NIGP 83984: Telephone Dialing and Answering Apparatus

NIGP 83984 Telephone Dialing And Answering Apparatus, an Item code, encompasses live telephone answering and dispatch services that state and local governments procure to handle incoming calls, emergency dispatch, and customer inquiries across departments. Recent solicitations show counties and special-purpose districts purchasing 24/7 answering services for utility departments, property management emergency lines, employee call-ins, and program inquiries, with vendors required to deliver call recording, multilingual support, daily reporting, and performance standards such as four-ring answer times and specified dispatch response windows. Issuing bodies include county commissioners' procurement divisions, county departments (Public Utilities, housing authorities), and charter schools; Collier County in Florida and Orange County in California appear as repeat purchasers across different service lines and administrative functions.

Collier County Board of County Commissioners issued ITB 26-8670 on July 13, 2026, for 24-hour answering and dispatch services for the Public Utilities Department with bids due August 13, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. EST, structured around base monthly fees for up to 5,000 calls with approximately $60,000 in historical annual spending and a three-year term with one optional two-year renewal; local-vendor preference under Collier County Procurement Ordinance applies. The Housing Authority of the City of Alameda issued RFP 20260212RFPAS on February 12, 2026, for three separate answering services—employee attendance, Housing Choice Voucher Program, and emergency property management—with proposals due March 11, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. PST via Bonfire, requiring U.S.-based live operators with maximum one-minute hold times, multilingual translation services (Chinese/Cantonese, Vietnamese, Pashto, Arabic, Farsi), and daily call summaries. Recent activity concentrates in California and Florida, with secondary opportunities in Utah supporting school district telecommunications infrastructure.