-Relay,
IP-Captioned Telephone Service, and Video Relay Service ........................... 43
49. Redundancy ...................................................................................................................... 43
50. Performance Bond ........................................................................................................... 43
51. Submission of Monthly Invoice
...................................................................................... 44
52. Travel
................................................................................................................................ 44
53. Reporting Requirements .................................................................................................. 45
54. Transfer to New Provider ................................................................................................ 47
55. Insurance Coverage .......................................................................................................... 47
56. Optional Florida
Call Center ........................................................................................... 47
C. TECHNICAL BID PROPOSAL FORMAT ............................................................. 48
1. Format ............................................................................................................................... 48
2. Transmittal
Letter
............................................................................................................. 49
3. Public Entity
Crimes Provision ........................................................................................ 49
4. Financial Information ....................................................................................................... 49
5. Experience and Customer References ............................................................................ 50
6. Subcontractors .................................................................................................................. 50
7. Bid Security
Deposit ........................................................................................................ 50
8. Check List of Proposal
Content ...................................................................................... 51
D. THE PRICE PROPOSAL
FORMAT ........................................................................ 52
1. Basic Relay Service ......................................................................................................... 52
2. Captioned Telephone
....................................................................................................... 52
E. THE EVALUATION
METHOD TO BE USED AND FILING CHECK
LIST . 53
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
A. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND
PROCEDURES
1. Issuing Entity and Point of Contact
This Request
For Proposals (RFP) is
issued by the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC).
The FPSC's Proposals Review Committee (PRC) Chairman is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP and all communications must be
made through the Chairman, Curtis
Williams. Mailed
correspondence must be addressed to Curtis Williams, c/o Ms. Carlotta
Stauffer, Director, Office of Commission Clerk, Commission, 2540 Shumard
Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0850 and should reference Docket
No. 170039-TP. The PRC Chairman can be contacted
at (850) 413-6924 and facsimile correspondence should
be directed to (850) 413-6925. E-mail
should be directed to the PRC Chairman
at cjwillia@psc.state.fl.us.
2. Purpose
The purpose
of this RFP is to contract for a Florida Relay Service (FRS) System that meets the needs of the people of the State of Florida pursuant
to the Telecommunications Access System Act of 1991 (Chapter 427, Florida Statutes) and
which satisfies or exceeds the relay system certification requirements of the Federal
Communications Commission under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Bidders must comply with the requirements of both laws.
Section E, Table 1 of this RFP contains a summary of the captioned telephone intrastate billable minutes and TRS intrastate billable minutes provided by the current relay provider concerning the Florida relay traffic for the months of March 2016 through
March 2017. Section E, Table
2 of this RFP contains a summary
of the Florida intrastate and interstate session minutes for the months of
March 2016 through March 2017. The
bidder assumes all responsibility for the accuracy of data from
these reports and billable minute
information in using them for bidding purposes.
3. Other Applicable Laws/Legal Considerations
This RFP, and any
resulting contract, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida.
The bidders
and provider shall comply with applicable federal,
state, and local laws and regulations.
The contract
shall be construed according to the laws of the State of Florida.
Any legal proceedings against
any party relating
to or arising out of the RFP or any resultant
contract or contractual relation shall be brought
in State of Florida administrative or judicial forums. The venue will be Leon County, Florida.
4. Scope
This RFP contains
the instructions governing the proposal to be submitted and the material to be included
therein, mandatory administrative and operational requirements which
a bidder shall meet to be eligible for consideration,
specific instructions for proposal submission,
and evaluation criteria.
5. FCC Authority
to Provide Relay Services
The provider
shall have the necessary FCC authority or only use, for
relay service, telecommunications providers that have the necessary FCC authority to provide interstate and international service.
6. Definitions/Acronyms
The
following terms, when used in this RFP, have the meaning shown below.
a. Abandoned Calls - Calls
reaching the relay switch and terminated by the caller before a communications
assistant answers regardless of the amount
of time that has elapsed
since the call reached the relay switch.
b. Administrator
- A not-for-profit corporation incorporated pursuant
to the provisions of Chapter
617, Florida Statutes, and designated by the FPSC to administer the telecommunications
relay service system
and the distribution of specialized telecommunications devices pursuant to Section 427.703(1), Florida Statutes.
c. Advisory Committee - A group
created by Section 427.706, Florida Statutes, and consisting of up to ten individuals named by the FPSC
for the
purposes described in Chapter 427, Florida Statutes.
d. Answer
Time - The point in the progression of inbound calls beginning
when it arrives at the call center
switch until it is routed
to a communications assistant.
e. Billable Minutes
– For the purpose of calculating and rendering bills to the Administrator
pursuant to Section 427.704(2), Florida Statutes, billable minutes is the elapsed time between the time the incoming call enters the Florida
Relay System provider's relay center switch and the completion of relay
service. Total
session time shall be
rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a minute or less per session
and the time for all call sessions
shall be added together for all incoming
calls during the month to produce the total billable
minutes per month. The total of billable minutes
for the month shall be rounded
to the nearest one-tenth of a minute.
In a session which includes
a mix of intrastate toll or local calls and interstate or international calls, the time associated with the interstate or international calls shall
not be included in the billable time for that call session.
f. Blocked calls – Calls blocked by the carrier’s 800 number network.
g. Communications Assistant (CA) - A
person who relays
conversation to and from users of a relay system.
h. Deaf
- Having a permanent
hearing loss and being unable
to discriminate speech sounds in verbal communication, with or without the assistance of amplification devices.
i. Dual Sensory Loss - Having
both a permanent hearing loss and a permanent visual impairment and includes
deaf/blindness.
j. Electronic Posting - The Florida Department of Management Service's
Vendor Bid System
website located at http://myflorida.com/apps/vbs/vbs_www.main_
menu.
k. FPSC - Florida Public Service Commission.
l. General Assistance Calls - Incoming calls to the CA that are not associated with an outgoing relay call. Such
calls may provide information about using relay
or other types of calls that are normally handled
by customer service.
m. Hard of Hearing - Having a permanent hearing
loss which is severe enough to necessitate the use of amplification devices
to discriminate speech sounds.
n. Hearing Loss or Hearing Disabled - Being deaf or hard of hearing and includes dual sensory impairment.
o. Hearing Carry-Over (HCO) - A feature that allows
people who are speech disabled to use their hearing
abilities to listen
directly to their party.
The CA voices the typed responses
from the HCO user to the hearing
person, who then speaks directly
to the HCO user without CA interaction.
p. Incoming Call - An
incoming call refers to the portion of the communications connection from the calling
party to the relay service
center. An incoming Telecommunications Device
for the Deaf (TDD) call is a call
originated by a TDD user. An incoming
telephone call is a call
originated by a telephone user. An incoming call includes calls to the relay
service telephone number for completing a relay call as well as general
assistance calls.
q. Minor
Irregularity - A variation from the request for proposals terms
and conditions which does not
affect the price of the
proposal, give the bidder
an unfair advantage or benefit
not enjoyed by other bidders,
or does not adversely
impact the interests
of the FPSC.
r. Outgoing
Call - An
outgoing call refers to the portion
of the communications connection from
the relay service center to the called
party. An outgoing TDD call is a call to a TDD user. An outgoing telephone
call is a call to a telephone
user.
s. Provider - The entity with whom the FPSC
contracts to provide Florida Relay Service.
t. Proposals
Review Committee (PRC) - The PRC consists of designated FPSC staff and designated
members of the Advisory Committee.
u. Session Minutes
- Session minutes include
the entire time that the relay call is connected to the communication
assistant, including the time used to set up the call until the time the communications
assistant disconnects the last party.
v. Speech
Impaired or Speech Disabled - Having a permanent loss of verbal communications
ability which prohibits normal usage of a standard
telephone set as stated in Section 427.703(10), Florida
Statutes.
w. Speech to
Speech (STS) - A service that enables a person with speech disabilities
to use relay service with his own voice or voice synthesizer, rather than using a TDD.
A specially trained CA functions
as a human translator for people with speech disabilities who have trouble
being understood on the telephone. The STS CA repeats the words of the speech
disabled user to the other party on the call.
x. Telecommunications
Device for the Deaf (TDD or
TTY) - A mechanism
which is connected to a
standard telephone line, operated by means of a keyboard, and used to transmit or receive signals
through telephone lines. The term includes
mechanisms equipped with sight assisting devices such as a large print
screen or Braille printer and also includes computers as stated in Section 427.703(14), Florida Statutes.
y. User - Includes either the calling
or called party in a relay call.
z. Video Relay
- Video
relay interpreting allows the caller, utilizing video conferencing facilities, to use
sign language to communicate with the CA who voices
the call to the hearing
person at the receiving end.
aa. Voice
Carry-Over - A feature
that enables a user with a hearing
disability to utilize
his useable speech
for direct expression of voice communications and to use the CA for conversion of the other user's communications from voice to TDD.
7. Key Dates
The following dates are target dates.
The FPSC and the PRC Chairman
reserve the right to change
the dates. Any change to the dates shall be
accomplished by addendum.
Release Request
for Proposals.............................................................................. by
May 11, 2017
Clarifying Questions
Submitted in Writing to
PRC Chairman
3:00p.m. EDT............................................................................ by
May 25, 2017
Answers to Clarifying Questions........................................................................... by June 2, 2017
TECHNICAL AND PRICE PROPOSAL
DUE DATE & TIME 3:00p.m. EDT................................................................. by
June 16, 2017
Performance Bond Due .................................................................... Upon Execution
of Contract
Begin Service ............................................................................................................ March
1, 2018
8. Commencement Date
The commencement date for the service is March 1, 2018.
Bidders shall provide a work schedule showing how they can meet that deadline
and shall provide
a statement that they can provide the complete service
on March 1, 2018.
9. Term
of Contract
The term of the Contract
will be an initial three year
period. Upon
mutual agreement between
the FPSC and the provider, the Contract may allow for the term to be extended for up to four additional one year periods subject to the same terms and
conditions set forth in the initial Contract and any written amendments signed
by the parties. Any extension is subject
to the availability of funds and contingent upon satisfactory performance by
the provider. The provider shall notify the Commission of its desire to extend service by March 1 the year before the current service
period expires. For
example, if the contract
service period is due to expire
on February 28, 2021, the provider should notify the FPSC by March
1, 2020, that it desires
a one year extension of service.
10. Restrictions on Communications
From the issue date of this RFP until the staff
recommendation on the award of the contract is filed in the docket file, bidders are not to communicate with any FPSC Commissioner,
staff member, or Advisory Committee member regarding this RFP except for:
a. Written correspondence to or from the
PRC Chairman for clarifying questions only regarding the Commission-approved RFP. All written questions
must be submitted to the PRC Chairman
by 3:00 pm EDT, May 25, 2017, and written answers to the questions will be posted in Docket
No. 170039-TP and on the Florida Department
of Management Services
Vendor Bid System (http://www.myflorida.com/
apps/vbs/vbs_www.main_menu) by June 2, 2017. No changes to the Commission-approved
RFP will be considered.
b. Oral discussions at an oral interview or site visit pursuant to Section A.
After the recommendation for award is filed, there will be no oral or written
communication with FPSC staff, including the PRC Chairman, or any member of the FPSC concerning
the RFP. Written correspondence submitted to the docket
file for the sole purpose
of identifying a mathematical error will be reviewed by appropriate FPSC staff.
For breach of this provision, the FPSC reserves
the right to reject the proposal.
11. Modifications,
Withdrawals,
and Late Proposals
Proposals may only be modified or withdrawn by the bidder
up to the established filing date and time.
It is the responsibility of the bidder
to ensure that the proposal
is received by the Office
of Commission Clerk on or before the proposal
due date and time.
Both the technical and price proposals
must be filed by June 16, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Late
proposals will not be
accepted.
12. Bidding Costs
Neither the FPSC, nor the Florida Relay System, is liable for any costs incurred by a bidder in conjunction with the development of its bid.
13. Rejection
of Proposals, Correction of Errors
The
PRC Chairman and the FPSC reserve the right to reject any or all proposals and
to cancel the RFP. The FPSC reserves the
right to allow a bidder to correct minor irregularities upon notification by
the PRC Chairman. A bidder may not
modify its bid after opening; however, calculation or typographical errors may
be corrected by the FPSC.
14. Public
Availability of Proposals, News Releases and Public
Announcements
The technical proposals will each be made available
to the general public within 10 days after each is opened. The price proposals will not be opened
until after the technical proposals have been evaluated. Such price proposals will be
made available after the staff recommendation
for award is filed. The FPSC may issue press releases
or public announcements
concerning filed proposals
or the bid process.
15. Protests
Failure to file a protest of either the RFP or the letter
of intent within
the time prescribed
in Section 120.57(3)(b),
Florida Statutes, shall constitute a waiver of proceedings
under Chapter120, Florida Statutes.
16. Letter
of lntent/Notification to
Bidders
Upon selection
of a potential provider by the FPSC, the
FPSC will issue a letter
of intent to the potential
provider. The
electronic posting of the Notice
of Intent to Award is
the point of entry to protest
the award pursuant to Section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes. A contract
shall be completed and signed by all parties
concerned within thirty
(30) days of mailing the
letter of intent.
If this date is not met, through
no fault of the FPSC, the FPSC may elect to
cancel the letter of intent and make the award to another
bidder.
All bidders will receive a copy of the letter of intent by certified
mail, return receipt requested.
17. Award
of Contract
The FPSC shall award the contract
to the bidder whose proposal
is the most advantageous to the state, taking into account the following considerations in Section 427.704(3)(a),
Florida Statutes:
a. The appropriateness
and accessibility of the
proposed telecommunications relay service
for the citizens of the state, including persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired.
b. The overall
quality of the proposed telecommunications relay system.
c. The charges
for the proposed telecommunications
relay service system.
d. The ability and qualifications of the bidder to provide the proposed telecommunications relay service system as outlined in the RFP.
e. Any proposed service
enhancements and technological enhancements which improve service without significantly increasing cost.
f. Any proposed
provision of assistance to deaf persons with special
needs to access the basic telecommunications
system.
g. The ability to meet the proposed
commencement date for the FRS.
h. All other factors
listed in the RFP.
18. Award Without Discussion
The FPSC reserves the right to make an award without
discussion of proposals with the bidder.
Therefore, it is important
that each technical and price proposal
be submitted in the most complete, understandable, and accurate manner
possible.
19. Oral Interviews/Site Visits/Written Data Requests
Bidders may be asked to participate in oral interviews, respond to a written data request, make their facilities
available for a site inspection by the PRC or make their financial
records available for a FPSC audit. Such interviews, site visits, and/or audits
will be at the bidder's
expense except that the PRC will pay for its own expenses
(transportation, meals, housing, etc.). Bidders should
come to oral interviews prepared
to answer the PRC's
questions and the bidder's primary contact person (person signing the letter
of transmittal accompanying the RFP or his designee) shall be present at all meetings with the PRC or FPSC.
20. Contract Document
The successful bidder will be required
to sign a contract which will include
the following elements.
a. The RFP.
b. The bidder's proposal in response to the RFP.
c. A document identifying any clarifications to
the proposal and any unsolicited items
contained in the proposal and
desired by the FPSC to be included in the FRS.
All of the above items
together will constitute a complete
initial contract that will be executed by the FPSC's Executive Director on behalf of the FPSC.
21. Limited
Liability
Neither the
Commission, its Advisory Committee, the Administrator, the PRC and the provider of the
telecommunications relay service, nor any agent, employee, representative, or
officer of the foregoing shall be liable for any claims, actions, damages, or
causes of action arising out of or resulting from the establishment, participation
in, or operation of the telecommunications relay service, except where there is malicious purpose
or wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property
in the establishment, participation
in, or operation of the telecommunications
relay service. To the fullest extent
permitted by law, all prospective service providers and their assigns or successors by their participation
in the RFP process, shall indemnify,
save and hold the FPSC and its employees and agents, including the Advisory Committee and PRC, free and harmless from all suits, causes of action, debts,
rights, judgments, claims, demands,
accounts, damages, costs,
losses, and expenses
of whatsoever kind in law or equity, known and unknown,
foreseen and unforeseen, arising
from or out of the RFP and/or any subsequent
acts related thereto, including, but not limited
to, the recommendation of a bidder to the FPSC and any action brought by an unsuccessful bidder. This is a statutory requirement that will not be amended or waived.
22. Disclaimer
All
information contained in the RFP, including any amendments and supplements thereto, reflects the best and most accurate information available to the FPSC at the time of the RFP preparation.
No inaccuracies in such information shall constitute a basis for change
of the payments to the provider or a basis for legal recovery of damages, either actual, consequential, or punitive.
23. Cancellation/Availability of Funds
The FPSC shall have the right to unilaterally cancel, terminate, or suspend any ensuing contract, in whole or in part, by giving the provider 60 calendar day’s written notice
by certified mail, return receipt
requested, or in person with proof of delivery. If a breach
of the contract by the provider
occurs, the FPSC will provide
written notice to the provider,
and allow 14 days to cure the breach. If a breach
of the contract is not cured within
the 14 days, the FPSC may, by written notice to the provider,
terminate the contract upon 24 hours notice. The provisions
herein do not limit the FPSC’s right to remedies
at law or to damages.
Pursuant to Rule 25-25.013, F.A.C., on multi-term contracts, this contract
is subject to the availability of funds.
24. Public Bidder
Meetings and Proprietary/Confidential Information
Written
requests for confidentiality shall be considered
by the FPSC as described in Section 364.183,
Florida Statutes. Rule 25-22.006,
F.A.C., should be followed
in making a request.
Meetings
held between the FPSC or PRC and the bidder shall be open to the general public. Should the need arise to discuss any
confidential materials, the FPSC or PRC will attempt
to hold such a discussion by referring to the confidential material in a general way without closing the meeting. All meetings with bidders will be transcribed.
25. Public Records
All material
submitted regarding this RFP becomes
the property of the FPSC and subject
to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes,
(Public Records Law). The PRC reserves
the right to use any or all information/material
presented in reply to the RFP, subject
to any confidentiality granted via Chapter
364 and Chapter 427, Florida
Statutes. Disqualification of a bidder does not eliminate
this right.
Unless otherwise exempt from disclosure under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or Section 24(a) of Article I of the State of Florida Constitution, all documents qualifying as public records shall be made available by the provider
to the requestor, for public
inspection. The FPSC may
unilaterally cancel the contract for refusal by the provider
to allow such public access.
The provider must:
a. Keep and maintain public records required by the FPSC in order to perform
the service.
b. Upon
request from the FPSC’s custodian of records, provide the FPSC with a copy of
the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or copied within a
reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided in the Public
Records Law or as otherwise provided by law. A provider who fails to provide
public records to the FPSC may be subject to penalties under Section 119.10, Florida
Statutes.
c. Ensure
that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public
records disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law
for the duration of the contract term and following completion of the contract
if the provider does not transfer the records to the FPSC.
d. Upon
completion of the contract, transfer, at no cost, to the FPSC all public
records in possession of the provider or keep and maintain public records
required by the FPSC to perform the contract.
If the provider transfers all public records to the FPSC upon completion
of the contract, the provider shall destroy any duplicate records that are
exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure
requirements. If the provider keeps and
maintains public records upon completion of the contract, the provider shall
meet all applicable requirements for retaining public records. All records stored electronically must be
provided to the FPSC in an Adobe PDF format.
IF THE PROVIDER HAS QUESTIONS
REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO THE CONTRACTOR’S
DUTY TO PROVIDE PUBLIC RECORDS RELATING TO THIS CONTRACT, CONTACT THE CUSTODIAN
OF PUBLIC RECORDS AT (850) 413-6770, clerk@psc.state.fl.us,
2540 SHUMARD OAK BOULEVARD, TALLAHASSEE,
FLORIDA 32399-0850.
The FPSC and the provider acknowledge that this contract,
including all elements identified in section A.
20 of this RFP, is a public record,
is available to the public
for inspection, and may be posted on a web site by the State of Florida.
26. Non-Collusion
By submitting a
proposal, the bidder affirms that the proposed
bid prices have been
arrived at independently without
collusion, consultation, or communications with any other bidder or competitor, that the said bid prices were not disclosed by the bidder prior to filing with the FPSC, and that no attempt
was made by the bidder
to induce any other person,
partnership or corporation, to submit or not submit a proposal.
27. Changes
in the Contract
Any
change in the contract shall be accomplished by a formal
written contract amendment signed by the authorized representatives of
both the FPSC and the provider.
No other document or oral communications shall be construed as an amendment
to the contract.
28. Conflict of Interest/Standards
of Conduct
The award
hereunder is subject
to the provisions of Chapter 112, Florida
Statutes, (Public Officers and Employees), and Chapter 350, Florida Statutes
(Standards of Conduct). All bidders shall disclose
with their bid the name of any officer, director,
or agent, who is also an employee
of the State of Florida,
or any of its agencies. Further, all bidders shall disclose the name of any state employee who owns, directly or indirectly, an interest of five percent or
more in the bidder's firm or any of its branches.
29. Minority Business
It is the policy of the FPSC to encourage participation by minority business
enterprises (as defined in Section 287.012, Florida Statutes) in FPSC contracts. If two identical
bids/proposals to an invitation
for bids or request for proposals
are received and one response is from a minority owned company, the FPSC shall enter into a contract
with the minority owned company. If applicable, the bidder shall include in its proposal
evidence that it meets
the definition of a minority
business.
30. Dispute Resolution
Any dispute
concerning performance of the Contract shall
be decided by the FPSC or the FPSC's
designated Contract manager, who shall reduce the decision to writing and serve a copy on the provider.
The decision shall be final and conclusive unless within twenty one (21) days from the date of receipt, the provider files with the FPSC a petition for administrative hearing.
The FPSC's decision on the
petition shall be final, subject
to the provider's right to review pursuant to Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Exhaustion of administrative remedies
is an absolute condition precedent
to the provider's ability to pursue any other form of
dispute resolution; provided, however, that the parties
may employ the alternative dispute resolution procedures
outlined in Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Without limiting the foregoing, the exclusive venue of any legal or equitable action
that arises out of or relates to the Contract
shall be the appropriate state court in Leon
County, Florida; in any such action, Florida
law shall apply
and the parties
waive any right to jury trial.
31. Waiver
The delay or failure by the FPSC to exercise or enforce any of its
rights under this Contract shall not constitute or be deemed
a waiver of FPSC's right thereafter to enforce those rights, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right.
32. Severability
If
a court deems any provision
of the Contract void or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced
only to the extent that it is not in violation of law or is not otherwise unenforceable
and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
33. Force
Majeure, Notice of Delay, and No Damages for Delay
The
provider shall not be responsible for delay resulting
from its failure to perform if neither the fault nor the negligence of the provider
or its employees or agents
contributed to the delay and the delay is
due directly to acts of God, wars,
acts of public enemies,
strikes, fires, floods, or other similar cause
wholly beyond the provider's control,
or for any of the foregoing that affect subcontractors
or suppliers if no alternate
source of supply is available
to the provider. In case of any delay the
provider believes is excusable,
the provider shall notify the FPSC in writing of the delay or potential delay and describe the cause of the delay either
(1) within ten (10) days after the cause
that creates or will create
the delay first
arose, if the provider
could reasonably foresee that a
delay could occur as a result, or (2) if delay
is not reasonably foreseeable, within
five (5) days after the date the provider first had reason to believe
that a delay could result.
THE FOREGOING SHALL CONSTITUTE
THE PROVIDER'S SOLE REMEDY OR EXCUSE WITH RESPECT TO DELAY.
Providing notice in strict accordance with this paragraph
is a condition precedent to such remedy. No claim for damages,
other than for an extension
of time, shall be asserted
against the FPSC.
The provider shall not be entitled
to an increase in the Contract
price or payment of any kind
from the FPSC for direct, indirect, consequential, impact or other costs, expenses or damages, including but not limited to costs of acceleration
or inefficiency, arising because of delay,
disruption, interference, or hindrance from any cause whatsoever. If
performance is suspended or delayed,
in whole or in part,
due to any of the causes described in this paragraph, after the causes have ceased to exist the provider shall
perform at no increased cost, unless the FPSC determines, in its sole discretion, that the delay will significantly impair the value of the Contract to the State or to Customers, in which case the FPSC may (1) accept allocated
performance or deliveries from the provider, or (2) purchase from other
sources (without recourse to and by the provider for the related
costs and expenses) to replace all or part of the products that are the subject of the delay,
which purchases may be deducted from
the Contract quantity, or (3) terminate the Contract in whole or in part.
34. Liquidated Damages for Failure to Initiate Services
on Time
Implementation of the Florida Relay Service in a timely matter is essential. Failure by
the provider to implement the service
by March 1, 2018, shall be considered a significant and material
breach of the Contract. For each day the service is delayed,
the provider shall pay to the Administrator, for deposit in its operating
fund, the sum of $25,000.
Liquidated damages may accrue
up to the following amounts
for each breach. Liquidated
damages for any particular month may not exceed the actual monthly
revenue from the provision of services pursuant to this RFP. For failure to:
a. Meet answer time requirements
- $5,000/day.
b. Meet blockage
rate or transmission level requirement $5,000/day.
c. Meet complaint
resolution requirement - $1,000/complaint.
d. Provide timely reports - $500/day.
e. Meet
minimum typing speed of 60 words per minute on live
traditional relay calls - $5,000/day.
f. Provide contracted services for the
life of the contract, the FPSC reserves the right to require the payment by the
provider of liquidated damages in the amount commensurate with the duration and
extent of the system deficiencies.
Any liquidated damages may be paid by
means of the Administrator deducting the amount
of the liquidated damage from a monthly payment to
the provider. Such
action shall only occur upon order of the FPSC. The Liquidated Damage provisions stated above
in this Section A.34 are subject to the Force Majeure provisions in Section
A.33.
B. THE SERVICE
TO BE PROVIDED
1. Overview
This section of the RFP lists
and describes the specific basic features of the relay service required to be provided.
2. Scope
of Service
The
relay service shall be designed to
provide the means by which a deaf, hard of hearing,
speech, or dual sensory impaired person using a TTY can communicate over the existing telecommunications network with a non-TTY user (and vice-versa)
through the use of the relay system. The service shall also provide
other telecommunications services to persons with hearing and speech disabilities as further described
below.
The FPSC is
interested in procuring a relay service that is as cost efficient
as possible
while at the same time providing a service as equivalent to standard telecommunications service as possible.
3. Access
Numbers
There shall be a single access
number for TDD users, a single access
number for voice users, a single access number for ASCII users, and a single
access number for Spanish users.
The TDD access number
shall be (800) 955-8771, the voice access
number shall be (800) 955-8770, and the ASCII access number
shall be (800) 955-1339. The Spanish access number shall be (877) 955-8773. The provider must request
FPSC authority to use additional numbers for relay access (e.g. Speech
to Speech (STS), other foreign
languages, etc.). If a caller
calls the wrong access number,
the system shall process the call without
requiring the caller to redial.
Access shall also be provided via "711" which shall point to the (800)
955-8770 number.
4. Availability of the System
to Users
The service
shall be designed to relay local, intrastate, interstate, and international
calls that originate or terminate
in Florida. Relay service
shall be available
24 hours per day every day of the year. No restrictions shall be placed
on the length or number of calls
placed by customers through the relay center.
5. Minimum Communications Assistant (CA) Qualifications
and Testing
The provider
shall adequately supervise and train its employees
to always be courteous, considerate, and efficient in their contact and dealings with its
customers and the public in general, and shall conduct periodic
evaluations to ensure that courteous service is being rendered.
Bidders shall specify
how CAs will meet all necessary
proficiency requirements. CAs shall
be able to quickly and accurately type TDD relay
messages. The
provider shall use valid, unbiased tests for CAs on subjects
including, but not limited to:
a. Competent skills in typing,
grammar, spelling,
interpretation of typewritten American Sign Language (ASL),
and familiarity with hearing and speech disability
cultures, languages and etiquette. CAs
must possess clear and articulate voice communications.
b. A high
school diploma or grade equivalent diploma. In addition, each candidate shall pass a high school
level English comprehension and grammar
test before being considered for employment.
c. A minimum typing speed of 60 words per minute (wpm) on live traditional
relay calls. Technological
aids may be used to reach the required typing
speed.
The provider shall conduct
monthly test calls on live calls using
a statistically valid sample of their Florida
TRS calls, with test results
being submitted to the contract administrator on a monthly basis. The provider shall use prepared scripts that reflect a typical conversation and calling through the relay system the
same as other live calls. The purpose of these calls will be to ensure all federal and state requirements for relay service are met. The provider shall explain as part of its proposal
how it will conduct the test calls
to determine the adequacy of service provided
by the relay service. The method
to be used to determine
the typing speed is as follows. Start timing the CA when the CA begins to type the message to the TTY user.
Count the
number of characters including spaces and divide that number by five to determine the number
of words per minute. It shall be the objective of the provider to test each CA at least once yearly. If a CA does not meet the 60 wpm requirement, the CA shall be taken off of live relay calls until further training
and compliance can be
accomplished.
d. Ethics, e.g., how a CA interacts with clients.
e. Confidentiality.
Any person who has not passed
these tests shall not be utilized as a CA.
6. Communications
Assistant (CA) Training
Each bidder
shall demonstrate in its proposal
how ongoing CA training
will be provided by including
with its proposal
an outline of a proposed
CA training plan. The provisions for CA training shall include, but not be limited
to, an understanding of limited
written English and ASL, deaf culture,
needs of hearing
and speech disabled
and dual sensory
impaired users, ability to speak in a tone of voice consistent with the intent
and mood of the conversation, operation of relay telecommunications
equipment, how to handle hearing
and Voice Carry-Over, ethics, confidentiality
and other requirements of the provider's operating policies and procedures. Training shall include both simulated and live on-line
call handling.
7. Staff Training
All relay center staff,
including management, shall receive training
in ASL, deaf culture, needs of hearing, speech
and dual sensory
impaired users, ethics,
and confidentiality. Each proposal should include an outline of a staff training plan indicating training topics and time frames
as well as explaining how individuals or organizations (such as deaf service centers,
state agencies, Florida Telecommunications
Relay, Inc., universities, etc.)
representing the hearing and speech impaired community would be used to assist with the training.
8. Counseling of CAs and Staff
Bidders are required to outline a program for counseling
and support that will help CAs and staff
deal with the emotional
aspects of relaying calls. Those
providing this staff support
shall have training
in dealing with the emotional aspects
of handling relay calls.
However, in counseling sessions, the CA shall
not give to the support person the names of callers involved.
The counseling support system
shall follow the confidentiality
provisions of this RFP.
9. Procedures for Relaying Communications
The system
shall be designed
to convey the full content
of the communications. Unless
requested otherwise by a user, the CA shall relay all calls according
to the following procedures.
a. The CA is to be identified by a number
(not name) followed
by “M” if male and “F” if female. The provider
shall establish a method which will allow identification
of the CA in the event a
complaint is filed or a user wants to
praise the work of the CA.
b. The user shall
be kept informed on the status of the call, such as dialing, ringing, busy, disconnected,
or on hold throughout the call session. The system shall provide
feedback to callers on the call
status within 10 seconds after a caller has provided
the number to call and continue to provide feedback
until the call is answered.
c. All users shall have the option of telling the CA how to greet the called party and what aspects of the call that he/she
will handle. For example,
the TDD user may voice
the call (Voice
Carry-Over), rather than have the CA do it or the caller may ask that relay be explained as soon as someone answers the call.
d. When the call is first answered,
and at all times during
the conversation, the system shall type to the TDD user or verbalize
to the non-TDD user verbatim
what is said or typed
unless the relay user specifically requests summarization.
If the CA summarizes the conversation, the CA shall inform both parties that the call is being summarized.
e. When the CA is asked to explain
relay to a user, the CA shall express the term "explaining relay" to the other user on the call to let them know what is happening rather than transmitting all of the explanation.
f. When speaking for the TDD user, the CA shall adopt
a conversational tone of voice appropriate to the type of call being made and conveying
the intent and mood
of the message. The CA shall also indicate identifiable emotions by typing those in parentheses, (e.g., he's laughing,
he's crying). Any
identifiable background noises shall be relayed
to the TDD user in parentheses. The CA shall identify
to the TDD user, if identifiable,
the gender of voice users when they first come on the line. All
of the above should be done automatically
unless the user asks that it not be done.
g. CAs shall indicate to the user, if known, if another
person comes on the line.
h. All comments
directed to either
party by the CA or to the CA by either party shall be relayed. These comments shall be typed in
parentheses. However, comments between
the CA and a relay user at the beginning
of a call which deal with billing
information need not be relayed to the other user.
i. CAs shall verify spelling of unfamiliar proper nouns, numbers, addresses, information about
drug prescriptions and other unfamiliar words that are spoken and
are to be relayed.
j. CAs
shall stay on the line for a minimum of
ten (10) minutes before allowing a change in
CAs. For STS calls, the CA must stay on the line a minimum
of twenty (20) minutes. If a user requests
that the same CA be used
during the entire conversation,
the system shall comply whenever
possible until both parties
have terminated the call.
k. CAs shall not counsel, offer advice, or
interject personal opinions or additional information into any relay call.
This also means the CAs shall
not make any value judgments
on the profanity or obscenity or legality of any
messages. Furthermore, the CAs shall not hold personal conversations with
anyone calling the system.
l. Users shall not be required to give their names or the name of the party they are calling,
unless needed for billing.
m. The system shall transmit conversations between TTY and voice callers in real time.
n. For
each incoming call, the CA shall without
delay make as many outgoing
calls as requested
by the caller.
o. If a user requests that a CA of a specific gender
be used, the provider shall make best efforts to accommodate
the request when a call is initiated
and at the time the call is transferred to another CA.
p. The
provider shall provide
a customer profile
database. Such data may not be used
for any purpose
other than to connect the TRS user with the called parties desired by that TRS user. Such information shall
not be sold, distributed, shared or
revealed in any other way by the relay center or its employees, unless compelled to do so by lawful order.
10. Languages Served
At all times, the provider shall make available CAs with the capability
to provide relay service to users who use either English, Spanish, or ASL on their relay call. Translation from one language to another is not required.
11. Additional Languages Served
The provider
will not be required to serve languages
other than English,
Spanish, or ASL. However, additional evaluation points
may be given for proposals
that include how the provider
would handle relay calls using one or more additional languages (e.g. French,
Haitian Creole, etc.). Additional languages
should be identified.
12. Shift Advisor/Consultant
On each shift the provider
shall employ in the relay center at least one person who is
highly knowledgeable of ASL in order to serve as an advisor/consultant to
assist CAs in understanding the intent of messages and properly communicating
the full content of communication.
13. Confidentiality of
Calls
As required by
Section 427.704(1)(c), Florida Statutes, all calls shall be totally confidential; no written
or electronic script shall be kept beyond the duration
of the call. CAs and supervisory
personnel shall not reveal information about the content
of any call and, except for
the minimum necessary for billing, complaint processing, statistical reporting
or training
purposes as further
described in this RFP, shall not reveal any information about a call. CAs
and supervisory personnel shall be required to sign a pledge of
confidentiality promising not to disclose
the identity of any callers (except
for the reasons discussed in this
section) or any information learned during
the course of relaying calls,
either during the period of employment as a CA or after termination of employment.
a. When
training new CAs by the method
of sharing past experience, trainers shall not reveal any of the following
information:
(1) Names of the parties on the call.
(2) Originating or terminating points
of specific calls.
(3) Specifics of the information conveyed.
b. CAs shall not discuss, even among
themselves or their supervisors, any names
or specifics of any relay call, except as necessary in instances of resolving complaints, bill processing,
emergencies, or for training purposes. CAs may discuss a general
situation with which they need assistance in order to clarify how to process
a particular type of relay call.
CAs should
be trained to ask questions
about procedures without
revealing names or specific information
that will identify
the caller.
c. Watching or listening to actual calls
by anyone other than the CA is prohibited except for training or monitoring
purposes or other purposes specifically authorized by the FPSC. FPSC staff
shall be permitted to observe
live calls for monitoring purposes, but shall also comply with
the confidentiality provisions above.
d. A copy of the FPSC rules on confidentiality shall be provided to a user upon request and at no cost.
14. Types of Calls to be Provided
a. Text-to-voice/voice-to-text. The provider shall transmit conversations between TTY and voice callers in real time.
b. Voice carry-over
(VCO), two-line VCO, VCO-to-TTY, and VCO-to-VCO.
c. Hearing carry-over (HCO), two-line HCO, HCO-to-TTY,
HCO-to-HCO and Captioned Telephone or its equivalent
service.
15. Call Release Functionality
Call release
functionality is a feature that allows the CA to sign-off
or "release" from the telephone
line after the CA has set up a telephone
call between the originating TTY caller and a called
TTY party, such as when a TTY user must go through
a TRS facility to contact
another TTY user because the called TTY party can only be reached through
a voice-only interface, such as a switchboard.
The provider shall also immediately release a call when a TTY user using the relay system is inactive for more than thirty (30) seconds.
16. Speed dialing
A feature that allows
a TRS user to place a call using a stored number
maintained by the TRS facility. In the context of TRS, speed
dialing allows a TRS user to give the CA a "short
hand" name or number for the user’s most frequently called telephone numbers.
17. Three-Way Calling Functionality
A feature that allows more than two parties to be on the telephone line at the same time with the CA.
18. Voicemail and Interactive Menus
CAs must alert the TRS user of the presence of a recorded
message and interactive menus through a hot
key on the CA’s terminal. The hot key
will send text from the CA to the consumer’s TTY indicating that a recording
or interactive menu has been encountered. Relay providers shall electronically capture recorded messages and retain
them for the length of the call. The
provider may not impose any charges for additional calls,
which must be made by the relay
user in order to complete
calls involving recorded
or interactive messages.
The bidder shall explain how messages will be left
on or retrieved from answering machines
and how interaction with voice response units
will be accomplished. The bidder shall explain
how any access code used to retrieve
messages will be confidentially
handled.
The bidder shall explain
if and how messages will be retrieved
from an answering machine if the originating party calling the relay center is at the same location
as the answering machine. For example,
if a
person is at home and cannot
retrieve his messages
from his own answering machine, how will the relay center accomplish retrieving the message and relaying the information
to the deaf or hard of hearing person when only one telephone line exists to the residence?
19. Voice
and Hearing Carry-Over
The provider
shall provide both voice and hearing Carry-Over upon request of the user. A TDD user may request Voice Carry-Over (VCO) which will allow him/her
to speak directly to the telephone
user and receive the message
typed back on the TDD. In addition,
a TDD user may request Hearing Carry-Over (HCO) which will enable
the TDD user to directly hear what the telephone user is saying and type
back his/her message, which will be spoken by the
operator.
As part of its proposal, the bidder shall describe
in detail how incoming 2-line
VCO calls will be handled. As part of its proposal the
bidder shall also describe in detail how outgoing 2-line
VCO calls will be handled.
The provider
shall make provision for two persons
who have a hearing loss to speak for themselves by means of Voice
Carry-Over to Voice Carry-Over (VCO to VCO) and for two persons who are speech disabled
to hear for themselves by means
of Hearing Carry-Over to Hearing Carry-Over (HCO to HCO).
20. Captioned Telephone Voice
Carry-Over
The provider shall provide as part of its proposal a description of how Captioned Telephone or its equivalent
service will be provided, including 2-line captioned
service. If an
equivalent service is provided, it must be compatible with the existing
Captioned Telephone telephones currently in use by end users. The provider shall price the Captioned Telephone service separately from other relay services in its price proposal.
No roaming
or guest options
are to be allowed.
The provider shall conduct monthly test calls on live calls using
a statistically valid sample of its Florida
captioned telephone calls, with results being
submitted to the contract
administrator on a monthly
basis. The provider shall use prepared
scripts that reflect a
typical conversation and calling through the relay captioned
telephone system the same as other
live calls. The
purpose of these calls will be to ensure all federal and state requirements for relay service are met.
The provider
shall explain as part of its proposal how it will conduct
the test calls to determine
the adequacy of service provided
by the captioned telephone service.
21. Turbocode™
The provider shall provide
Turbocode™, or its functionally equivalent,
service that allows the relay user to interrupt the CA or
other TDD user as part of the basic relay system.
Pricing for this service shall be
included in the basic relay price in the bidder's price proposal.
22. Speech to Speech
The provider
must offer Speech
to Speech (STS) users the option to maintain at the relay center
a list of names and telephone numbers which the STS user calls.
When the STS
user requests one of these names, the CA shall just repeat
the name and state the telephone number
to the STS user. This information must be transferred to any new STS provider.
Pricing for STS service
shall be included
in the basic relay service
price in the bidder's price proposal.
23. Access to Pay Per Call Services (i.e. 900/976)
The
provider shall provide
access to pay per call services such as 900/976
numbers.
The bidder
should explain how it will provide relay
service users with access to pay per call services.
Bidders are to describe how such access can be provided, how callers can disconnect without
being charged, and a methodology for billing the user directly
for any charges incurred from the pay per call service.
The bidder
should describe how it would deal with denied pay
per call calls and high bill complaints for 900/976 calls. Before
placing the call,
the CA shall advise the caller that there will be a charge for the call.
The bidder shall explain
in the proposal how interstate and intrastate pay per call charges shall be separated for end user payment purposes.
24. Caller
ID
When
a TRS facility is able to transmit
any calling party identifying information to the public network,
the provider must pass through,
to the called party, at least one of the following: the number of the TRS facility,
711, or the 10-digit number of the calling party.
25. Last Number Redial
Last Number Redial allows
the caller to have the system dial the last number called via relay without the caller having to give the number to the CA.
26. Obscenity Directed at the Operator
CAs do not have to tolerate
obscenity directed at them. A proposal shall specify how the provider
will handle these situations.
27. Emergency Calls
The provider
must use a system for incoming
emergency calls that, at a minimum, automatically and immediately transfers the caller to
an appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). An appropriate PSAP is either a PSAP that the caller would have reached
if he had dialed 911 directly, or a PSAP that is capable of enabling the dispatch of emergency services
to the caller in an expeditious
manner. In addition, a CA must pass along the caller's
telephone number to the PSAP when a caller disconnects before being connected
to emergency services.
28. Blockage
The provider is responsible for
ensuring that 99 percent of all calls
reaching the provider's relay center
per day are either answered
or continue to receive a ringing signal. Calls
that are blocked must receive
a network blockage
signal of 120 interruptions per minute.
29. Answer
Time
The
provider is responsible for answering, except
during network failure,
85 percent of all calls daily within 10 seconds of reaching the relay switch by
any method which results in the
caller's call immediately being placed, not put in a queue, or on hold.
Elapsed time is calculated from the time inbound
calls reach the relay switch. In calculating the percentage of calls meeting
the answer time standard, the numerator shall be the total number of
calls per day that are answered (with a CA ready to serve) in 10 seconds
or less. The denominator shall be the total number
of calls per day reaching
the relay switch. Answer time shall not be reported as an average speed of answer or by using a weighted
service level.
30. Equipment Compatibility
It
is necessary for the system to be capable of receiving and transmitting
in both Baudot and ASCII codes,
as well as voice. It is
also required that the relay system
be capable of automatically identifying incoming
TDD signals as either Baudot
or ASCII. All equipment
shall be compatible with the basic protocol
of TDDs distributed in Florida through the Administrator.
31. Transmission
Levels
Transmission levels must be
maintained within industry standards as outlined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - Network Performance - Switched Exchange Access Network Transmission
specifications (ANSI T1.506-1997). The provider
must provide updates to those standards as amended by ANSI during the term of the contract and must meet the amended standards.
32. Measuring Equipment
Accuracy
Every meter, recording and ticketing
device used to capture call details
for billing subscribers or the FPSC/Administrator
as well as for providing traffic information shall be tested prior to its installation and shall be accurate 97 percent of the time to within
a one second grace period. All equipment
shall be maintained in a good state
of repair consistent with safety and adequate service performance. Quarterly testing of the measuring equipment accuracy shall be
performed by the provider and files should be maintained for the duration of the contract for FPSC review
upon request.
33. Emergency Operations and Uninterruptible Power
In
addition to a minimum of thirty (30) minutes battery
capacity sufficient to operate each relay center
processing Florida relay traffic at busy season busy hour load, each relay center shall have
installed emergency power generating equipment capable of maintaining the relay center’s
operations. The uninterruptible
power system shall support the switch system and its peripherals, switch room environmental (air conditioning, fire suppression
system, emergency lights and system alarms),
operator consoles/terminals, operator worksite emergency lights, and Call Detail Record
recording. Provisions shall be made to meet emergencies resulting from failure of power service, sudden
and prolonged increases in traffic, storms,
lightning, etc. Employees shall be
instructed as to the procedures to be followed
in the event of emergency in order to prevent or mitigate interruption or impairment of relay service.
The bidder shall describe its plan for dealing
with all types of natural and
man-made problems (e.g., hurricanes, lightning strikes, fires, etc.) which either isolate
the relay center and prevent
calls from reaching
the center or cause the center to be unable
to operate. In addition, the plan should detail
the steps which will be taken to deal with the problem
and restore relay service.
The provider shall inform the
contract manager of any major interruptions to the operation of the relay center extending beyond five minutes duration. The
contract manager shall also be informed
when it becomes known to the relay center that any portion
of the state is isolated for more than five minutes from the relay center.
The provider shall also provide a written (or e-mail) report to the contract manager
after restoration of service.
Although it is not mandatory, the
FPSC urges the provider to subscribe qualifying facilities for priority restoration under the Telecommunications Service Priority Program.
34. Intercept Messages
Appropriate intercept messages shall be provided
if a system failure occurs.
35. Service
Expansion
The
bidder shall show the
capability of expanding services in response to increasing demand. The bidder shall develop and illustrate in its
proposal a detailed plan of
how this expansion will be accomplished.
The plan shall include,
but not be limited to, trunking capacity,
CA workstations, personnel, and equipment capacity. The plan shall also indicate how any time lag shall be avoided
to meet any increased call volume.
The above
plans shall allow the provider
to be able to maintain
all standards listed in the RFP.
36. New Technology
The
users should be allowed to benefit from advancing technology. The bidder
should keep abreast
of technological changes in the provision of relay service
to inform the FPSC and Administrator when new enhancements are available and at what price,
and to provide the FPSC the opportunity to purchase such enhancements or upgrades to the service.
37. Consumer
Input and Participation in
Advisory Committee and FPSC
Proceedings
The
telephone users shall have input on the quality
of the delivery of service. Bidders shall develop
a plan to include the FPSC and its Advisory
Committee in any evaluation
of the system. A bidder
shall not include travel or per diem costs of the FPSC or its Advisory Committee in its bid price since those costs will be funded
by the State. An outline of this plan shall be included
with the bidder's proposal. The plan shall explain methods for consumer input and how the recommendations from these evaluations will be incorporated into the policies
of the relay center. This
does not preclude the provider
from conducting additional internal evaluations which use relay staff.
The results
of any service quality evaluation shall be reported
to the FPSC office within 15 calendar
days after the last month in each quarter.
Bidders are encouraged to include
in the consumer input plan, methods for working with organizations serving
individuals with hearing and speech loss statewide
to conduct periodic community forums. The
community forums shall
be for the purpose of gaining user input on the quality of relay service and for responding
to user questions and problems
on use of the relay service. The community forums shall be planned and
conducted in conjunction with organizations serving people with hearing and speech loss.
The
provider shall participate in all meetings
of the Advisory Committee and all FPSC workshops and hearings relating
to relay service unless excused
by the contract manager.
38. Complaint Resolution
The
provider shall establish
procedures regarding complaints, inquiries, and comments regarding system services and personnel. The
provider shall ensure
that any caller
to the relay center having a complaint will be able to reach a supervisor
or administrator while still online during a relay call. All
complaints received by supervisors, or in writing, shall be documented,
including their resolution, and kept on file and available
to the FPSC upon request. In
addition, the relay center shall have a toll-free Customer
Services telephone number available
statewide and accessible to the public for the purpose of reporting service
or other deficiencies.
Records of such reports
and copies of written reports
regarding service or other deficiencies shall be maintained for the life of the contract
and for twelve (12) months
after conclusion of the contract period. This record shall include
the name and/or
address of the complainant, the date, and time received,
the CA identification number, the nature of the complaint, the result of any investigation,
the disposition of the complaint,
and the date of such disposition. Each signed letter of complaint shall be acknowledged in writing or by contact
by a
representative of the provider. The necessary
replies to inquiries propounded
by the FPSC's staff concerning service or other complaints received
by the FPSC shall be furnished
in writing within fifteen (15) days from the date of the FPSC inquiry.
A
complaint log compliant with the FCC reporting
requirements shall be provided to the FPSC's contract manager in a timely manner
for filing with the FCC.
39. Charges for Incoming Calls
The
provider shall make no charge to the users for making calls
(incoming) to the relay
service.
40. Billing
Arrangements
The
provider shall bill for charges
for collect calls,
person-to-person calls, calls to or from hotel rooms and pay telephones, and calls charged
to a third party. The provider
shall also arrange for billing to any industry standard local exchange
or competitive local exchange company calling
card. For calls billed
by or on behalf of the provider,
the bidder shall include a complete description of how users will be billed
for all calls. This
description shall include the bidder's
procedures for obtaining billing information from the local exchange and competitive local exchange
companies, whether the billing will be performed
directly by the provider itself or contracted, specific credit cards or telephone
calling cards to which
calls can be billed, and a sample bill format. The bidder shall also explain
how it will respond to customer
inquiries about erroneous bills and how credits
will be issued or refunds made. If the
provider has obtained an FCC waiver, the provider will provide long distance
service to TRS and CTS users at no cost to the users.
41. End User Billing
for Intrastate Calls
Intrastate
toll calls placed through the relay system and billed by or on behalf of the provider shall
be billed to the voice
or TDD caller at 50 percent of the provider's rate for non relay
calls. An additional 10 percent discount
(60 percent total
discount) shall apply to calls to or from the dual-sensory
impaired; the provider shall develop
a system for identifying such users and applying
the discount to their calls. Timing
for timed intrastate call billing shall begin when the relay operator advises
a party to proceed with the call and shall not include any initial time by the operator to explain how relay service
works.
The bidder shall explain
how its discount
toll plan subscribers would be billed for relayed calls billed
by or on behalf of the provider. For example, if a bidder
offers a discount
for over five hours of usage per month, the bidder should
explain how a subscriber
to that service
would be billed for any relay calls made during
the month.
The provider
shall not charge
the end user more for non-message
toll relay calling than would
be charged for the same call if billed by the end user's
local exchange or competitive local exchange
company. The provider can accomplish
this by obtaining necessary billing information about the end user's local company in order to ensure that it does not bill in excess of those rates (e.g., extended area service calls, extended calling
service calls, etc.) so that the end user's local company can bill for relay
calls under the local company's rates. If this alternative approach is taken,
the provider shall submit the billing information to the local company in an industry
standard format and the provider shall incur whatever
costs are required to correctly
format the billing information so that the local company can bill the calls.
Of the two approaches described above, the bidder should indicate how it will initially bill calls and the provider shall advise the FPSC's
contract manager whenever it changes billing methodologies.
42. Relaying Interstate and International Calls
The
provider shall be required to relay interstate and international
calls that originate or terminate in Florida. The provider
shall not include in its bill for Florida relay service any charges or time associated with interstate or international calls.
If relayed interstate or international calls are to be billed by the provider to the end user at a rate higher than the rate for a non-relay
call, the provider
shall quote the rate to the party to be billed before beginning the call. The bidder shall
indicate how its rate for interstate and international
calls will compare to the rate for
non-relay calls and whether any discounts or additional charges
will apply to interstate and international relay calls.
43. End User Selection
of Carrier
The provider
shall allow a caller to select an available interexchange company other than the provider
for completion of toll calls and billing purposes. If the provider has obtained an
FCC waiver, this requirement would only apply to International calls. The provider
must meet current and subsequent requirements of the Network Interconnection Interoperability forum for handling end user requests for a carrier
other than the provider.
The bidder
shall include a copy of the current
standard along with its proposal and the provider shall provide to the FPSC any subsequent
updates in the standard as soon as they are adopted.
44. Recipient of Toll Revenues
The relay provider or
its underlying telecommunications
provider shall be allowed
to retain the toll revenues
for all long distance calls billed by or on behalf of the relay provider or its underlying
telecommunications provider.
45. Long Distance Call Billing
Operator handled calls from inmates at correctional facilities,
payphones, to and from international locations, to Directory Assistance, and
calls placed to pay per call services (e.g., 900 numbers) shall be carefully supervised and disconnects made promptly.
A
check of the timing clock shall be made at least once each twenty-four (24) hours to ensure that the
clocks are synchronized and that the time is correct. Clock
deviations shall not be in excess of
12 seconds. Bidders shall specify the record
system for identifying and documenting long distance
and toll calls for billing purposes. The
record shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
a. Telephone number
or credit card number to be billed (NPA-prefix-line number).
b. Originating and terminating telephone number (NPA-prefix-line number).
c. Originating and terminating exchange
named.
d. Date.
e. Start time.
f.
Call duration to the full second (the time in between start time and end time). Long
distance calls billed to subscribers shall be listed chronologically and reflect the connect time of such calls based on the appropriate time zone.
Bidders shall also fully describe the billing system and billing process
that will be used, including
identification of any subcontractors, specific
duties of the subcontractors, and how the billing record detail will be
transmitted to the billing agent (if any).
46. Special Needs
The
provider is not required to provide Special
Needs services. However, consideration will be given for additional
evaluation points for proposals that include Special
Needs services (beyond any other services for basic relay described elsewhere in their proposal)
as a part of the basic relay
service.
“Special Needs” means limiting
factors of a physical or literacy nature
that preclude a person who is hearing, speech or dual-sensory
(both hearing and visually impaired) disabled from using basic relay service.
Special Needs includes: (1) physical limitations, either temporary or permanent, which preclude
use of a TDD with or without
adaptations for persons
with manual dexterity limitations (e.g., paralysis, severe arthritis,
broken fingers) and (2) markedly limited
ability either to read or write English
or Spanish which precludes the user from being able to use the relay service.
(However, relay
service does not include translation from one language to another for the Special
Needs population or for any other consumers). Special Needs does not include:
(1) unavailability of telephone service
at the caller's home or business,
(2) inability to communicate in either English or Spanish (i.e., where caller can only communicate in a language
other than English
or Spanish), or (3) handling complex calls (e.g., intervening in a call with a doctor to explain a medical procedure).
The
bidder shall describe
what steps will be
taken to provide telecommunications assistance
to persons with hearing, speech and
dual-sensory impairments who have special needs. This
description shall include the types of services that would be provided, the prices to end users (if any) for those services, how those services
would operationally be provided, how parties other than the provider would be involved
in providing Special Needs
services, and how the provider
would assure that those parties
would fulfill their portion of the service
obligation.
47. Unsolicited Features
in Basic Relay Service
The
bidder will not be required
to provide unsolicited features in its basic relay service. However, additional evaluation points will be considered for proposals that include
unsolicited features. The cost to the state for these unsolicited
features must be included
within the basic relay service
price proposal.
Any additional features not described
elsewhere in the RFP, and which the bidder is including in its basic relay service
and price proposal, which a bidder
would like to propose shall be fully described indicating how the feature would work, how it would improve the system, which users would benefit from the feature and any other information which would allow the FPSC and PRC to evaluate
the feature. Examples might include features such as: video interpreting; use of speech synthesis equipment instead of a CA to convert text to speech;
use of voice recognition equipment instead of a CA to convert speech to text;
enhanced transmission speed or any proposed service enhancements and technological enhancements which improve service.
48. IP-Relay Service, IP-Captioned Telephone
Service, and Video Relay Service
If required by the FCC, the bidder
shall be capable
of providing IP-Relay
service. If required
by the FCC, the bidder shall be capable
of providing IP-Captioned Telephone Service. If
required by the FCC, the bidder shall
be capable of providing
Video Relay Service.
49. Redundancy
Please provide information
regarding redundant coverage
offered nationally, such as the number
of call centers.
50. Performance Bond
The provider will be required
to furnish an acceptable performance bond, certified
or cashier's check, or bank money order equal to the estimated total
first year price of the contract. The bond may be renewed annually
and shall be in effect for the entire duration
of the contract and provided
to the FPSC upon execution
of the contract or upon request of the FPSC's contract
manager.
To be acceptable to the FPSC as surety for performance bonds,
a surety company shall
comply with the following provisions:
a. The surety company shall be authorized to do business
in the state of Florida.
b. The
surety company shall have been in business and have a record of successful continuous operations for at least five (5) years.
c. The surety
company shall have minimum Best's Policy Holder Rating of A
and Required Financial Rating of VIII from Best's
Key Rating Guide.
d. The surety company shall provide a duly
authenticated Power of Attorney
evidencing that the person executing the bond on behalf of the surety had the
authority to do so on the date of the bond.
51. Submission of Monthly Invoice
By the 14th calendar day of the month (or the
subsequent business day if the 14th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday), the provider
shall submit a detailed
invoice (showing billable minutes and rates) to the Administrator [defined in Section
427.703(1),
Florida Statutes] at the contracted
price for the previous month's activity. The accounting period used to prepare
monthly invoices shall be the calendar month. Payment shall not exceed the prices contained
in the contract. The invoice and supporting documentation
shall be prepared in such a way as to
allow the Administrator or the FPSC to
audit the invoice. A copy of the monthly
invoice shall be submitted to the contract manager
at the same time it is submitted
to the Administrator.
Payment is due within
30 days of receipt of a proper invoice.
If payment is not received within the 30 day due date, the FPSC will be liable for interest charges
at prime lending
rates that will be incurred
against the unpaid
balance until such time as payment is received.
The invoices
provided by relay provider for the FRS shall specify
to whom payment shall be made and the address to which such remittance shall be mailed. If FPSC or its
assigned Administrator disputes any portion of a monthly invoice, the disputing party shall provide
to relay provider a detailed
explanation of and manner of calculations of the disputed amounts.
Relay provider will promptly
address the claim
with the FPSC or its Administrator
and attempt
to resolve the problem within thirty
(30) days. If the dispute is between relay provider's
Administrator and relay provider and these two parties cannot
resolve the issue within thirty
(30) days of the due date of the bill, relay provider shall so advise
the FPSC. The FPSC will address
the dispute as soon as possible.
If relay provider overcharges the FPSC on any monthly
invoice and the overage
is paid, relay provider shall
issue a credit in the amount of the overage
plus interest charges at prime
lending rates. Interest shall be
calculated from the date such payment is received by relay provider
("Payment Date"), until the date such credit is issued.
52. Travel
The provider will not be entitled to a separate payment from the FPSC or the Administrator for any travel expenses
which occur as a result of this contract.
53. Reporting
Requirements
The provider
shall provide to the contract
manager and the Administrator the following written reports by the 25th calendar day of each month reporting data for the previous month. More frequent
or more detailed reports shall also be provided upon request.
a. Total daily and monthly
(1) Number of incoming calls (separately stating
whether incoming calls originate as Baudot, ASCII or voice calls, and also
separately stating whether each type of call is English,
Spanish, or other foreign language
calls). The
number of incoming calls which are general
assistance calls shall
be footnoted on the report.
(2) Number
of incoming call minutes associated with each of the categories of incoming
calls in a.(l) above.
(3) Number
of outgoing calls (provide two breakdowns of this total: one
separately stating completed calls and incomplete calls, and one separately stating whether calls terminate
as Baudot, ASCII
or voice calls).
(4) Number
and percentage of incoming Florida calls received
at each relay center handling Florida calls. Total
should equal the number of incoming
calls in item a.(1) above.
b. Average daily and monthly
blockage rate.
c. Daily answer times for the month and daily number and percent of incoming calls answered within ten (10) seconds for the month.
d. Total
daily and monthly
number of outgoing
calls (including both completed and incomplete) of the following lengths:
(1) 0 - 10 minutes
(2) >10 - 20 minutes
(3) >20
- 30 minutes
(4) >30
- 40 minutes
(5) >40
- 50 minutes
(6) > 50 - 60 minutes
(7) > 60+ minutes
e. On a daily basis for the month, number
of outgoing calls and average
length of calls by hour of day. (Total
should equal total of a.(3)).
f. Number of outgoing
local, intraLATA toll, intrastate interLATA, interstate and international calls for the month. (Total should
equal total of a.(3)).
g. Number of outgoing calls and average
length of completed outgoing calls originated by TDD users and voice users (identified
separately). (Total
number of calls should equal
total of a.(3)).
h. The provider
shall provide monthly summary reports
to the FPSC and the Administrator regarding the number of complaints received
categorized by topic areas.
The provider
shall also provide
a complaint summary
to the FPSC in the format necessary to submit to the FCC in compliance
with 47 CFR 64.604(c)(ii), by June 15 covering the
previous 12 months of complaints ending May 31 of that year.
i. The provider shall report monthly to
the FPSC and the Administrator
the results of any user evaluations conducted.
j. The
provider shall report monthly on new subcontractors being used to assist
in providing relay service
and shall identify
the scope of their role in the process and the relationship of the subcontractor to the provider.
k. By March 1, the provider shall
provide to the Administrator
and the contract manager forecasted relay usage figures and costs to the FPSC for the upcoming fiscal year (July 1 -June 30).
l. The provider
shall report monthly
on Captioned Telephone or its equivalent
service listing the daily answer
time, minutes of use for international, interstate,
and intrastate; billable
session minutes and service levels.
m. The
provider shall submit the necessary
documentation to the FPSC that complies with the state certification requirements of 47 CFR 64.606
when required.
n. The provider
shall provide reports
to the FPSC as necessary to complete the five-year re-certification of Florida Relay Service with the FCC.
o. A provider
opting to locate a call center in Florida shall file quarterly
reports with the FPSC's
contract manager demonstrating a minimum of 75 percent of Florida
relay traffic is handled by the Florida located center except when emergency conditions exist at the Florida center.
The
bidder shall include
information on its capability and willingness
to provide ad hoc reports including new information in the bidder's database or
new formats for existing information.
54. Transfer to
New Provider
When relay service
is transferred to a new provider, the provider shall make every effort to
ensure that service
is transferred to the new provider so that relay users do not experience an interruption in service. The relay service
and consumer service
800 or other telephone numbers
shall be made available to the new provider, with the new provider paying
any costs associated
with transferring the numbers
to the new provider. Provision of customer
profile data to the incoming provider shall be provided at least sixty (60) days prior to the outgoing
provider's last day of service.
55. Insurance Coverage
During the term of the Contract, the provider shall
provide insurance coverage for itself and all of its
employees used in connection with the performance of services under this Contract and ensure that all subcontractors shall be similarly covered as provided herein. Such policies
shall be issued
by a financially sound carrier
and/or carriers duly authorized to do business
in the State of Florida. Such
insurance coverage shall hold the FPSC harmless
from any act, negligence or omission on the part of provider,
its employees, agents or subcontractors and their
employees in the execution or performance of the obligations assumed hereunder. This insurance will include Worker’s
Compensation as required by law and comprehensive general liability and bodily injury insurance in amounts
no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate.
56. Optional Florida
Call Center
A bidder may, at its option,
elect to place a call center in Florida through
which relay traffic may be routed.
A
bidder proposing an optional call center shall
maintain the call center throughout
the term of the contract. A minimum of 75 percent of Florida relay traffic shall be
handled by the Florida located center except when emergency conditions exist at the Florida center.
Percentage of traffic routed
through the Florida
relay call center
shall be reported
to the FPSC's contract manager on a quarterly basis. The Florida
call center shall
be fully operational
by March 1, 2018. Bidders meeting the criteria
for a Florida call center will be awarded 100 points. Partial points will not be awarded
in this category.
C. TECHNICAL BID PROPOSAL
FORMAT
1. Format
The
bidder's proposal shall be organized in the same order as the items listed
in the checklist form in Section
E except Signature
of Acceptance items require
no response other than a signature on the checklist.
Signing means that the item has
been reviewed and the bidder
agrees to comply with the item.
The person
signing shall be the person
in the bidder's organization
authorized to make the proposal.
For items for which points may be awarded, the bidder shall explain how it will provide the service described in the RFP. For pass/fail
items, the bidder shall provide the information requested.
a. The
original and fifteen (15) two-sided
copies of the technical proposal
shall be filed. The
original and five (5) copies
of the price proposal shall
be filed.
b. The technical proposal shall be contained
in a three-ring binder indicating
the name of the bidder and
indicating that the contents of the
binder is the technical bid proposal only. Price
proposals are not eligible for FPSC
electronic filing. (The price proposal shall be submitted in a separate sealed envelope - see Section
D.)
c. Each
page of the technical proposal shall be numbered at the bottom center of each page and each page should
be consecutively numbered with no repetition of page numbers,
except attachments that can be numbered A-1, B-1, etc.
For example, there shall only be one page 1, one page 50 and one page 500
in the technical proposal. Page numbering shall only be done in Arabic numerals
with no pages numbered with
other characters such as
5.7, iii, 6-a, XIX,
or similar numbering
systems, except attachments as described above. Attachments
can have their own numbering system. Attachments shall be labeled by letters, e.g., A, B, C, etc. Page
numbers for attachments should begin with
the attachment letter
designator, e.g., A-1, B-1, C-1, etc.
d. In the top or bottom margin
of each page, the name of the company shall be identified.
e. To the extent possible,
all pages of the
proposal shall be on 8½ x 11" white paper. However, individual presentations which the bidder is unable to place
on an 8½ x 11" page in a readable
format may be presented on a larger
page.
f. Attachments can have their own numbering system. Attachments shall be
labeled by letters, e.g., A, B, C, etc.
Page numbers
for attachments shall begin with the attachment letter designator, e.g., A-1, B-1, C-1, etc.
2. Transmittal Letter
The
transmittal letter on the original of the technical
proposal shall contain
the original manual signature
of the person submitting the proposal on behalf of the bidder. The
technical proposal copies
shall also contain
the typewritten signer's
name and title. The transmittal letter shall clearly identify the complete legal name of the bidder. In the transmittal letter, the bidder shall state that it will comply with all requirements of the RFP.
Any exceptions to the RFP's terms
and conditions will result in disqualification
from the bid process.
Each person signing a proposal
certifies that he/she is the person in the bidder's
organization authorized to make the proposal.
The signer shall provide
his/her affiliation with the bidder, address,
telephone and facsimile
numbers. If different from the person signing the proposal, the transmittal
letter shall identify the person
or persons (name,
title, mailing address,
e-mail address, telephone and facsimile number) authorized to make
decisions or answer questions related to the proposal
and any subsequent
contract.
3. Public Entity Crimes Provision
Pursuant to Section 287.133, Florida
Statutes, a person or affiliate who is on the
convicted vendor list following
a conviction for a public crime may
not submit a bid on a contract
to provide any goods or services to a public
entity. The person or affiliate may not be awarded a contract or perform work as a contractor,
supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract
with any public
entity and may not transact business with any public
entity in excess of the threshold amount provided
for in Florida Statute 287.017
for Category Two ($35,000) for a period
of 36 months from the date of being placed on the convicted vendor
list.
4. Financial Information
To allow the FPSC to evaluate the financial responsibility of the bidding company, the following
items shall be submitted with the proposal for the bidding
company (and its parent company,
if applicable). Online access
via a secure website is an acceptable method to submit these items:
a. Audited financial statements (or a SEC
10K Report) for the most recent two (2) years, including at a minimum:
(l) statement of income and related earnings,
(2) cash flow statement,
(3) balance sheet, and,
(4) opinion
concerning financial statements from an outside
CPA;
b. Primary Banking
source letter of reference.
5. Experience and Customer References
For
each state in which the bidder is providing relay service, the bidder shall indicate:
a. When the bidder began operating the system.
b. The number of outgoing calls for the most recent
month.
c. The total duration
of the contract.
If the bidder’s
relay service in other states
is available for testing by means of a number that can be
dialed from within Florida, the bidder shall provide the telephone numbers
that can be used to dial the bidder’s relay service.
The bidder
shall provide the names of the contract
administrator for the active contracts
requested above. Also provide
a specific phone number and e-mail address for each contract
administrator. The FPSC will contact
these administrators for customer references.
6. Subcontractors
If
the bidder proposes to use subcontractors, the bidder shall identify those
subcontractors and indicate the scope
of their role in the provision of relay service. The
bidder shall also indicate what experience the subcontractor has in providing
the service for which it would contract with the provider. Once the contract is awarded, any change in
subcontractors shall be reviewed and acknowledged by the FPSC.
7. Bid Security
Deposit
A $500,000 bid security deposit shall be furnished
to the FPSC with the original of the proposal. The bid security deposit
shall be in the form of a bond, a certified or cashier's check,
or bank money order that is valid through the point of execution of the contract, and is payable
to the Florida Telecommunications Relay, Inc. The
bid security deposit
will be held without cashing.
If a bond is used,
the bond shall be issued
from a reliable surety company acceptable to the FPSC, licensed to do business
in the state of Florida.
Such a bond shall be accompanied by a duly authenticated
Power of Attorney evidencing that the person
executing the bond on behalf of the surety had the authority to do so on the date of the
bond. Please clearly identify the
expiration date of the bond if a bond is submitted as the bid security instrument.
The
unsuccessful bidders’ security
deposits shall be returned, without interest, within thirty (30) days after disqualification, withdrawal, or signing of the contract
with the successful
bidder. The
successful bidder’s bid security shall be returned,
without interest, upon signing of the contract and furnishing the Performance
Bond as specified herein. If the successful bidder fails to sign a contract within thirty (30) days after the Letter of Intent or fails to deliver
the Performance Bond as specified herein,
the bid security shall be forfeited to the Florida Telecommunications
Access System Fund.
8. Check List of Proposal Content
As a part of the bidder’s proposal,
the transmittal letter should be followed by the
evaluation checklist in Section
E. In the blank beside each
item on the checklist, except items requiring
a Signature of Acceptance, the bidder’s company contact person who is responsible for the proposal and any subsequent contract and
who signs the transmittal letter shall initial (not check)
each item in the check
list which is contained within the proposal.
The person initialing
the checklist shall ensure that each item in the checklist is also contained in its proposal
and in the same order as the item appears in the checklist. The bidder shall also indicate beside
each item in the checklist
the page number in its proposal
where the item in the checklist can be found.
For items requiring
a Signature of Acceptance, the same person shall sign each item indicating that the item has been reviewed and the bidder agrees to comply with the item.
NOTE:
For
filing part of a bid proposal electronically, please contact the Commission
Clerk at (850) 413-6770 to discuss your filing.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION MAY NOT BE FILED ELECTRONICALLY.
D. THE PRICE PROPOSAL FORMAT
Bidders shall submit their
bids on the basis of a charge per billable
minute for all services described with the exception of Captioned Telephone in
item B. 20. The prices per billable minute for Captioned Telephone in B. 20 shall be separately stated. A format
similar to that shown below should be used for the price proposal.
NOTE:
THE PRICE PROPOSAL SHALL BE FILED IN A SEPARATE SEALED ENVELOPE MARKED: “SEALED
- TO BE OPENED ONLY BY THE FPSC PROPOSAL OPENING OFFICER”
SERVICE PRICE PER BILLABLE MINUTE
1. Basic Relay Service
Bid
price should be on a flat rate basis per billable minute
for all billable
minutes and not vary
depending upon the volume of traffic. Existing contract price for intrastate basic relay service is $1.09 per session minute.
2. Captioned Telephone
Bid price should be on a rate per billable minute for all billable minutes and may vary depending upon the volume of traffic. Existing contract price for intrastate captioned telephone service is $1.63 per session
minute.
E. THE EVALUATION METHOD TO BE USED AND FILING CHECK LIST
Technical proposals will be evaluated using a pass or fail criteria for some elements, a
point rating criteria
for some elements,
and a signature of
acceptance for some elements. The PRC Chairman reserves,
at his discretion, the right to notify and allow a bidder a minimum
time period to cure minor
irregularities in items rated on a pass/fail basis.
Failure to cure such minor irregularities may result
in elimination of the proposal from further evaluation. For items
that are rated on a point
basis, each member of the PRC will rate each item giving it a rating
of between zero and the
maximum point rating shown on
the check list on the following pages
with the exception
of checklist item number
63 (RFP ref. B53).
The technical ratings will be based on the PRC member's evaluation of
the evaluated item using
the following scale.
|
Where maximum points equals
|
Poor
|
Fair
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
10
|
0-2.5
|
2.6-5.0
|
5.1-7.5
|
7.6-10
|
|
25
|
0-6.3
|
6.4-12.5
|
12.6-18.8
|
18.9-25
|
|
50
|
0-12.5
|
12.6-25
|
25.1-37.5
|
37.6-50
|
|
75
|
0-18.8
|
1 8.9-37.5
|
37.6-56.3
|
56.4-75
|
|
100
|
0-25
|
26-50
|
51-75
|
76-100
|
|
200
|
0-50
|
51-100
|
101-150
|
151-200
|
Total points from each PRC evaluator on
the technical proposal
will be added together for a total technical
score. Proposals
that do not receive at least 75% of the total available technical points in aggregate to
achieve a level of Excellent, will be eliminated
from further evaluation and
the bidder’s price proposal will not be
considered. The technical score totals for each bidder will be compared by using the point total for the
bidder with the highest point total as the denominator of a fraction
with each bidder’s individual
point total as the numerator.
Each
bidder's percentage will then be multiplied by 50% to arrive at the weighted
score for each bidder's technical
proposal. Next, a weighted score for each eligible bidder’s
price proposal shall be calculated as follows. Each
eligible bidder’s price will be compared by using the lowest
eligible bidder’s bid price for basic relay service as the numerator
of a fraction with each eligible bidder’s
price as the denominator. Each eligible bidder’s percentage will then be
multiplied by 18.14% to arrive at
the weighted percentage score for each eligible bidder’s
price proposal. The
same procedure will be used to
evaluate Captioned Telephone or
its equivalent service using 31.86%
to arrive at the weighted percentage score.
Each
eligible bidder's weighted percentage score for its technical
proposal and for its price proposal will be added
together and the eligible bidder with the highest
total will be recommended by
the PRC to the FPSC. However, the FPSC reserves the right to reject
the PRC's recommendation, and reject all bids.
Evaluation Example
The following is
an example of how the
PRC would evaluate the bidders if the total technical
points available equal 7,500. The
numbers used are strictly for illustrative purposes and not intended to provide any guidance
in terms of what the FPSC anticipates the price, price relationships, or usage levels to be.
Assumptions:
a) Sum
of total technical points by all evaluators:
Bidder A (7,500 points) - 7,500/7,500 =
1.000 x 50%= .5000
Bidder B (7,000
points) - 7,000/7,500 = .9333 x 50% = .4667
Bidder C (5,500
points) - 5,500/7,500 = .7333 x 50%= .3667
In the
example above, Bidder C failed to obtain a score equal to 75% of the total
technical points available and as a result, Bidder C’s price proposal would not
be considered.
b) Bidders’ price proposals
for basic relay service:
Bidder A - $1.09 per billable minute
Bidder
B - $1.80 per billable minute
c) Bidders’ price proposals for Captioned Telephone service:
Bidder A - $1.63 per billable
minute
Bidder
B -
$1.61 per billable minute
The technical
evaluation
is as follows:
Bidder A (7,500 points) - 7,500/7,500 = 1.000 x 50% = .5000
Bidder B (7,000 points) - 7,000/7,500 =
.9333 x 50% = .4667
The price evaluation for TRS is as follows:
Bidder
A ($1.09 per billable minute) - $1.09/$1.09 = 1.000 x 18.14% = .1814
Bidder
B ($1.80 per billable minute) - $1.09/$1.80 = .9167 x 18.14% = .1098
The price
evaluation for Captioned Telephone (CT) service
is as follows:
Bidder
A – ($1.63 per billable minute) - $1.61/$1.63 = .9877 x 31.86% = .3147
Bidder
B – ($1.61 per billable minute) - $1.61/$1.61 = 1.000 x 31.86% = .3186
The total
is calculated as follows:
Bidder
A – .5000 (technical) + .1814 (price TRS) + .3147 (price CT) = .9961
Bidder
B – .4667 (technical) + .1098 (price TRS) + .3186 (price CT) = .8951
FILING CHECK LIST
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
1.
|
______
|
Format (RFP ref. Sections C and D)
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
2.
|
______
|
Transmittal Letter, Address, Contact Person, Tel. and
Fax No., Legal Name of Bidder, and Statement of Compliance with or lack of
Compliance with RFP requirements (RFP ref. C-2)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
3.
|
______
|
Check List (RFP ref. C-8 and E)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
4.
|
N/A
|
FCC Authority to Provide Relay Services (RFP ref. A-5)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
5.
|
N/A
|
Public Bidder Meetings and Proprietary/Confidential
Information (RFP ref. A-24)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
6.
|
N/A
|
Conflict of Interest/Standards of Conduct (RFP ref.
A-28) –
State Name(s) or None Below
Name(s)
Disclosed:_______________________________________
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
7.
|
N/A
|
Dispute Resolution (RFP ref. A-30)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
8.
|
N/A
|
Waiver (RFP ref. A-31)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
9.
|
N/A
|
Severability (RFP ref. A-32)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
10.
|
______
|
Commencement Date (RFP ref. A-8)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
11.
|
N/A
|
Term of Contract (RFP ref. A-9)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
12.
|
N/A
|
Scope of Service (RFP ref. B-2)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
13.
|
N/A
|
Access Numbers (RFP ref. B-3)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
14.
|
N/A
|
Availability of the System to Users (RFP ref. B-4)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
15.
|
______
|
Minimum CA Qualifications/Testing (RFP ref. B-5)
|
______
|
100
|
|
16.
|
______
|
CA Training (RFP ref. B-6)
|
______
|
100
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
17.
|
______
|
Staff Training (RFP ref. B-7)
|
______
|
100
|
|
18.
|
______
|
Counseling of CAs and Staff (RFP ref. B-8)
|
______
|
25
|
|
19.
|
______
|
Procedures for Relaying Communications (RFP ref. B-9)
|
______
|
100
|
|
20.
|
N/A
|
Languages Served (RFP ref. B-10)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
21.
|
______
|
Additional Languages Served (RFP ref. B-11)
|
______
|
25
|
|
22.
|
N/A
|
Shift Advisor/Consultant (RFP ref. B-12)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
23.
|
N/A
|
Confidentiality of Calls (RFP ref. B-13)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
24.
|
N/A
|
Types of Calls to be Provided (RFP ref. B-14)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
25.
|
______
|
Call Release Functionality (RFP ref. B-15)
|
______
|
50
|
|
26.
|
______
|
Speed Dialing (RFP ref. B-16)
|
______
|
50
|
|
27.
|
______
|
Three-Way Calling Functionality (RFP ref. B-17)
|
______
|
50
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
28.
|
______
|
Voicemail and Interactive Menus (RFP ref. B-18)
|
______
|
50
|
|
29.
|
______
|
Voice and Hearing Carry-Over (RFP ref. B-19)
|
______
|
100
|
|
30.
|
______
|
Captioned Telephone Voice Carry-Over (RFP ref. B-20)
|
______
|
100
|
|
31.
|
______
|
Turbocode™ (RFP ref. B-21)
|
______
|
100
|
|
32.
|
______
|
Speech to Speech (RFP ref. B-22)
|
______
|
100
|
|
33.
|
______
|
Access to Pay Per Call Services (RFP ref. B-23)
|
______
|
100
|
|
34.
|
______
|
Caller ID (RFP ref. B-24)
|
______
|
100
|
|
35.
|
______
|
Last Number Redial (RFP ref. B-25)
|
______
|
25
|
|
36.
|
______
|
Obscenity Directed at the Operator (RFP ref. B-26)
|
______
|
25
|
|
37.
|
______
|
Emergency Calls (RFP ref. B-27)
|
______
|
100
|
|
38.
|
______
|
Blockage (RFP ref. B-28)
|
______
|
200
|
|
39.
|
______
|
Answer Time (RFP ref. B-29)
|
______
|
200
|
|
40.
|
N/A
|
Equipment Compatibility (RFP ref. B-30)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
41.
|
N/A
|
Transmission Levels (RFP ref. B-31)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
42.
|
N/A
|
Measuring Equipment Accuracy (RFP ref. B-32)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
43.
|
______
|
Emergency Operations and Uninterruptible Power (RFP
ref. B-33)
|
______
|
100
|
|
44.
|
______
|
Intercept Messages (RFP ref. B-34)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
45.
|
______
|
Service Expansion (RFP ref. B-35)
|
______
|
50
|
|
46.
|
N/A
|
New Technology (RFP ref. B-36)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
47.
|
______
|
Consumer Input and Participation in Advisory Committee
and FPSC Proceedings (RFP ref. B-37)
|
______
|
100
|
|
48.
|
______
|
Complaint Resolution (RFP ref. B-38)
|
______
|
200
|
|
49.
|
N/A
|
Charges for Incoming Calls (RFP ref. B-39)
|
Signature of
Acceptance
____________________
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
50.
|
______
|
Billing Arrangements (RFP ref. B-40)
|
______
|
50
|
|
51.
|
______
|
End User Billing for Intrastate Calls (RFP ref. B-41)
|
______
|
50
|
|
52.
|
______
|
Relaying Interstate and International Calls (RFP ref.
B-42)
|
______
|
50
|
|
53.
|
______
|
End User Selection of Carrier (RFP ref. B-43)
|
______
|
50
|
|
54.
|
N/A
|
Recipient of Toll Revenues (RFP ref. B-44)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
55.
|
______
|
Long Distance Call Billing (RFP ref. B-45)
|
______
|
50
|
|
56.
|
______
|
Special Needs (RFP ref. B-46)
|
______
|
25
|
|
57.
|
______
|
Unsolicited Features in Basic Relay Service (RFP ref.
B-47)
|
______
|
200
|
|
58.
|
______
|
IP Relay, IP-Captioned Telephone Service, and Video
Relay Service (RFP ref. B-48)
|
______
|
Optional 0 Points
|
|
59.
|
______
|
Redundancy (RFP ref. B-49)
|
______
|
Optional 0 Points
|
|
60.
|
N/A
|
Performance Bond (RFP ref. B-50)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
61.
|
N/A
|
Submission of Monthly Invoice (RFP ref. B-51)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
62.
|
N/A
|
Travel (RFP ref. B-52)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
63.
|
______
|
Reporting Requirements (RFP ref. B-53)
|
______
|
50
|
|
64.
|
N/A
|
Transfer to New Provider (RFP ref. B-54)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
65.
|
N/A
|
Insurance Coverage (RFP ref. B-55)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
66.
|
______
|
Optional Florida Call Center (RFP ref. B-56)
|
______
|
100
|
|
67.
|
N/A
|
Public Entity Crimes Provision(RFP ref. C-3)
|
Signature of Acceptance
____________________
|
|
68.
|
______
|
Financial Information (RFP ref. C-4)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
Check List
Item No.
|
Initials of Bidder’s Contact
Person
|
Brief Title
|
Page No.
Of
Bidder’s Proposal
|
Pass/Fail Or Signature
Or Maximum Points
|
|
69.
|
______
|
Experience and Customer References (RFP ref. C-5)
|
______
|
200
|
|
70.
|
______
|
Subcontractors (RFP ref. C-6)
|
______
|
50
|
|
71.
|
______
|
Bid Security Deposit (RFP ref. C-7)
|
______
|
P/F
|
|
72.
|
______
|
The Price Proposal Format (RFP ref. Section D) Must be filed in a separate sealed envelope
marked: “Sealed-To Be Opened Only By the FPSC Proposal Opening Officer.”
|
______
|
See RFP
Sec. D &
Sec. E
|
|
73.
|
|
MAXIMUM TOTAL POINTS
|
|
3,125
|
TABLE 1
TOTAL INTRASTATE
BILLABLE SESSION MINUTES
(March 2016 – March 2017)
|
Monthly
Invoice
|
Intrastate
TRS Minutes
|
Intrastate
Captioned Telephone Service
|
|
March 2016
|
91,108
|
108,696
|
|
April 2016
|
77,763
|
100,800
|
|
May 2016
|
78,530
|
99,745
|
|
June 2016
|
77,694
|
95,446
|
|
July 2016
|
75,923
|
86,986
|
|
August 2016
|
87,722
|
94,251
|
|
September 2016
|
80,980
|
87,108
|
|
October 2016
|
89,722
|
85,347
|
|
November 2016
|
85,408
|
81,680
|
|
December 2016
|
91,089
|
82,868
|
|
January 2017
|
97,551
|
89,404
|
|
February 2017
|
82,283
|
78,741
|
|
March 2017
|
87,700
|
85,479
|
TABLE 2
TOTAL BILLABLE SESSION MINUTES
(Intrastate and Interstate)
(March 2016 – March 2017)
|
Monthly Invoice
|
TRS Minutes
|
STS
|
Spanish
|
Captioned Telephone Service
|
|
March 2016
|
107,946
|
1,409
|
13,819
|
158,709
|
|
April 2016
|
91,951
|
1,118
|
9,788
|
147,185
|
|
May 2016
|
94,812
|
913
|
9,190
|
146,048
|
|
June 2016
|
92,254
|
1,094
|
9,917
|
137,562
|
|
July 2016
|
89,836
|
871
|
9,814
|
127,115
|
|
August 2016
|
101,703
|
1,625
|
10,188
|
138,893
|
|
September 2016
|
94,117
|
1,415
|
9,136
|
127,897
|
|
October 2016
|
102,931
|
1,288
|
9,351
|
125,493
|
|
November 2016
|
98,982
|
762
|
9,319
|
122,088
|
|
December 2016
|
103,793
|
2,013
|
10,632
|
126,831
|
|
January 2017
|
110,889
|
2,181
|
13,220
|
130,429
|
|
February 2017
|
93,911
|
1,992
|
10,330
|
117,139
|
|
March 2017
|
104,633
|
1,887
|
8,948
|
125,940
|