Sponsor: Information Services
Title
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Single Source Agreement with CenturyLink Communications, LLC for Telecom and Telephony Services
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the Single Source Agreement with CenturyLink Communications, LLC d/b/a Lumen Technologies Group, P.O. Box 91154, Seattle, WA 98111 for telecom and telephony services for the period of February 7, 2023 through February 6, 2026 with an option to renew for an additional three year period for a total not to exceed amount of $2,160,000 over the term of the agreement.
2. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the agreement.
3. Authorize the County Manager to approve and execute amendments and change orders to the agreement in accordance with the provisions of the agreement and all other terms and conditions remaining the same, in a form approved by the County Attorney's Office.
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Background and Rationale
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Continued rapid technological advances have resulted in a need to provide more efficient and less expensive telecom services. Presently, Ramsey County contracts with CenturyLink D/B/A Lumen Technologies Group (Lumen) to provide a variety of communications services since 2011. These services include: long distance and international phone calls, private internet bandwidth, 1-800 phone number reservations, local 651-266-xxxx phone number reservations, and primary rate interface (PRI) trunking. These services support the 1,200 + concurrent inbound and outbound phone calls made by residents to the county. The county added PRIs in a 2020 contract to expand phone service to support the growth of the organization and to support work from home due to covid. Due to ongoing changes resulting from the new flexible work arrangement and moving off the county’s old analog phone system, there is a need to update the contract to enable Ramsey County to utilize technologically advanced replacement services.
As a reputable service provider, CenturyLink D/B/A Lumen can provide a modern unified communication service for all the county’s telecommunication needs. The change to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system in 2018 requires that PRIs be replaced by more modern and flexible session initiation protocol (SIP) trunks. The benefits SIP provides the county is the following:
• lower costs
• better reliability
• higher quality phone communications with residents
• more resilient physical connections that protect from possible service disruptions
• easily scalable with business continuity in future tech allowing adjustment to rapidly changing phone service needs
Ramsey County has invested in several physical service connections with Lumen at several Ramsey County facilities. If the county was to seek a different telecom provider, the county would incur significant costs and would risk service disruptions to change these physical connections to a new provider. Due to knowledge of and experience with the county’s unique and varied needs, Lumen has the ability to continue to provide these services for the county’s unique environment which consists of multiple locations and needs.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☐ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Ramsey County serves a diverse and vibrant community. Ramsey County's primary way of communicating with residents is via phone conversations. In 2021, there were 1,898,709 inbound calls to individual staff phones and into the 30+ different call centers supported by the county. There were 1,165,794 outbound calls. Ramsey County currently utilizes 35+ PRI telephony trunks hosted by Lumen to support inbound and outbound phone calls. Migrating off of the old PRI solution onto the modern SIP platform will instantly have improved call quality along with improved service resiliency.
Improving call quality, improving technology resiliency, and reducing ongoing operating costs all play a role in helping Ramsey County serve the community members that need county services. This solution will help improve services with no negative impact to racial equity objectives. Improving call quality for these phone calls can help us better hear, better understand and better serve the community.
Community Participation Level and Impact
There is no community engagement involved with this request for board action. The resident experience is measured through the 30+ different inbound call centers that utilize this behind-the-scenes technology as part of the key performance metrics for the 2022 Strategic Residents First performance measure goals that include reporting on Call Center service delivery and call wait times. While these benefits are an indirect impact, they will do a small part of helping us hear our residents so that we can deliver the outcomes they need.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Funding is available in the Information Services Operating Budget. Estimated costs to CenturyLink last year were approximately $397,000. Costs under the new contract are estimated to not exceed $360,000 annually.
Last Previous Action
On April 7, 2020, the Ramsey County Board approved a Single Source Agreement with CenturyLink Corporation, d/b/a CenturyLink QC, to provide Primary Rate Interface local and long-distance phone services to multiple county locations for the period of April 7, 2020 through April 6, 2023 for a total not to exceed amount of $255,000 over the term of the agreement (B2020-074).
Attachments
1. Approved Single Source Request Form
2. CenturyLink Communications, LLC d/b/a Lumen Technologies Group Agreement