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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP 2026291-01 On-Premise Emergency Services Telephony System General Q&A Final RFP 2026291-01 On-Premise Emergency Services Telephony System General Questions & Answers Updated: 10/6/2026 Q1: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: Please define “outage” for purposes of the two- hour in-person response requirement. Does this requirement apply only to a complete loss of the telephony system or other critical incident that materially prevents emergency communications, or does it also apply to partial service degradation, loss of redundancy, or failure of an individual component or endpoint? A1: An outage may refer to any of the scenarios described above. The loss of a component is considered detrimental and requires a response as specified. Q2: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: If a qualifying outage is diagnosed and service is fully restored remotely within two hours, is an in-person response still required? If the issue cannot be restored remotely, may the contractor initiate an on-site dispatch following remote diagnosis while continuing remote troubleshooting? A2: If the issue can be resolved remotely withing two hours, an in-person response is not required. If remote resolution is not possible within the initial two-hour window, an on-site response is required. Continued remote troubleshooting while a technician is enroute is at the vendor’s discretion. Q3: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: For incidents requiring an in-person response, please clarify when the two-hour response period begins; for example, upon the County's initial report of the incident, contractor acknowledgement of the incident, or determination that on-site intervention is required following remote diagnosis. A3: The two-hour period begins upon the initial report of the incident. A clearly defined and timely recognition of the initial report is required so the response process begins immediately. Q4: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: Would the County consider allowing a four (4)- hour in-person response SLA where remote troubleshooting begins promptly upon notification, while retaining the two (2)-hour response requirement as an optional enhanced support level that offerors may separately price?- A4: The County does not desire to pay additional/separate cost for a two hour response. Q5a: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: Please confirm that the contractor may use OEM replacement/RMA services, contractor-maintained spares, or other replacement methods to satisfy the 24-hour repair/replacement requirement, provided the affected system is returned to full operating status within twenty-four (24) hours. A5b: Yes this is acceptable. Q5b: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: Is the contractor specifically required to maintain replacement hardware or spare components locally? A5b: The contractor is required to maintain internal processes that ensure any necessary replacement hardware or spare components can be delivered to the site within 24 hours. How that is achieved is up to the contractor. Additionally, the contractor must ensure that the system is fully operational within the same 24-hour period following identification of the issue. Q6: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: For a redundant component failure where the system remains fully operational and there is no loss of end-user telephony service, does the twenty-four (24)-hour repair/replacement requirement still apply to the failed component, or may replacement occur under the applicable OEM hardware replacement SLA? A6: If the system is not affected, the replacement may fall under the applicable OEM SLA. Q7: Section 3.09 Support Requirements: Please confirm whether the County anticipates any service credits, fee reductions, or other financial remedies associated with failure to meet the response or restoration requirements in Section 3.09. If so, please provide the applicable methodology. - A7: Response pending (flagged for internal review: @Robin or Elliot). The County will require liquidated damages of $500 a day plus other contractual remedies as set forth in the contract provided by the county. Q8: Section 3.01 Overview: Backup 911 Call Handling: When emergency 911 calls are redirected to this system during an NG911 regional outage, what call-handling functionality is required? For example, should calls ring a hunt group or multiple phones, or are queueing, overflow, longest-idle distribution, reporting, or other advanced call-routing capabilities required? A8a: The County currently has a hunt group of approximately 4. The PRF from Allerium would handle the overflow, idle and call routing. These items would not be the responsibility of the contractor. Q9: Section 3.02 System Users: Backup 911 Users: Which users/endpoints are expected to receive backup 911 calls—the ten Main Dispatch users, the five Backup Center 911 users, or another defined group? A9: The telephone line that receives the back up 911 is 717-267-2801. It can be answered by all phones in our main building at 390 New York Avenue (excluding some office phones) and the 5 phones within the backup center located at 157 Lincoln Way East. Q10: Section 3.04 System Functionality & Compatibility Requirements: Emergency Call Rerouting: Can the County/Brightspeed provide additional detail on the current rerouting process and identify which party is responsible for initiating and restoring the reroute? A10: Franklin County and Allerium (NG911 Provider) are responsible to initiate and restore the reroute. Q11: Section 3.06 System Installation, Configuration & Testing: Implementation Location: Other than physical rack/stack, cabling, and equipment installation, may system configuration, migration preparation, testing, and cutover support be performed remotely? A11: This is acceptable. Q12: Section 3.06 System Installation, Configuration & Testing: Installation and Cutover Scheduling: If on-site participation is required, may rack/stack and physical installation be completed separately from the implementation and cutover? A12: Yes, it may be completed beforehand. Q13: Section 3.08 Training: Training Delivery: May the four anticipated training sessions and subsequent Q&A sessions be delivered remotely, including the required after-hours sessions, or does the County require any or all training to be conducted on-site? A13: It is preferred that two of the sessions are on site. The other two can be completed remotely to include after hours. Q14: Section 3.03 System Requirements: Existing Call Flows: Can the County provide information and counts for any existing hunt groups, auto attendants, call park groups, call pickup groups, or other call-handling features to assist with sizing and migration planning? A14: The only hunt group that exists is for voicemail. There are not any auto-attendants or call pick-up groups. There are call-park numbers/extensions, but to our knowledge that is not considered a group. Several incoming phone numbers do have rollover numbers behind them, but the County has been unable to determine the quantity of the numbers behind those. Q15a: Section 3.04 System Functionality & Compatibility Requirements: Can the County provide details on the current NICE Inform integration and how the beep is generated? A15a: There are currently physical beep boxes on the phones, but the integration with the Cisco system is not known to the County. NICE does not have a way to inject the beep tone into the digital records. The County has seen others deploy: • PBX-level tone injection and the best option, • Handset-cord inline devices, • Trunk-side tone injection, or • Announcement using an IVR or auto-attendant announcement at the start of the call. Q15b: Also, is simultaneous/parallel recording to NICE Inform and another recording platform required, or will NICE Inform remain the only recorder? A15b: NICE will remain the only recorder. Q16: Attachment B. I Capability #9: Does the County require a list of all current employees or only the employees working on this project?- A16: Please provide this information for all employees and officers. Q17: Attachment B. I Capability #23: Given the volume and complexity of contracts performed by large organizations, identifying and validating every change order exceeding 10% of the original contract value across all projects performed during a five-year period would require a substantial administrative effort. Additionally, change orders are a routine part of contract performance and frequently reflect customer-directed scope expansion, additional products or services, or other changes that are not indicative of performance concerns. Would the Customer consider revising this requirement to limit disclosure to settlements, claims, or change orders associated with performance issues or disputes, rather than routine customer-directed scope changes? A17: The County accepts the proposed change for responding to this question. Q18: Section 7.01 Contract Provisions - A separate “Data Sharing Agreement” will be signed by the selected contractor and Franklin County during the Scope of Work process. Any work proposed and undertaken by this RFP that requires the use, access, and sharing of County data shall be addressed via a “Data Sharing Agreement” as compliant with current County of Franklin processes and procedures. Section 7.04 Business Associate Agreement - A Business Associate Agreement is required. Will Offerors have access to customer data or Protected Health Information (PHI)? A18: Yes, this type if data will be going across the line and the offeror will likely be exposed to it while working on lines.