STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Next Generation 911 (NG911) CALL HANDLING EQUIPMENT (CHE) SERVICES

INVITATION TO QUALIFY (ITQ) CONTRACT

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OVERVIEW: The purpose of the NG911 call handling equipment services ITQ is to qualify responsible and responsive Contractors to provide comprehensive vendor-hosted NG911 CHE services which encompasses hardware, software, implementation, and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week support for Pennsylvania’s Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).

ISSUING OFFICE: This ITQ is managed and administered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. All inquiries should be referred to:

Larry Dove Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency 1310 Elmerton Avenue Harrisburg, PA 17110 Telephone: (717) 614-7918 Email: ldove@pa.gov

TERM OF CONTRACT: Any contract issued to qualified Contractors, as a result of this ITQ, shall commence on the Contract Effective Date and shall end ten (10) years after contract effective date. There will be an optional one (1) year renewal for the Contract after the ten (10) year term.

CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS: Contractors interested in becoming an ITQ Contractor must meet the following requirements. Failure to meet the below requirements will result in the application being rejected. Each Contractor that meets the minimum qualifications will be awarded a contract. Award of a contract to a Contractor is not a guarantee of business. Commencement of work cannot begin until a Purchase Order (PO) is received; upon receipt of a PO issued under this Contract, the Contractor agrees to furnish the requested services to the Commonwealth agency issuing the PO. Contractors shall consider the information provided in Attachment A, PSAP Summary when responding to the ITQ.

A. Experience. Contractors must have, and provide documentation showing, five (5) years of experience in the commodity code listed in Service Categories specific to 911 Call Handling Equipment for Public Safety Answering Points that are included on the Federal Communications Commission’s 911 Master PSAP Registry 911 Master PSAP Registry | Federal Communications Commission.

B. Manufacturer. Contractors must be the manufacturer of the NG911 Call Handling Equipment and provide documentation indicating they are the manufacturer. Manufacturer certified channel partners or resellers will not be qualified.

C. Released NG911 CHE Services. Contractors will be required to provide NG911 CHE Services which is officially released and implemented in a multi-PSAP production environment actively receiving and processing 911 and 10-digit calls in alignment with the NENA i3 (NENA-STA-010.3f-2021) and NENA-REQ-001.1.2-2018 standards for at minimum two (2) years. Contractors must provide documentation, such as, product release schedules, test results, and locations where the service has been deployed to show the service meets this requirement.

mailto:ldove@pa.gov https://www.fcc.gov/general/9-1-1-master-psap-registry

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D. References. Contractors must provide three (3) references where they have implemented the proposed CHE service as a hosted NENA i3 compliant CHE system which provides the capability to support multiple, operationally diverse PSAP tenants. The references should be able to verify the Contractor’s ability to:

a. Provide a hosted NENA i3 compliant CHE service which provides the capability to support multiple, operationally diverse PSAP tenants that is hosted in the United States.

b. Process 911 emergency calls received from a Next Generation 911 core services environment which utilizes an ESInet.

c. Provide CHE Services using a native cloud environment, a hosted geo-diverse data center environment, or hybrid architecture that can support multiple PSAPs.

d. Provide CHE Services designed, provisioned, implemented, maintained, and supported to sustain 99.999% availability and reliability.

e. Provide a comprehensive management information system (MIS) that will track, store, manage and provide analysis of CHE Services activities and data.

E. Questionnaire. Contractors will be required to complete Attachment B, NG911 CHE Services Solution Questionnaire.

F. Certification of Ability to Meet Requirements. Contractors must provide certification and evidence of their ability to meet the requirements and provide the services identified in this SOW, REQUIREMENTS, Section I. Selected Contractor Requirements. The evidence should include a narrative of their ability to provide the CHE Services requirements, including system architecture, features and functionality, management information system, training, service delivery and support.

MATERIAL AND SERVICE CATEGORIES: Contractors will need to choose the appropriate commodity code(s) to qualify for this contract. Contractors will select the appropriate code(s) under the Business Details section of the qualification process. The Commonwealth may add additional commodity codes as the need arises. The table below lists the appropriate commodity code and description of each category.

COMMODITY CODE DESCRIPTION OF CATEGORY

92000000-ITQ-640

NG911 CHE Services

This category includes the various services required to provide, implement, install, secure, and maintain a statewide vendor hosted Next Generation 911 Call Handling Equipment Service which supports multiple Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) based on commonly adopted industry standards, a current listing of the industry standards are included in Attachment C.

The CHE Services include

a. a contractor provided geo-diverse common core hosting environment and components necessary for the PSAPs to utilize the service;

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b. the hardware and software components necessary to receive and process 911 requests for public safety assistance regardless of the method used to make requests, such as voice calls, video calls, texts, TDD/TTY, RTT or data-only requests;

c. the capabilities for the PSAP to call back abandoned or disconnected callers, initiate outbound calling or text messages, and prioritize incoming calls through the use of automatic call distribution;

d. the necessary interfaces to integrate the statewide NG911 System, statewide ESINet, statewide Management Information System, and existing or new PSAP applications for 10-digit call receiving and processing, Computer Aided Dispatch, radio systems, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and long-term recording;

e. emerging technologies which operate outside of the NG911 system such as but not limited to transcription, translation, call summarization, live stream video, and multimedia sharing;

f. administrative and user training through a variety of means;

g. the activities necessary to successfully test and migrate PSAPs to the Service; and

h. 24 x 7 x 365 support.

REQUIREMENTS:

A. Type of Contract. Upon determination that the Contractor meets the ITQ requirements, the Commonwealth will issue a contract to the Contractor. Upon receipt of a Purchase Order (PO) issued under this Contract, the Contractor agrees to furnish the requested services to the Commonwealth agency issuing the PO.

B. Order of Precedence. If any conflicts or discrepancies should arise in the terms and conditions of this Contract, or the interpretation thereof, the order of precedence shall be:

a. This Contract, including the Terms and Conditions (Attachment D); and

b. The data resident on the https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dgs/submit-proposals-and-bids-for-commonwealth-projects/itq-documents and incorporated herein by reference at the date of execution of the Contract or issuance of a Request for Quote (RFQ) off of this Contract, whichever is later, including but not limited to the promises and certifications the Contractor made in qualifying for the Contract.

If any conflicts or discrepancies should arise in the interpretation of a PO, the order of precedence shall be:

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dgs/submit-proposals-and-bids-for-commonwealth-projects/itq-documents https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dgs/submit-proposals-and-bids-for-commonwealth-projects/itq-documents

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a. This Contract including the Terms and Conditions (Attachment D);

b. The service category definitions, descriptions, qualification requirements, and contract terms and conditions set forth in the RFQ; and

c. The PO and any attachments thereto, including: the Contractor’s RFQ Response, as accepted by the Commonwealth and the RFQ.

C. Bid Protest Procedure (April 2016). The Bid Protest Procedure is on the DGS website.

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dgs/documents/documents/procurement-forms/supplier-service-center/protestprocedures.pdf

D. New Equipment. Unless otherwise specified in this ITQ, all products offered by Contractors must be new or remanufactured. A 'new' product is one that will be used first by the Commonwealth or PSAP after it is manufactured or produced. A 'remanufactured' product is one which: 1) has been rebuilt, using new or used parts, to a condition which meets the original manufacturer's most recent specifications for the item; 2) does not, in the opinion of the Issuing Office, differ in appearance from a new item; and 3) has the same warranty as a new item. Unless otherwise specified in this invitation for bids, used or reconditioned products are not acceptable. This clause shall not be construed to prohibit Contractors from offering products with recycled content, provided the product is new or remanufactured. The use of remanufactured equipment is acceptable for the replacement of defective equipment after the PSAP migration to the NG911 CHE service.

E. Compliance.

The CHE Service shall adhere to Commonly Accepted Industry Standards developed by an approved standards development organization including but not limited to, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Association of Public Safety Officials (APCO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. See Attachment C, Standards.

a. The Contractor shall ensure the CHE service maintains compliance with new or subsequent versions of these standards.

b. The Contractor shall participate in PEMA’s NG911 Interoperability, Operations, and

Standards Committee (Committee). The Committee ensures the statewide NG911 and CHE services are implemented in alignment with the standards and provide a collaborative process for service providers to mitigate differences in the interpretation of the standards.

F. Post-Submission Descriptive Literature. The Commonwealth may, during its evaluation of the bids, require any Contractor to submit draft documents pertaining to items such as but not limited to, illustrations, drawings, prints, test data sheets, specification sheets, network diagrams, call flow diagrams, implementation plans, acceptance test plans, cutover plans, life cycle management plans, cybersecurity plans, training syllabus, local survivability workflows and specifications for system geo-diversity which detail the hosting environment, PSAP equipment, construction features, design, https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dgs/documents/documents/procurement-forms/supplier-service-center/protestprocedures.pdf https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dgs/documents/documents/procurement-forms/supplier-service-center/protestprocedures.pdf

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G. Tie Bids/Quotes. All tie bids/quotes will be broken by the Issuing Office.

H. Prompt Payment Discounts. Prompt payment discounts will not be considered in making an award.

If prompt payment discounts are offered by any Contractor, however, the Issuing Office will take advantage of such offer.

I. Selected Contractor Requirements. A Contractor that is selected through the RFQ process and receive a PO shall:

a. Participate in PEMA's Committee. At a minimum, the Committee will consist of PEMA, the statewide NG911 service provider, and each CHE contractor issued a PO. The Committee will ensure the statewide NG911 and CHE services are implemented in alignment with the standards and provide a collaborative process for service providers to mitigate differences in the interpretation of the standards. The Committee will also support coordination of implementation and operations functions such as acceptance testing, timing of updates, or resolving and investigating service impacting incidents.

b. Adhere to Commonly Accepted Industry Standards developed by an approved standards development organization including but not limited to, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Association of Public- Safety Communications Officials (APCO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology and ensure the CHE service maintains compliance with subsequent versions of these standards.

c. Generate and deliver NENA i3 compliant Call Detail Records (CDRs) to the statewide MIS including ALL available CHE metadata.

d. Provide a comprehensive management information system (MIS) that will track, store, manage and provide analysis of CHE Service activities and data. The MIS shall provide:

i. historical call information and strategic management reports. The MIS shall be near real-time and permit users to search for recently completed events and event details;

ii. the ability to evaluate call center metrics using both standard reports and Ad hoc reporting; and

iii. access to all PSAP data and the capability to provide PSAP, multiple PSAPs, and solution wide, aggregated statistical reports, charts, and graphs.

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e. Regardless of the CHE configuration for an individual PSAP, the Contractor shall ensure consistency in statistical reports between PSAPs. Statistical reports for 911 data shall only include calls where the caller dialed or texted the digits 911. 10-digit inbound calls, regardless of priority, shall be reported as non-emergency calls.

f. Complete Interoperability Testing and transition services to a new statewide NG911 and

ESInet providers prior to December 2030, as required.

g. Provide all CHE Services in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLA) defined via the RFQ and contracting process. The SLA categories shall include implementation deliverable milestones, service availability, service reliability, lifecycle management, monitoring, response, and notifications.

h. Complete interoperability testing with the statewide NG911 provider prior to onboarding the first PSAP to the CHE Services and at any time the NG911 or ESInet provider changes. The testing shall ensure the CHE Services have the ability to receive, process and transfer 911 calls and data based on the NENA i3 Standards.

i. Implement a cybersecurity plan which incorporates the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and includes a compliance solution to validate compliance and provide monthly security reports to confirm the security posture for the solution.

j. Establish processes and procedures to rapidly triage, classify, notify and resolve incidents. The processes shall be focused on restoration efforts.

k. Provide a lab environment allowing customers and PSAPs to interact with the solution.

Interaction would include testing software upgrades, call flows, and features prior to implementing changes or verifying functionality; providing a training environment; allowing for public demos as deemed necessary by PEMA or the PSAPs. The environment shall be configured with a minimum of one ‘Lab’ PSAP per deployed PSAP plus two lab PSAPs dedicated to PEMA. Each lab PSAP shall allow for multiple positions.

l. Ensure the CHE Services:

i. Include all necessary hardware, software, cabling, installation, provisioning, testing, training, interfaces, and services required. The CHE Services shall be designed to eliminate single points of failure within the geo-diverse host and PSAP environments.

The CHE Services shall automatically provide immediate recovery to redundant system components should a failure occur;

ii. Accommodate normal operations, shift changes in addition to periods of high call volume demand. The CHE System shall be designed, implemented, maintained to support a minimum of 150% of expected normal incoming voice and text 911 calls, and non-emergency calls based on the combined tenant traffic load;

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iii. Have the ability to easily scale and grow to support the addition of PSAP tenants, Uniform Resource Indicators (URIs), positions, users, queues, talk paths, 10-digit lines, speed dials, call appearances, call volume, system interfaces, etc. without service interruptions;

iv. Support any number and combination of tenants and their unique configuration requirements. Unique configurations requirements include but are not limited to call flow, back-up arrangements, system interfaces, user roles, and quantities of positions, users, incoming talk paths, incoming and outbound 10-digit services, speed dials, one-button transfers, call appearances;

v. Support at minimum five (5) Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) per tenant to distinguish incoming emergency call types such as but not limited to calls received directly, transferred calls, and calls overflowed from regional partners;

vi. Utilize both ring all and automatic call distribution based on the tenants desired call flow;

vii. Process mass call volume events and provide a minimum of 150% of the normal call volume of the tenants utilizing the solution;

viii. Ensure call flow design and routing policies do not restrict call delivery below a P .01 grade of service for an individual PSAP tenant;

ix. Integrate with existing Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Long Term Recorders (LTR), and radio consoles (headset arbitration) used by the PSAPs;

x. Provide local survivability to receive, and process calls when isolated from the host environment to minimize operational impacts during CHE service or ESInet interruptions and a disaster recovery plan;

xi. Provide instant playback capability at all positions for immediate retrieval of emergency communications content.

xii. Provide real-time data to measure the PSAP’s call processing performance metrics via a dashboard. The dashboard shall be configurable by PSAP to display total number of incoming 911 calls, total number of incoming non-emergency, non-emergency calls by line type, number of calls transferred, and provide an indication if the PSAP is meeting the NENA Standard of Ninety percent (90%) of all 9-1-1 calls arriving at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) being answered within (≤) fifteen (15) seconds.

Ninety-five (95%) of all 9-1-1 calls should be answered within (≤) twenty (20) seconds (NENA Standard for 9-1-1 Call Processing NENA-STA-020.1-2020).

1. The PSAP shall have the ability to configure the dashboard display by time, day, or shift and have the ability to include additional metrics as required by the

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PSAP. The PSAP or PEMA may choose to display this dashboard on a large format screen viewable throughout the PSAP floor or administrative offices.

The Dashboard shall have the ability to display an aggregate set of data for one or more PSAPs selected by the dashboard user based on their permissions to view/access the data.

2. The CHE Service shall provide real time data required to monitor the Automatic Call Distribution functionality. The dashboard shall display number of calls in queue, caller wait time, overflow queues and associated caller wait times, number or agents logged on and the status of the agents. The PSAP may choose to display this dashboard on a large format screen viewable throughout the PSAP floor. The Offeror shall provide details on the dashboard configuration and provide examples of the dashboard interface and layout.

m. Utilize the statewide ESInet as the primary connectivity between the Next Generation 911 Core Services and CHE Service host environment for call delivery and between the CHE Service Host environment to the CHE Service equipment located at the PSAP. The statewide ESInet may not be used by the Contractor to monitor, manage, maintain, or support the CHE Services equipment located at the PSAP. The Contractor shall establish connectivity diverse from the statewide ESInet for these services in a manner which meets established SLAs. This connectivity must be used to establish network survivability between the host and remote equipment in the event of a statewide or regional ESInet failure.

n. Ensure 911 voice, text, data other network traffic processed by the Next Generation Core Service is prioritized over the data required to provide the Emerging Technologies, patch management, and remote administration.

REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ) PROCEDURES: The Commonwealth will provide qualified Contractors with an opportunity to present their CHE solution to PEMA, the PSAPs, and other NG911 CHE service stakeholders at PEMA headquarters. PEMA will issue an RFQ for presentations to all qualified Contractors, through the Commonwealth’s Custom Portal, powered by the JAGGAER system. Contractors will respond to the RFQ presentation request in the system and be scheduled to provide a presentation. PEMA may require the qualified Contractors to furnish, upon request, additional documentation in the RFQ.

PEMA will make a best value selection based upon the criteria set forth in the RFQ. Best Value refers to the process of selecting the quote which provides the greatest value to the Commonwealth based on evaluating and comparing all pertinent criteria, so that the Contractor whose overall proposal best suits the Commonwealth’s needs is selected for each individual project.

The qualified Contractor selected from the RFQ process will complete a comprehensive PSAP site assessment for the PSAP(s) in which they were selected, to outline the specific scope of work, deliverables, interface specifications for existing systems, and timelines for the CHE service implementation based on the requirements outlined in the RFQ. The selected Contractor will provide the Project Work Plan, quote, and other documentation required by the RFQ after the site assessment.

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The selected Contractors will receive a Purchase Order (PO) for the host environment and a PO for each PSAP they will be providing CHE services for and will supply the service to meet the specific requirements as indicated in the RFQ.

It is the Commonwealth’s intent to issue the first RFQ for presentations within six months of the issuance and posting of this ITQ. Contractors are encouraged to submit ITQ responses early to ensure they are qualified prior to the issuance of the initial RFQ.

The Commonwealth will issue additional RFQs as additional projects are required. The current version of the Industry Standards, Attachment C and the Service Level Agreements will be included with each RFQ. The selected contractors will receive a PO for CHE services required from the RFQ.