Tennessee CPO ITB 31611-13767

State of Tennessee TENNESSEE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION (TPUC or state agency ) Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Telecommunication Relay Services ITB Organization: Section 1 Introduction and Background Information Section Section 2 Scope of Work Section Section 3 Vendor Submission, Evaluation, and Award Information Section 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION SECTION 1.1 Introduction: 1.1.1 Purpose: This document constitutes a request for competitive, sealed bids for the provision of Telecommunication Relay Service for the Tennessee Relay program for a contract term of two years. This ITB shall cover conversation minutes only. 1.1.2 Titles: Titles of paragraphs used herein are for the purpose of facilitating reference only and shall not be construed to infer a contractual construction of language. 1.2 Background and Historical Usage Information: 1.2.1 Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) enables deaf , hard-of-hearing, and speech- impaired persons to communicate on the telephone network through the assistance of a Communication Assistant (CA). The CA facilitates the telephone call by translat ing the verbal or typed message between the parties . TRS is formally defined in Federal Commu nications Commission (FCC) rule 47 CFR §64.601(a)(39). 1.2.2 CapTel service was discontinued in Tennessee on October 1, 2024. For clarification purposes , this ITB does not request the provisioning of CapTel service; it only pertains to the provisioning of analog TRS . 1.2.3 Conversation minutes start when the called party answers a Tennessee Relay call . Session minutes is the total time a communications assistant (CA) spends facilitating a call. Tennessee Total Conversation Minutes for 2023, 2024, and YTD 2025 Year 2023 2024 2025 January 1,524 1,303 1,012 February 1,509 869 740 March 2,274 812 1,524 April 985 1,055 2,022 May 1,354 1,364 2,210 June 1,631 425 464 July 8,789 5,214 166 August 8,551 4,879 221 September 8,512 5,180 October 9,125 5,102 November 7,502 5,062 December 5,582 5,574 1.2.4 Tennessee Relay Service provides functionally equivalent telephone access to residents and businesses of Tennessee. Tennessee Relay allows deaf, hard -of-hearing, and speech disabled individuals to use the telephone. 1.2.5 The Tennessee Public Utility Commission oversees the administration of Tennessee Relay , which can be accessed by dialing “711.” 1.3 ITB Questions: 1.3.1 The p rocurement officer is the Single Point of Contact for Solicitation: Vendors and their agents (including subcontractors, employees, consultants, or anyone else acting on their behalf) must direct all of their questions or comments regarding the ITB, the evaluation, etc., to the procurement officer indicated on the first page of this ITB. It is preferred that questions be emailed to the procurement officer . 1.3.2 Except as noted herein, vendors and their agents are instructed not to contact any other state employee regarding any of these matters during the solicitation and evaluation process. Inappropriate contacts are grounds for suspension and/or exclusion from specific procurements. 1.3.3 ITB is State’s Only Official Position: The only official position of the State of Tennessee shall be that which is contained in the ITB and any amendment s thereto. 1.4 Amendment s: 1.4.1 If the state agency determines that changes to the I TB are necessary, the resulting changes will be included in a subsequently issued I TB amendment (s) prior to the bid end date and time. 1.5 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms: 1.5.1 Whenever the following terms and acronyms appear in the ITB document or any amendment thereto, the definitions or meanings described below shall apply. 1.5.2 General Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations: a. Agency and/or State Agency means the statutory unit of state government in the State of Tennessee for which the equipment, supplies, and/or services are being purchased. The agency is also responsible for payment, unless otherwise specified herein. Note: The terms “state agency”, “state”, and “State of Tennessee” are used interchangeably throughout the document and have the same meaning. b. Amendment means a written, official modification to a solicitation or contract. c. Attachment applies to all documents included with an ITB to incorporate any informational data or requirements related to the performance requirements and/or specifications. d. Bid End Date and Time and similar expressions mean the exact deadline required by the IT B for the receipt of sealed bids. e. Procurement Professional means an employee of the Central Procurement Off ice or a State Agency who has a meaningful role in the procurement of goods o r services. f. Contract means a legal and binding agreement between two or more competent parties, for consideration , for the procurement of equipment, supplies, and/or services. g. Contractor means a supplier, bidder , person, or organization who is a successful vendor as a result of an I TB and who enters into a contract. h. Exhibit applies to forms included with an ITB for the vendor to complete and submit with their response prior to the specified end date and time. i. Invitation to Bid (I TB) means a procurement method where a contract is awarded to one or more bidders . j. May means that a certain feature, component, or action is permissible, but not required. k. Must means that a certain feature, component, or action is a mandatory condition. l. Party refers to either the State of Tennessee or the contractor as an entity that may enter into a contract pursuant to the terms herein. m. Pricing Page(s) applies to the form(s) on which the vendor must state the price(s) applicable for the equipment, supplies, and/or services required in the ITB. The pricing pages must be completed and submitted by the vendor with the response prior to the specified bid end date and time. n. Purchase Order means the authorized document issued by the state agency to the contractor indicating descriptions, quantities, and agreed prices for products and/or services. o. Reasonable, Necessary or Proper as used herein , shall be interpreted solely by the State of Tennessee p. Shall has the same meaning as the word must. q. Should means that a certain feature, component , and/or action is desirable but not mandatory. r. State collectively referring to the state government and/or the agencies thereof. s. Supplier has the same meaning as the word, vendor. t. Vendor means the supplier, bidder , person, or organization that responds to an ITB by submitting a bid with prices to provide the equipment, supplies, and/or services as required in the ITB document. 1.5.3 Technical Acronyms and Abbreviations: a. CA – Communication Assistant b. FCC – Federal Communications Commission c. TRS – Telecommunications Relay Service d. TTY – Teletypewriter or Text Telephone 1.6 Accuracy of Background Information: 1.6.1 Although an attempt has been made to provide accurate and up- to-date information, the State of Tennessee does not warrant or represent that the background information provided herein reflects all relationships or existing conditions related to this ITB . ****END OF INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION SECTION**** 2. SCOPE OF WORK SECTION 2.1 General Requirements: 2.1.1 The contractor shall provide a statewide analog TRS service for the Tennessee Public Utility Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “state” or “state agency”) in accordance with the provisions and requirements stated herein and to the sole satisfaction of the state agency. 2.1.2 The contractor shall either provide the services directly or shall provide a person/personnel who must comply with the requirements stated herein. Therefore, references to “the contractor” throughout this document shall also be deemed to include the person/personnel provided by the contractor. 2.1.3 The contractor must comply with all mandatory requirements and specifications presented herein pertaining to the provision of analog TRS services. 2.1.4 The contractor shall have Tennessee Relay services operational and ready for implementation by no later than 60 days after receipt of an authorized purchase order or a written notice authorizing services is received from the state agency. 2.1.5 By the time services are provided, the contractor must be a certifi cated Tennessee telecommunications provider . All other regulations and requirements related to being a certified or registered provider in Tennessee shall apply. 2.1.6 The contractor shall have no interest, and shall not acquire any interest, directly or indirectly, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of the services required herein. The contractor further covenants that no person having such known interest shall become employed or convey an interest, directly or indirectly, in the contract. 2.1.7 The contractor shall furnish all material, labor, facilities, equipment, and supplies necessary to perform the services required herein. 2.2 Analog TRS Requirements: 2.2.1 The contractor shall provide A nalog TRS , which are telephone transmission services enabling deaf, hard - of-hearing, deaf -blind, or speech -impaired users to engage in communication by wire or radio with one or more individuals in a manner that is functionally equivalent to the ability of a hearing individual who does not have a speech disability to communicate using voice communications services by w ire or radio. Analog TRS shall consist of the following services : a. TTY (or text telephone): A user is deaf or hard -of-hearing and has a TTY or text telephone device with a keyboard to type messages and a screen to read messages. A CA facilitates the call by reading the user’s typed messages to the other person and typing the other person’s voice messages to the user. b. Voice Carry Over: A user with a hearing loss has special equipment allowing the user to speak to the other person and read typed messages relayed by a CA from the other party to the user. c. Hearing Carry Over: A user can hear but has difficulty speaking over the phone. The user has special equipment allowing the user to listen to the other party , but the user types messages which the CA relays to the other party. d. Deaf -blind: A user has combined hearing and vision loss. The user has special equipment that allows them to communicate with the other party. A CA using a braille display relays messages between the user and the other party. e. Speech -to-Speech: A user has a basic telephone but has difficulty speaking and being understood. A CA will facilitate the user’s spoken words to the other party. 2.2.2 The following c apabilities shall apply to all analog TRS services: a. Anyone shall have the ability to access analog TRS services by dialing the abbreviated dialing code “711.” The contractor may provide for additional methods for accessing analog TRS services ; b. Analog TRS services shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; c. Analog TRS services shall be available for any calls , such as intrastate, interstate, and international calls, directory assistance, and emergency (911 calls) ; d. Analog TRS shall be available to leave and retrieve voice messages on voicemail or an answer ing machine; e. Provide unlimited time for the duration of calls; 2.2.3 The contractor shall not process a call if the caller and called party have compatible equipment allowing the two parties to communicate without using TRS. For such calls, the CA will immediately notify the caller that the other party has compatible equipment , enabling both parties to directly communicate without TRS. The caller should be informed to call the person directly, and the TRS call should be immediately terminated so that no further charges accrue. The only exception is if the caller and called party have TTYs and are using voice carry -over service. 2.2.4 The contractor shall not process a TRS call for incoming prerecorded solicitation s. 2.3 Quality of Service Requirements 2.3.1 The contractor shall have a sufficient number of telecommunications service relay centers within the United States to handle TRS traffic. 2.3.2 The contract or sh all be able to readily re-route traffic to avoid service disruptions. 2.3.3 The contractor shall keep state agency staff abreast in a timely manner of any service disruptions. 2.3.4 The contractor shall employ an adequate number of CAs. All CAs should be adequately trained and receive ongoing training to ensure relay calls are appropriately handled. 2.3.5 The contractor shall provide Tennessee Relay Services with state -of-the-art technology, which will provide the most beneficial and cost -effective methods. Additionally, the contractor shall use a Customer Profile Database that will assist the CA in relaying conversations as quickly as possible. 2.3.6 The quality of service provided by the TRS shall conform to the standards liste d below: a. The network shall be designed to comply with P.01 blockage, which is based on normal industry standards. b. After a call reaches the TRS, the answer time for at least 85% of all calls during all times of the day shall be within ten (10) seconds. c. Transmission circuits for the TRS must meet or exceed the generally accepted industry standards. d. Must r emain operational in the event of a power or equipment failure. 2.4 FCC Requirements: 2.4.1 The contractor’s TRS services shall be compliant with all FCC requirements, as applicable, relevant to the provisioning of these services unless waived by the FCC. Proof of any waivers should be provided to the state agency staff. Federal requirements applicable to relay services are contai ned in Title 47 Part 64 Subpart F – Telecommunications Relay Services and Related Customer Premises Equipment with Person s with Disabilities, specifically 47 CFR §64.604 and §64.606. 2.4.2 The contractor shall prepare any required filings to the FCC and/or the federal USF administrator. These filings include, but are not limited to, the filing of annual complaint logs per 47 CFR §64.604(c)(1) and FCC certification every five years per §64.606. Drafts of the filings shall be submitted to the state agency Staff in advance to allow a reasonable time for review before filing. 2.4.3 The contractor shall inform the state agency staff of any federal activity potentially impact ing the Tennessee Relay program. 2.5 Relay Account Manager Requirements: 2.5.1 The contractor shall designate a Relay Account Manager who shall serve as the contractor’s contact and shall be the liaison between the contractor and the state agency. 2.5.2 The Relay Account Manager shall provide Tennessee Relay usage statistics and a list of past/planned outreach activities , as well as updates on federal activity with implications for the Tennessee Relay program. 2.6 Outreach and Marketing Requirements: 2.6.1 The contractor shall provide ongoing outreach designed to help the general public and Tennessee Relay Service users become aware of the current and enhanced TRS services as they become available. Outreach shall also include information describing Internet-protocol- based alternatives to analog TRS service. 2.6.2 The outreach and marketing expenses shall be paid out of the Tennessee Relay Services fund and shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per year. 2.6.3 To ensure compliance with the $ 20,000 budget , the contractor shall identify on a monthly basis the cumulative amount spent on outreach and marketing and the remaining budget amount. This information can be provided in the contractor’s monthly report and/or invoice. 2.6.4 Outreach and marketing funding shall not be included in the TRS per-minute charges. 2.7 Reporting Requirements: 2.7.1 The contractor shall maintain its records of TRS operations so as to permit review and determination of billing accuracy and to ensure services are being provided in accordance with the requirements of the contract. Such records related to the contract shall be made available during normal business hours for inspection by the state agency , as mutually agreed upon by the state agency and contractor. 2.7.2 Monthly report: The contractor shall provide state agency staff with monthly re ports , which shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, the following: a. Total billable TRS minutes ; b. Total calls associated with the billable TRS minutes; c. Number of unique phone numbers with relay -related equipment placing and/or receiving TRS calls. d. A map of Tennessee showing the locations of unique TRS users, if possible. e. A log of customer complaints received, if any, for the month. The log shall identify the date filed, the nature of the complaint, the date of resolution, and an explanation of the resolution. 2.7.3 Monthly re port information shall be sent with the contractor’s monthly invoice . 2.7.4 Annual Report: The contractor shall provide an annual report to the state agency summarizing the company’s provisioning of analog TRS services in Tennessee for the past twelve months. Such information shall include , but shall not necessarily be limited to, call statistics, service enhancements/changes, consumer outreach, inquiries/complaints, and other relevant information. The annual report will cover the twelve - month time period that is mutually agree d upon between the contractor and state agency staff. State agency staff should be provided a draft of the annual report within 60 days of the completion of that time period. The annual report shall be finalized and submitted to state agency staff within 90 days of the completion of the twelve -month time period. 2.8 Invoice Requirements: 2.8.1 The contractor shall understand and agree that TRS minutes shall be billable to the state agency as follow s: a. Based on conversation minutes for completed calls only. The timing for billing a call begins when the call is answered by the called party and ends when one of the parties disconnects. b. Intrastate TRS calls that originate and terminate in Tennessee. 2.8.2 The contractor shall adjust TRS invoicing to the state agency for out -of-service conditions totaling over four (4) hours in a 24 -hour period, provided such out -of-service conditions are under the control of the contractor. The adjustment for the services outage shall be equivalent to an average of one (1) day’s billing of the TRS during the monthly billing period. The contract shall make one (1) adjustment for each out -of- service condition during the monthly billing period. No more than one (1) out -of-service adjustment shall be assessed within a 24 -hour period. 2.8.3 The contractor shall invoice for TRS provided pursuant to the applicable services at the firm, fixed prices shown on the contract's pricing pages . 2.8.4 The contractor shall invoice for O utreach and Marketing expenses that were pre-approved by the state agency up to the annual guaranteed not -to-exceed rate of $ 20,000.00. 2.8.5 The contractor shall not invoice federal or state taxes unless otherwise required under law or regulation. 2.8.6 Invoices shall be due by the last day of the month following the month in which the contractor provided services under the contract. 2.8.7 Invoices shall comply with the following requirements contained in contracts with the State of Tennessee: a. The contractor shall use uniquely identifiable invoice numbers to distinguish an invoice from a previously submitted invoice and shall include on the invoice the remittance address listed in the contractor’s vendor registration. b. Each contractor invoice must be on the contractor’s original descriptive business invoice form and must contain a unique invoice number and the remittance address included in the contractor’s vendor registration. The invoice number will be listed on the st ate’s EFT addendum record to enable the contractor to properly apply state payments to invoices. The contractor must comply with all other invoicing requirements stated in the ITB. 2.9 Payment Requirements: 2.9.1 Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): The State of Tennessee will submit contract payments to the contractor at the remittance address listed in the contractor’s vendor registration. However, the contractor understands and agrees that the state reserves the right to make contract payments to the contractor through electronic funds transfer (EFT). Therefore, prior to any payments becoming due under the contract, the contractor must verify and update, if applicable, their vendor registrat ion with their current remittance address and ACH- EFT payment information at https:// edison.tn.gov . 2.9.2 Payments shall be due upon receipt of a valid invoice, payable in 30 calendar days. 2.9.3 If the state agency denies the contractor's request for payment or reimbursement, it will provide the contractor with written notice of the reason(s) for the denial. 2.9.4 If the contractor is overpaid by the state agency, the contractor shall provide the state agency (1) with a check payable as instructed by the state agency or (2) deduct the overpayment from the invoice(s) as requested by the state agency. 2.9.5 Notwithstanding any other payment provision of the contract, if the contractor fails to perform required work or services, fails to submit reports when due, or is indebted to the United States, the state agency may withhold payment or reject invoices under the contract . 2.9.6 Other than the payments specified in the contract, no other payments shall be made to the contractor. ****END OF SCOPE OF WORK SECTION****