REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Award of Contract for Voice Over Internet Protocol Equipment to Replace the Citywide Telephone System (F14-92)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
Approval is requested to award a contract to AMS.Net, Inc. of Livermore, in the amount of $731,375 to implement a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP or Voice Over IP) telephone system. Approval is also requested for a 10% contingency in the amount of $73,138.
The recommended contract includes equipment and professional services to replace the existing phone and voicemail systems, handsets, and related network components, and one year of system maintenance and support.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
N/A.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The City's current telephone system was implemented in the early 1990s and, although still usable, has inherent limitations with respect to functionality, scalability and redundancy to guard against failure. The current system's limited functionality reduces the effectiveness of the technology in an increasingly technology-dependent work environment. The system itself, and associated parts, are no longer manufactured. Vendor support is difficult to obtain and is becoming expensive to procure. These factors are problematic for staff in maintaining stable and reliable 24/7 operations.
The existing phone system is an Avaya Definity PBX, supporting approximately 800 digital lines, 50 FAX and other analog lines, and 5 off-premise extensions (OPX) serving over thirty buildings within the City's borders. A majority of City employees are located in three facilities: the City Hall campus including Public Safety, the Community Center, and the Corporation Yard. An Audix system provides voicemail coverage for a large percentage of these phone lines. The telephone sets in use are single and multi-line digital phones with typical digital PBX functionality including line selection, placing a call on hold, transferring calls, etc.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) process w...
Click here for full text