RFP 29393 Next Generation 911

New York State

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Office of Interoperable Emergency Communications

Request For Proposals

RFP 29393

Next Generation 911

System Development and Independent Verification

Event Date

RFP issued 6/9/2026

Mandatory Intent to Submit a Proposal 6/26/2026

Deadline for Submission of Proposer Questions 7/8/2026

Responses to Written Questions Posted (on or about) 8/7/2026

Deadline for Submission of Proposals 9/14/2026 by 2:00 pm

Eastern Time

Anticipated Notification of Award(s) 1/11/2027

Anticipated Contract(s) Start Date 5/1/2027 or 30 days after OSC approval, whichever is later

Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

1.2 Designated Contact

1.3 Restricted Period

1.4 Minimum Proposer Qualifications

1.5 Mandatory Intent to Submit a Proposal

1.6 Questions and Clarifications

1.7 Glossary of Terms

2. Scope

2.1 Project Description

2.2 Work Products

2.2.1 Lot 1: System of Services

2.2.2 Lot 2: Independent Verification & Validation

2.2.3 Staffing Requirements for Lot 1 and Lot 2

2.2.4 Scheduling of Work

2.2.5 Operational Plan

2.2.6 Implementation Timeline

2.2.7 Training

2.3 Termination/Transition Assistance

2.4 Communication and Reporting Requirements

2.5 Security Policies, Standards and Procedures

2.6 OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) Training Requirements

2.7 Prevailing Wage Rate Advisory Notice

3. Proposal Submission

3.1 Proposal Format and Content

3.1.1 Technical Proposal

3.1.2 Cost Proposal

3.1.3 Administrative Proposal

3.2 Proposal Preparation

3.3 Packaging of RFP Response

3.4 Instructions for Proposal Submission

4. Evaluation and Selection Process

4.1 Proposal Evaluation

4.2 Preliminary Score and Down Selection

4.3 Reference Checks

4.4 Presentations

4.5 Best and Final Offer

4.6 Final Composite Score

4.7 Notification of Award

5. Administrative Information

5.1 Issuing Office

5.2 Method of Award

5.3 Price

5.4 Term of Contract

5.5 Method of Payment

5.6 Electronic Payments

5.7 Overpayment

5.8 Past Practice

5.9 Exceptions and Extraneous Terms

5.10 Debriefings

5.11 Examination of Contract Documents

5.12 Rules of Construction

5.13 Reserved Rights

6. Contract Clauses and Requirements

6.1 Appendix A / Order of Precedence

6.2 Confidentiality

6.3 Ethics Compliance

6.4 Tax and Finance Clause

6.5 Freedom of Information Law/Trade Secrets

6.6 General Requirements

6.7 Subcontractors

6.8 Extent of Services

6.9 Dispute Resolution

6.10 Termination

6.11 New York State Vendor File Registration

6.12 NYS Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire

6.13 Indemnification

6.14 Force Majeure

6.15 Encouraging Use of NYS Business

6.16 Information Security Breach

6.17 Sexual Harassment Prevention

6.18 Gender-Based Violence and the Workplace Certification

6.19 Employee Information to be Reported by Certain Consultant Contractors

6.20 New York State Workers’ Compensation & Disability Benefits Insurance Requirements .. 65

6.21 Liability Insurance Requirement

6.22 Participation Opportunities for New York State Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses

6.23 Ownership of Technology

6.24 Criminal Justice Information Services Access

RFP Appendix A Standard Clauses for New York State Contracts

RFP Appendix B Required Forms

RFP Appendix C Sample Contract

RFP Appendix D Insurance Requirements

RFP Appendix E MWBE and EEO Requirements

RFP Appendix F Reference of Adoptive Standards

RFP Appendix G System Requirements

RFP Attachment 1a Cost Proposal Spreadsheet (Lot 1)

RFP Attachment 1b Cost Proposal Spreadsheet (Lot 2)

RFP Attachment 1c Cost Proposal Price Affirmation

RFP Attachment 2a Compliance Requirements Checklist (Lot 1)

RFP Attachment 2b Compliance Requirements Checklist (Lot 2)

RFP Attachment 3 DHSES Non-Disclosure Agreement

RFP Attachment 4 General PSAP Primary/Secondary Locations

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

New York State is actively pursuing a transition from the current legacy Enhanced 911 (E911) systems to a fully capable Next Generation 911 (NG911) environment. As part of this modernization, groups of counties have embarked on regional initiatives throughout New York State by deploying fiber- and microwave-based networks, with connectivity points accessing each Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) within these regional initiatives for the purposes of 911 system sharing.

In New York State, 911 emergency communication services are primarily provided by local governments. Each county provides 911 services to its county through a jurisdictional approach or as one individual entity. A jurisdictional approach could comprise multiple municipal and state agencies. Approximately 133 primary PSAPs serve New York State’s 19.9 million residents and nearly 315.4 million annual visitors.

As municipalities in New York State endeavor to provide quality 911 service in a cost-effective manner, local governments may contract with other counties for 911 service or move to regionalize or consolidate PSAP operations. For example, of counties sharing services, Hamilton County contracts with Herkimer County for Herkimer County to receive wireless 911 calls from certain portions of Hamilton County. An example of State agencies assisting 911 services is the New York State Police assist in answering wireless 911 calls in Hamilton, Herkimer and Westchester Counties. PSAP consolidation initiatives are in progress for multiple agencies in areas across the State such as Erie County, which is consolidating PSAP operations into their Central Police Services.

New York State seeks to leverage progress already made in the transition towards NG911. This procurement will develop a standards-based Statewide Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet) which will support Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) needed to process 911 communications on the ESInet (collectively, the ESInet and NGCS are referred to as the “System of Services”). Counties with existing NG911 components may request to migrate existing functionality from a regional network to the System of Services. Further established county regional partnerships may request to integrate established regional networks into the design of the statewide System of Services. The Contractor is expected to leverage and integrate regional initiatives as much as possible to provide a reliable and cost-effective System of Services that meets the requirements of the Contract.

NYS DHSES is accepting proposals for two separate lots. Prospective bidders may submit a bid proposal for Lot 1, Lot 2, or both. Bidders will not be awarded both Lots 1 and 2, it will be a single lot award. Lot 1 is for the System of Services. Lot 2 is for Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V), including the assessment and enforcement of the Lot 1 provider’s compliance with the requirements of the contract, of this RFP, any service level agreements and any other requirements related to the implementation, operation, and maintenance of the Services.

1.2 Designated Contact

In compliance with the Procurement Lobbying Law, Peter Illenberg, Contract Management Specialist 1, NYS DHSES, has been designated as the PRIMARY CONTACT for this procurement and may be reached by email for all inquiries regarding this solicitation.

Peter Illenberg, Contract Management Specialist 1 NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Office of Administration and Finance

1220 Washington Avenue Building 7A, 6th Floor Albany, New York 12226 Email: rfpteam@dhses.ny.gov

In the event the primary designated contact is not available:

Allison Taylor, Contract Management Specialist 2 NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Office of Administration and Finance 1220 Washington Avenue Building 7A, 6th Floor Albany, New York 12226 Email: rfpteam@dhses.ny.gov

1.3 Restricted Period

Pursuant to State Finance Law §139-j and §139-k, this Solicitation includes and imposes certain restrictions on communications between DHSES and a Vendor during the procurement process. A Vendor is restricted from making contacts from the earliest posting, on a governmental entity’s website, in a newspaper of general circulation, or in the procurement opportunities newsletter of intent to solicit offers/bids through final award and approval of the Procurement Contract by DHSES and, if applicable, the Office of the State Comptroller (“Restricted Period”) to other than designated staff unless it is a contact that is included among certain statutory exceptions set forth in State Finance Law §139-j(3)(a).

Designated staff, as of the date hereof, are identified in Section 1.2. DHSES employees are also required to obtain certain information when contacted during the restricted period and make a determination of the responsibility of the Vendor pursuant to these two statutes. Certain findings of non-responsibility can result in rejection for contract award and in the event of two findings within a four-year period; the Vendor is debarred from obtaining governmental Procurement Contracts for four years. Further information about these requirements can be found on the OGS website: http://www.ogs.ny.gov/acpl/.

1.4 Minimum Proposer Qualifications

Proposers are advised that the State’s intent is to ensure that only responsive, responsible, qualified, and reliable contractors enter into a contract to perform the work as defined in this document.

The State considers the following qualifications to be a prerequisite to be considered a qualified Proposer for purposes of the solicitation. For Lot 1 System of Services, experience refers to acting as the lead on such a project. For Lot 2 Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V), experience refers to direct services or management of services in an independent verification and validation role.

The following minimum requirements must be met by Lot 1 Proposers:

- Five years of 911 Call Delivery Experience, including:

o Multijurisdictional call delivery e.g. Counties, States o Delivery of 911 calls with a volume greater than 2 million calls per year o Integration of multiple call handling equipment platforms

- Experience with successful implementation of at least one Statewide ESInet and NG911 system project

- Experience with integrating multiple telecommunication system providers

- Experience implementing leading industry standards such as National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 standards, Association of Public safety Communications Officials (APCO), and National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC).

- Provide at least three satisfactory references relating to the ability to perform the services called for under this RFP.

The following minimum requirements must be met by Lot 2 Proposers:

- Experience with multi-vendor solutions within a regional or statewide critical infrastructure system project, preferably a 24/7/365 operational system.

- Five years of leading IV&V on large multi-vendor regional or statewide technical projects.

- Proven experience with telecommunications industry standards (e.g. NG911 i3 standards).

- Experience in multi-vendor testing and operational cutover plans, preferably for 24/7/365 end-to-end services.

- Experience in cyber and physical security assessments for critical infrastructure projects.

- Experience in monitoring mission critical systems, with proactive real-time incident detection and response.

- Experience with change management: Development of formal processes for maintenance, changes, and upgrades.

- Provide at least three satisfactory references relating to the ability to perform the services called for under this RFP.

1.5 Mandatory Intent to Submit a Proposal

Vendors who wish to submit a proposal must register their intent by sending written notice via email to rfpteam@dhses.ny.gov with completed Attachment 3 – DHSES Non-Disclosure Agreement. Upon receipt, vendors will be provided confidential Attachment 4 – General PSAP Primary/Secondary Locations with the specific PSAP locations to be integrated with the ESInet. Intent notification is a mandatory requirement and must be submitted by the date stated in the Events table on the cover page. Vendors assume sole responsibility for timely receipt of the intent notification. Vendors must include their company name, address, phone, contact name, title, and e-mail address. Only vendors who have submitted intent will be allowed to submit proposals and receive updates and responses to questions regarding this RFP. By providing intent, the vendor is not obligated to submit a proposal.

1.6 Questions and Clarifications

There will be an opportunity for submission of questions and/or requests for clarification. Questions and/or clarifications must be submitted via email to the Designated Contact at rfpteam@dhses.ny.gov with “Questions for RFP 29393 NG911” in the subject line.

All questions must cite the particular page, section, and paragraph number, where applicable. The deadline for submission of any questions/clarifications regarding this RFP is listed in the Events table on the cover page.

Questions received after the deadline may not be answered. DHSES will post an addendum on the New York State Contract Reporter https://www.nyscr.ny.gov/ with all questions and responses on or about the date listed in the Events table on the cover page. As part of the bid submission, Proposers should provide a signed addendum acknowledging the questions and responses. Any additional addenda will be posted to the same location.

Any additional information pertaining to confidential Attachment 4 – General PSAP Primary/Secondary Locations will only be distributed to the vendors that have submitted a timely intent to submit a proposal notice.

Pursuant to Section 5.9, Exceptions and Extraneous Terms, proposers wishing to obtain an exemption or waiver for any part of this solicitation must submit their request in writing by the Deadline for Submission of Proposer Questions as identified in the Events table on the cover page.

1.7 Glossary of Terms

Please see below for a Glossary of Terms referenced throughout this RFP to ensure precise and uniform interpretation.

Glossary of Terms

911 Authority 9-1-1 Authority is a State, Provincial, Territorial, County, Regional, or other governmental entity responsible for 9-1-1 service operations. For example, this could be a county/parish, Indigenous or other local government, a special 9-1-1 or Emergency Communications District, a Council of Governments, or other similar body.

911 Call Refers to any type of then current form of data transmission or messaging sent to request some form of emergency assistance including voice data, any form of text or similar message, video data, and all associated data, such as a caller’s location.

Additional Data Data that provides additional information related to the call, the caller, the device, or the location associated with the call.

Additional Data Repository (ADR) A data storage facility for additional data that dereferences a uniform resource identifier (URI) and returns an additional data object.

Access Control List (ACL) A security mechanism used to allow or deny access to either computing or networking systems (e.g., access through a firewall).

Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) A detection protocol designed to provide fast failure detection times for all media types, encapsulations, topologies, and routing protocols. BFD can detect failures, but the routing protocol must take action to bypass a failed peer. BFD is User Datagram Protocol (UDP)-based and provides fast routing-protocol-independent detection of Layer 3 next-hop failures. BFD provides low-overhead detection of faults even on interfaces that do not support failure detection of any kind, such as Ethernet, virtual circuits, tunnels and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) paths.

Border Control Function (BCF) Provides a secure entry into the ESInet for emergency calls presented to the network. The BCF incorporates firewall admission control and may include anchoring of session and media as well as other security mechanisms to prevent deliberate or malicious attacks on PSAPs or other entities connected to the ESInet.

Call A generic term used to include any type of request for communication; a call is not limited to voice communication. A call can originate from human-initiated and non-human-initiated communication including, but not limited to, voice, text, video, and data.

Commissioner Shall mean the Commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services or duly authorized representative.

Compressor/Decompressor (Codec) In communication engineering, the term codec references integrated circuits, or chips, that perform data conversion. In this context, the term is an acronym for “coder/decoder.” This type of codec combines analog-to-digital conversion and digital-to-analog conversion functions in a single chip. In personal and business computing applications, the most common use for such a device is in a modem.

County or Counties

Shall refer to the counties of New York State and the City of New York. The 5 Counties/ Boroughs which comprise New York City (Bronx, Kings, Queens, New York, Richmond) are treated as one County for the purposes of this RFP.

Confidential Information Any information that DHSES or the State, regardless of form or medium of disclosure (e.g., verbal, hard copy, or electronic) or source of information (e.g., ITS, other state agencies, electronic systems, federal government, or third-party contractors) provides to the Contractor, its agents, employees, oƯicers, partners, and subcontractors or which Contractor, its agents, employees, oƯicers, partners, and subcontractors obtains, discovers, derives, or otherwise becomes aware of as a result of Contractor’s performance other than:

a. information that is previously rightfully known to the receiving Party without restriction on disclosure;

b. information that is or becomes, from no act or failure to act on the part of the receiving Party, generally known in the relevant industry or is in the public domain; and

c. information that is independently developed by Contractor without use of Confidential Information.

Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Preplanned policies and procedures to continue operations in the face of a natural or manmade disaster.

Contractor Shall mean a successful company awarded a contract pursuant to this RFP.

Critical Errors GIS Data issues that would prevent their use in a specified NGCS, these are identified during GIS Data Validation.

Data Data refers to any multimedia, text, or digital information beyond just voice that can be transmitted, processed, or shared within the IP based 911 ecosystem. Includes Confidential Information.

Day(s)

All references to days in this document should be understood as calendar days, unless otherwise defined. Public holidays and weekends do not excuse performance.

Demarcation Point Is the point at which a provider’s network ends and connects with the customer's on-premises wiring. It is the dividing line which determines who is responsible for installation and maintenance of wiring and equipment— customer/subscriber, or telephone company/provider.

Denial of Service (DoS) Occurs when a system is overwhelmed in such a way that messages cannot be processed, or they are processed extremely slowly.

Domain Name Server (DNS) Used on the Internet today to resolve domain names. The input to a DNS is a domain name (e.g., telcordia.com); the response is the IP address of the domain. The DNS allows people to use easy to remember text-based addresses and the DNS translates those names into routable IP addresses.

DHSES Shall mean the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services.

Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) A widely used configuration protocol that allows a host to acquire configuration information from a visited network and, in particular, an IP address.

Emergency Call Routing Function (ECRF) A functional element in an ESInet which is a LoST protocol server in which location information (either civic address or geo-coordinates) and a Service URN serve as input to a mapping function that returns a URI used to route an emergency call toward the appropriate PSAP for the caller’s location or towards a responder agency.

• External ECRF: An ECRF instance that resides outside of an ESInet instance.

• Internal ECRF: An ECRF instance that resides within and is only accessible from an ESInet instance.

Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet)

Provides the IP transport infrastructure upon which independent application platforms and core services can be deployed, including, but not restricted to, those necessary for providing NG911 services. ESInets may be constructed from a mix of dedicated and shared facilities. ESInets may be interconnected at local, regional, state, federal, national, and international levels to form an IP-based inter-network (network of networks). The term ESInet designates the network, not the services that ride on the network. See NG911 Core Services.

Emergency Services Routing Proxy (ESRP) An i3 functional element that is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy server that selects the next-hop routing within the ESInet based on location and policy. An ESRP exists on the edge of the ESInet and usually is found as well at the entrance to an NG911-capable PSAP. There may be one or more intermediate ESRPs between them.

Extensible Markup Language (XML) An internet specification for web documents that enables tags to be used that provide functionality beyond that in Hyper Text Markup

Language (HTML). Its reference is its ability to allow information of indeterminate length to be transmitted to a PSAP telecommunicator versus the current restriction that requires information to fit the parameters of predefined fields.

GIS (Geographic Information System) A system for capturing, storing, displaying, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced.

OR

The set of services needed to aggregate and integrate NG911 GIS data, including data creation, editing and aggregation; and system integration services, security and compliance and project management and reporting.

GIS Data Steward One or more GIS professionals who are vested in the creation and maintenance of spatial data in their respective Jurisdictions, and as such are the logical source for authoritative foundational data for NG911 from all jurisdictions in the state.

GIS Data Validation Refers to the standards and processes established by the State and National Emergency Number Association (NENA) to ensure the accuracy and consistency of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data used in emergency services. This includes quality and integrity checks to ensure that the data complies with all applicable requirements, as well as validation of location validation functions (LVFs) and emergency call routing functions (ECRFs) to ensure that the GIS data is accurate and reliable for 9-1-1 calls.

i3 Indicator of the ability to receive IP signaling and media for delivery of emergency calls and for originating calls conformant to the NENA- STA-010.3f-2021 i3 standards.

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) The leading standards-setting authority for internet protocols.

Internet Protocol (IP) The method by which data is sent from one computer to another on the internet or other networks.

IPv4 The fourth iteration of IP and the first version to be widely deployed.

IPv6 A version of IP that is intended to succeed IPv4, which is the communications protocol currently used to direct almost all internet traƯic. IPv6 will enable the internet to support many more devices by greatly increasing the number of possible addresses.

Intrusion Detection System (IDS) A device or software application that monitors network or system activities for malicious activities or policy violations.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) A network security appliance that monitors network and/or system activities for malicious activity. An IPS identifies malicious activity, logs information about said activity, attempts to block/stop the activity, and reports the activity.

Issuing OƯice Shall mean the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services

(DHSES).

Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V)

A comprehensive review, analysis, and testing (software and/or hardware) performed by an objective third party to confirm (i.e., verify) that the requirements are correctly defined, and to confirm (i.e., validate) that the system correctly implements the required functionality and security requirements.

Location Access and Transport Area (LATA) The geographical areas within which a local telephone company oƯers telecommunication services.

Legacy Network Gateway (LNG) A signaling and media interconnection point between callers in legacy wireline/wireless originating networks and the i3 architecture, so that i3-compliant PSAPs are able to receive emergency calls from such legacy networks.

Legacy Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) A PSAP that cannot process calls received via i3-defined call interfaces (i.e., IP calls) and still requires the use of centralized automatic message accounting (CAMA) and integrated services digital network (ISDN) trunk technology for delivery of 911 emergency calls.

Legacy PSAP Gateway (LPG) A transitional NG911 functional element that provides an interface between an ESInet and a legacy PSAP.

Location Database (LDB) A transitional NG911 functional element that contains all information currently held in automatic location identification (ALI) databases, functions in the legacy environment, and also interfaces with the protocols required for the NG911 environment.

Location Information Server (LIS) A LIS is a functional entity that provides locations of endpoints. A LIS can provide location by reference or location by value and, if the latter, in geographic or civic forms. A LIS can be queried by an endpoint for its own location, or by another entity for the location of an endpoint. In either case, the LIS receives a unique identifier that represents the endpoint, for example an IP address, circuit ID or media access control (MAC) address, and returns the location (value or reference) associated with that identifier. The LIS is also the entity that provides the dereferencing service, exchanging a location reference or a location value.

Location Interwork Function (LIF) The functional component of a legacy network gateway that is responsible for taking the appropriate information from the incoming signaling—e.g., calling number/automatic number identification (ANI), emergency services routing key (ESRK), cell site/sector)— and using it to acquire location information that can be used to route the emergency call and to provide location information to the PSAP. In a legacy PSAP gateway, this functional component takes the information from an automatic location identification (ALI) query and uses it to obtain location from a location information server (LIS).

Location to Service Translation (LoST) A protocol that takes location information and a service uniform resource name (URN) and returns a uniform resource identifier (URI).

Used generally for location-based routing. In NG911, it is used as the protocol for the ECRF and location validation function (LVF).

Location Validation Function (LVF) Validates that a given description of a location is both precise enough to route a 911 call and will be recognizable by telecommunicators. In NENA i3 specifications, valid locations are routable locations, such as latitude/longitude or postal address, that are not necessarily Master Street Address Guide (MSAG)-validated.

Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) A standardized mechanism for exchanging instant messages using SIP where a server relays messages between two user agents. In a PSAP, MSRP is utilized for text-to-911 functionality.

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) A mechanism that allows network administrators to perform a measure of traƯic engineering within their networks.

Network Address and Port Translation (NAPT) Similar to network address translation (NAT), NAPT changes both the IP address and the port number as traƯic passes through a router or firewall.

Network Address Translation (NAT) In computer networking, the NAT process, also known as network masquerading or IP masquerading, involves rewriting the source and/or destination addresses of IP packets as they pass through a router or firewall. Most systems using NAT do so to enable multiple hosts on a private network to access the internet using a single public IP address.

Network Time Protocol (NTP) A powerful utility for synchronizing system clocks over a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/IP network.

Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) The base set of services needed to process a 9- 1-1 call on an ESInet. Includes the ESRP, ECRF, LVF, BCF, Bridge, Policy Store, Logging Services, and typical IP services such as DNS and DHCP.

The term NG911 Core Services includes the services and not the network on which they operate.

NG911-Specific Interwork Function (NIF) The functional component of a legacy network gateway or legacy PSAP gateway that provides NG911-specific processing of the call not provided by an oƯ-the-shelf protocol interwork gateway. The base set of services needed to process a 911 call on an ESInet. Includes the ESRP, ECRF, LVF, BCF, Bridge, Policy Store, Logging Services, and typical IP services such as DNS and DHCP. The term NG911 Core Services includes the services and not the network on which they operate.

OƯeror, Proposer, or Bidder Shall mean any person, partnership, firm, corporation or other authorized entity submitting a proposal pursuant to this RFP.

Point of Interconnection (POI) A physical demarcation point between networks.

Point of Presence (POP) An artificial demarcation point or interface point between communications entities. An internet POP is an access point to the internet.

It is a physical location that houses servers, routers, asynchronous transfer mode

(ATM) switches and digital/analog call aggregators. It may be part of a telecommunications provider’s facilities that the internet service provider (ISP) rents, or a location separate from the telecommunications provider.

Policy-Based Routing Function (PRF) The functional component of an ESRP that determines the next hop in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling path using the policy of the nominal next element determined by querying the ECRF with the location of the caller. A database function that analyzes and applies ESInet or PSAP state elements to route calls, based on policy information associated with the next hop.

Presence Information Data Format (PIDF) PIDF is specified in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comment (RFC) 3683;

it provides a common presence data format for presence protocols and defines a new media type. A presence protocol is a protocol for providing a presence service over the internet or any IP network.

Presence Information Data Format – Location Objects (PIDF-LO)

Provides a flexible and versatile means to represent location information in a SIP header using an XML schema.

Protocol Interworking Function (PIF) The functional component of a legacy network gateway or legacy PSAP gateway that interworks legacy public switched telephone network (PSTN) signaling, such as integrated services digital network (ISDN) user part (ISUP) or centralized automatic message accounting (CAMA) with SIP signaling.

Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) end point A physical demarcation between an originating carrier network and an NG911 network.

PSAP Connecting Entity The entity managing 9-1-1 calls delivered to the PSAP end point.

Request for Proposals (RFP) Shall mean this Document.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) A computer networking protocol that manages server authentication, client authentication, and encrypted communication between servers and clients.

Security Information Event Management (SIEM) In computer security, it refers to the collection of data, such as log files, into a central repository for trend analysis.

Services A service pursuant to which the Contractor delivers 911 calls in the State from the demarcation point of the originating service providers to the designated terminating network point of interconnection (POI) and to the Public Safety Answering Point 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365/366 days a year.

Session Border Controller (SBC) A commonly available functional element that provides security, NAT traversal, protocol repair and other functions to voice over IP (VoIP) signaling, such as SIP—a BCF.

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) An IETF-defined protocol (RFC 3261) that defines a method for establishing multimedia sessions over the internet. Used as the call signaling protocol in VoIP, i2 and i3.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) An IETF-defined protocol is used for managing devices on an IP network.

Spatial Interface (SI) A standardized interface used to publish geographic information system (GIS) data to the functional elements, such as the ECRF and

LVF.

The State Shall mean the State of New York.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) The end-to-end reliability protocol that recognizes and corrects lower layer errors caused by connectionless networks.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) A protocol that ensures privacy between communicating applications and their users on the internet. When a server and client communicate, TLS ensures that no third party may eavesdrop or tamper with any message.

TLS is the successor to the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) A predictable formatting of text used to identify a resource on a network (usually the internet).

User Agent (UA) As defined for SIP in IETF RFC 3162[5], the UA represents an endpoint in the IP domain, a logical entity that can act as both a user agent client (UAC) that sends requests, and as user agent server (UAS) responding to requests.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) One of several core protocols commonly used on the internet. Used by programs on networked computers to send short messages, called datagrams, between one another. UDP is a lightweight message protocol (compared with TCP), is stateless, and is more eƯicient at handling lots of short messages from many clients (compared with other protocols like TCP). Because UDP is widely used, and also because it has no guaranteed, built-in delivery mechanism, it also is referred to as Universal Datagram Protocol and as Unreliable Datagram Protocol.

Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) A technology included in IP network routers that allows multiple instances of a routing table to exist in a router and work simultaneously.

This increases functionality by allowing network paths to be segmented without using multiple devices. Because traƯic is automatically segregated, VRF also increases network security and can eliminate the need for encryption and authentication.

2. Scope

2.1 Project Description

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to provide NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) with two Contractors, one Contractor to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive System of Services for the transmission and support of 911 communications throughout the State and one Contractor responsible for oversight. New York State is accepting proposals for two separate lots. Lot 1 is for development & implementation of an ESInet and Next Generation Core Services, which will host the system of services & Geographic Information Systems data and its integration/use into the system. Lot 2 is for Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V), including the assessment and enforcement of the Lot 1 provider’s compliance with the requirements of the contract, any service level agreements, and any other requirements related to the implementation, operation, and maintenance of the Services.

2.2 Work Products

2.2.1 Lot 1: System of Services

NYS DHSES is soliciting a proposal for a single Contractor to provide New York State the Services. The term “Services” as used in the RFP means a service pursuant to which the Contractor delivers all 911 calls (as defined herein) in the State (excluding those already fully handled by New York City’s NG911 system) from the demarcation point of the originating service providers to the designated terminating network point of interconnection (POI) and to the Public Safety Answering Point 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365/366 days a year (a “Continual Basis”). The Contractor shall accomplish this through the use of National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 standards based Statewide Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESInet) and Next Generation Core Services (NGCS) that comply with each of the requirements set forth in the RFP, including the specifications and documentation meeting the most current iteration of NENA i3 standards. This (i) is part of the larger Next Generation 911 (NG911) system as depicted in Figure 1 below, and (ii) encompasses connectivity to the Originating and Terminating Networks (as defined below). The “Originating Network” is the collaboration of all telephone and internet providers that feed the NG911 system the delivery of 911 calls from the 911 call to the ingress point of the ESInet. The “Terminating Network”, while not a network by itself, is representative of the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), including standalone PSAPs and PSAPs with a host-remote call handling equipment (CHE) configuration (ESInet and NGCS are sometimes referred to collectively as the “System.”). As part of the Services (and as part of the defined term “Services”), the Contractor must, in addition to any other requirements outlined in the RFP and imposed by the resulting contract, provide, maintain, support, monitor, diagnose and repair the System and the Services on a Continual Basis.

As part of the Services, the Contractor shall provide the State and any of the State’s designees (including the awarded Lot 2 Contractor and other State-designated contractors) with unrestricted visibility to the status of the Services and System as well as unrestricted visibility to the Lot 1 Contractor’s monitoring and trouble resolution systems (including historical information). Training for the State and State designees will be provided by the Lot 1 Contractor periodically, as needed. Refer to Section 2.2.7 Training for additional information.

For an illustrative logical example of an NG911 system in New York State, please see below. This diagram is provided for illustrative purposes only and may/may not incorporate all the necessary functionality.

A. Requirements

The Contractor must provide all hardware, software, systems, components, and functions necessary or advisable to provide the System and perform the Services in accordance with the Contract. Contractor shall provide connections to each of the Primary and Secondary PSAPs for each county in New York State, as listed in Attachment 4. In actual practice, 911 call delivery likely will be from the legacy network gateway (LNG)/border control function (BCF) to the router/switch located within the same physical structure that houses the PSAPs call-handling equipment (CHE). The System of Services must manage alternate-routing functions between PSAPs for misroute resolution and failover support. Geographic Information System (GIS) data development and management are included as part of the NGCS (and, therefore, the ESInet Services).

The awarded Contractor(s) (and their subcontractors) is required to adhere to all applicable technological standards and New York State laws.

Please refer to the Technical Proposal Section 3.1.1 for specifics to the proposal requirements.

B. Technical Requirements

Appendix G – System Requirements includes extensive information. Proposers should read Appendix G in its entirety and respond to each requirement via Attachment 2 (a or b) – Compliance Requirements Checklist. In accordance with terms of Appendix G – System Requirements, the Contractor shall be obligated to provide the System and perform the Services without suspension, termination, interruption or restriction.

C. Optional Products and Services

In addition to the two connections per county provided under this RFP, counties may wish to include interconnectivity with established PSAP back-up facilities or other entities that receive 911 calls from their PSAP for processing/dispatching. NYS DHSES may request and procure optional IP connectivity for established back-up PSAP facilities and other public safety and support agencies as part of the System of Services. Funding for optional connectivity will be the responsibility of the requesting entity via a separate contract.

Project management and coordination shall be provided as part of these products and services, and include, but is not limited to working with NYS DHSES and its partners on the IP interconnectivity into the System. The location of established PSAP back-up facilities and public safety and support agencies is provided in Attachment 4 - General PSAP Primary/Secondary Locations. Facilities not currently listed in Attachment 4, which may be part of the 911 call delivery workflow, can be added to the list during the term of the Contract.

Optional products and services requirements are designated in Appendix G – System Requirements and will be included in the contract(s) resulting from this RFP.

2.2.2 Lot 2: Independent Verification & Validation

NYS DHSES is also soliciting a proposal for the provision of Independent Verification & Validation services.

The Lot 2 Contractor selected for the Independent Verification & Validation (the “Independent Verification & Validation Contractor”) shall provide Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) of the Lot 1 Contractor’s work to ensure adherence to project deliverables, specifications, and performance standards, including the assessment of the Services, provider’s compliance with the requirements of the Lot 1 Contract, any service level agreements (SLA) and any other requirements related to the provisioning, implementation, operation, performance, and maintenance of the System of Services. The Lot 2 Contractor must have no conflicts of interests and true independence from working with vendors that are working on the project in Lot 1. Upon discovering any actual or potential conflict of interest, the Lot 2 Contractor must notify DHSES in writing immediately, and no later than 3 business days. The Lot 1 Contractor will be required to provide visibility and real-time access to the status of major system components, as well as visibility to their respective monitoring and trouble resolution systems. The Lot 2 Independent Verification & Validation Contractor will provide problem determination, problem resolution, and where needed and to the extent reasonably practicable, facilitate dispute resolution between two or more stakeholders (e.g., DHSES, counties, Lot 1 Contractor, subcontractors) related to the Services and System.

The functions and responsibilities of the Independent Verification & Validation provider include:

1. Verify the Lot 1 Contractor is meeting requirements, timelines, milestones, and deliverables of Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) and Cutover Plan (CP).

2. Verify the Lot 1 Services are being provided in compliance with the SLAs.

3. Verify failover testing is performed through an outlined methodology approved by NYS DHSES.

4. Provide problem determination, problem resolution, and facilitate dispute resolution between

DHSES/Counties and the Lot 1 Contractor, if necessary, during testing, cutover, and operation of the ESInet and NGCS.

5. Continually monitor System usage and provide daily (to include weekends and holidays) statistical and summary reports to NYS DHSES on items such as call volumes, network performance, SLA compliance, and problem resolution.

6. Analyze and report trends, such as growth of traffic/use of network resources, deteriorating or improving chronic problems, to alert NYS DHSES of future needs.

7. Participate in Lot 1 Contractor status meetings weekly through cutover of all PSAPs and future System upgrades and changes.

8. Review all audits conducted by the Lot 1 Contractor to ensure accuracy and completeness.

9. Develop a statewide NG911 disaster recovery plan, including testing and auditing of such plans, by working with NYS DHSES, county authorities, and the Lot 1 Contractor.

10. Verify Lot 1 Contractor is meeting transition services requirements upon expiration or termination of the Contract.

Additional services may be delivered by the Independent Verification & Validation provider, if directed by NYS DHSES, including:

1. Work with the Lot 1 Contractor to develop and implement appropriate change management processes.

2. Work with the Lot 1 Contractor and PSAPs to develop call routing policies, and verify policies are implemented and operate correctly.

3. Assist with developing and maintaining standardized outage notification processes for the State.

4. Maintain a database of service providers and contacts that is accessible in real-time to DHSES or as otherwise mutually agreed.

5. Maintain a database of PSAP equipment vendors that includes emergency problem resolution procedures by vendor that is accessible in real-time to DHSES or as otherwise mutually agreed.

2.2.3 Staffing Requirements for Lot 1 and Lot 2

The Contractors shall allocate appropriate qualified personnel to fulfill the objectives of the implementation, testing, cutover, provision of, support, performance of, and maintenance for the System of Services and other obligations and commitments as set forth in this RFP. Staff must be experienced and knowledgeable in the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 standards.

The Contractors should anticipate staffing multiple projects with multiple resources simultaneously and ensure these resources are dedicated to Lot 1 or Lot 2 projects during the term of the contract.

DHSES shall have the discretion to direct the Contractor to remove a staff member from service.

DHSES reserves the right to review the resume of any proposed staff including those of any subcontractors.

A. Titles and General Descriptions

1. Services Manager

The Contractor shall designate a Services Manager to NYS DHSES to serve as the Contractor’s regular point of contact to administer the Contract generally, oversee the provisioning of the System and performance of the Services to the State, Contractor’s compliance with the service level agreements (SLAs), and the overall performance of Contractor’s obligations and responsibilities under the Contract. It is preferred the Services Manager be dedicated full-time to NYS DHSES, however, to the extent that Service Manager is working for other Contractor customers, the Service Manager shall interrupt any work being done for other Contractor customer to address NYS DHSES needs or issues with the System of Services (i.e., on a first priority basis).

Additionally, prior to any temporary absence or unavailability of the Services Manager (e.g., for vacation, sickness, training, etc.), Contractor shall designate a backup Services Manager to NYS DHSES in writing, such backup Services Manager shall have the same (or better) experience, expertise, qualifications, and certifications as possessed by the Services Manager.

The Services Manager is considered key personnel. The Services Manager shall be responsible for ensuring Contractor’s compliance with the Contract, and for proactively communicating and coordinating with Contractor’s executive personnel and other Contractor personnel, as needed, to ensure such Contract compliance.

The Services Manager shall, among other things:

be fully knowledgeable about all commitments made by Contractor in the Contract, especially where such commitments may differ from Contractor’s general business practices and policies;

advise Contractor personnel and Contractor’s subcontractors on the commitments made by Contractor to ensure the Contractor personnel have a full and complete understanding of the level and scope of the commitments made under the Contract.

If NYS DHSES determines that the Services Manager is not effectively discharging their duties, at NYS DHSES request, Contractor shall replace the Services Manager.

2. Project Director

The Contractor shall assign a full-time Project Director to oversee the implementation and completion (Lot 1) or the oversight (Lot 2) of the Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) and the Cutover Plan (CP). The Project Director shall be dedicated to NYS DHSES during the implementation of the project and for a period of one (1) month following the last PSAP Go-Live Date to ensure the Services are stable, are in full compliance with the System requirements and meet all SLAs. The Project Director shall be certified and maintain certification under the PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) program and be designated as Key Personnel.

2.2.4 Scheduling of Work

The Lot 1 and Lot 2 proposers shall provide an outline of the project’s work schedule, broken down by key milestones. Proposer shall fully document a schedule that begins at awarding of the contract, through and including implementation of all components, final cut-over and completion of contract’s period of performance. The proposer’s project work schedule shall indicate all required dependencies.

2.2.5 Operational Plan

The Lot 1 and Lot 2 Offerors shall provide a proposed project operational plan for the lifecycle of this project including the project management methodology and support structure. Describe daily, weekly, and monthly interactions during the migration to the System. The Offerors shall describe the post-implementation client management service, including client management reports, executive briefings and the fielding of ad hoc support requests.

2.2.6 Implementation Timeline

The Lot 1 Offeror shall provide a detailed implementation timeline for all aspects of their proposed solution.

Acceptance Test Plan.

NYS DHSES requires a written Acceptance Test Plan (ATP) as part of the proposal.

The Offeror shall provide a preliminary ATP outline to serve as a starting point for development of the final ATP.