Title
Citywide Voice Communications Services
Action
Action:
A. Approve an extension of up to five years to the contract with NCapital LLC, formerly NCloud Leasing LLC, for the continued provision and expansion of the citywide voice over IP (VoIP) telephone communications system,
B. Approve an extension of up to two years to the contracts with AT&T North Carolina for the continued provision of the local voice telecommunications service to certain City facilities, and
C. Approve an extension of up to two years to the contract with Call Coverage, Inc. for continued provision of the CallXpress voice mail system and related services for certain City facilities.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Jeffrey Stovall, Innovation and Technology
Explanation
§ The City’s existing AT&T Centrex telephone system, which formerly provided desktop phone service to most City users, is being replaced due to AT&T’s announced intention to sunset the system in 2019.
§ Innovation & Technology is replacing the Centrex system with an IP Telephony system that runs over the City’s data network rather than a separate dedicated telephone system.
- IP telephones are a newer, more cost effective and efficient technology that enables integration into other systems, such as mobile devices and email.
§ Extensions of three different contracts are required in order to continue the transition to the IP telephony system without disruption of essential services to City users. The three different contracts are represented in Actions A-C, respectively.
Action A
§ The IP telephone system is the natural extension of an existing NCloud hosted Cisco IP telephone system used by the City’s call centers and the Emergency Operations Center.
- To acquire the Cisco IP telephone system, the City leveraged its existing contract with NWN Corporation (NCapital’s parent company) for Cisco products and services. The NWN contract was awarded by City Council on April 11, 2011 after a competitive bid process.
- The current contract with NCapital was put in place in November 2016 due to internal reorganizations at NWN. The essential elements of the NWN contract have been carried over into the current NCapital contract.
Action B
§ The majority of the City’s desktop phones have been converted to the NCloud IP telephone system, including CMGC. Some City facilities still operate the Centrex system, but will be upgraded with the IP telephone system before Centrex is discontinued in 2019. A contract extension with AT&T through December 2019 is required to allow for an orderly transition.
- In addition to Centrex, additional local telephone related services covered by the AT&T contracts include Megalinks, PRIs, and Business Lines.
Action C
§ CallXpress, a separate voicemail system provided by Call Coverage, supports the Centrex system. It is separate from the voicemail system provided through the NCapital contract.
- CallXpress must be maintained in order to provide voicemail services to City users that are still using Centrex, until replacement of the Centrex system is complete, currently anticipated by end of calendar year 2019. Therefore a further contract extension is required.
§ Estimated expenses for each of the contracts is as follows:
- NCapital: $873,000 per year for up to four years,
- AT&T North Carolina: $2.3 million per year for up to two years, and
- Call Coverage: $85,000 per year for up to two years.
Charlotte Business INClusion
No subcontracting goals were set because there are no subcontracting opportunities (Part C: Section 2.1 (a) of the Charlotte Business INClusion Policy).
Fiscal Note
Funding: Various Departments’ Operating Budgets