1998-25 Cloud Hosted VOIP Phone System

The Housing Authority of the City of Hartford (HACH) in Connecticut is soliciting proposals for a cloud-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system under RFQ #1998-25. The procurement encompasses the complete migration of HACH's current VOIP infrastructure to a managed cloud-based solution, including system configuration, porting of 59 existing phone numbers to the cloud provider's infrastructure, and comprehensive ongoing managed services. Key deliverables include unlimited local and long-distance calling coverage for the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico; E-911 registration and ongoing management; complete hosting, maintenance, and technical support of the VOIP environment; and call recording migration with a 30-day retention requirement. The system must support 85 extensions and 109 Direct Inward Dials (DIDs) across nine HACH locations, accommodate three conference phones, and include department-specific reporting and analytics capabilities. Required qualifications include provision of a 99.99% service level agreement with service credits for underperformance, secure cloud hosting with redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities, both remote and onsite technical support, system monitoring and scheduled security updates, and staff training via live web-based instruction. The solicitation opened on September 25, 2025, with the vendor question-and-answer period running through October 16, 2025. Proposals are due on November 6, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. EST, with contract award anticipated and a target go-live date of May 2026. The contract term is five years with annual pricing structures.

The solicitation does not identify specific set-asides or restrictions limiting bidder types, indicating the procurement is open to all qualified vendors. The Housing Authority currently operates a VOIP system provided by CCI and utilizes Cisco PoE switches, SonicWALL firewalls, and Microsoft 365 email services, which the selected vendor must accommodate and integrate with appropriately. HACH specifies no preference regarding handset brands and prefers hardware rental arrangements with vendor-provided upgrades and replacements rather than outright equipment purchases, with the option for vendors to propose infrastructure upgrades such as SD-WAN solutions if necessary for performance improvement. The Authority is tax-exempt and requires compliance with HIPAA and HUD standards, including Section 3 employment opportunity requirements and specific insurance provisions (professional liability and comprehensive general liability with $1,000,000 limits). Cost-plus pricing and markup arrangements are explicitly prohibited. No estimated total contract value is disclosed in the solicitation documents, and prospective vendors should direct inquiries to Kim Cotharin, Contracting Officer, at bids@hartfordhousing.org or 860-723-8435.