Sigcat Software Showcase 1992

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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, DC 20405 FIRMR BULLETIN C-15 TO: Heads of Federal Agencies SUBJECT: Mandatory local telecommunications service 1. Purpose. This bulletin discusses mandatory telecommunications service provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) through its consolidated local telecommunications service program. 2. Expiration date. This bulletin contains information of a continuing nature and will remain in effect until canceled. 3. Contents. Topic Paragraph Related material..........................................4 Information and assistance................................5 Definitions...............................................6 Acronyms..................................................7 Discussion................................................8 Description of service....................................9 Mandatory service.........................................10 Exceptions................................................11 Customer premise equipment ...............................12 Ordering..................................................13 Billing...................................................14 Cancellation..............................................15 Locations of Consolidated Local Telecommunications Service............................................Attachment A Criteria for Designating Local Service Locations Operated by GSA....................................Attachment B Termination Charges..................................Attachment C Information and Assistance...........................Attachment D 4. Related material. a. 201-20.303-1 b. 201-24.102 and 201-24.104 TC 90-1 Attachments FEDERAL INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT REGULATION APPENDIX B FIRMR Bulletin C-15 5. Information and assistance. a. See Attachment A for assistance concerning services available at consolidated local service locations. b. See Attachment D for addresses and telephone numbers of the Zone and Central offices. 6. Definitions. The following definitions apply to this bulletin. a. "Common Distributable Charge" means a charge that GSA adds to the cost of each agency line served by a GSAprovided local service entity to recover management and overhead costs. The CDC comprises those costs applied to the particular local service entity as a whole and are not identified to any particular line or agency. b. "Consolidated local telecommunications service" means local communications service provided by GSA to all Federal agencies located in a building, complex, or geographical area. c. "Point of connection" means a location within a building where an agency's wire or cable connects to the consolidated system's facilities. Most office buildings have several such points on each floor or hallway. d. "Single server concept" means either GSA or another agency is responsible for providing service to all agencies at a location. e. "Switching function" means any switching equipment or switching arrangement used to connect agency CPE to telephone company equipment that would permit or cause a line to function as a trunk. Only GSA will provide this type of a switching function at a consolidated location. e. "Termination charges" means those charges that GSA and other agencies will incur when an agency leaves a GSA consolidated service location. The agency leaving a GSA consolidated location is responsible for its appropriate share of the termination liability. 7. Acronyms. CDC Common Distributable Charge CPE Customer Premise Equipment DPA Delegation of Procurement Authority 2 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 8. Discussion. a. GSA provides both local and long distance telecommunications service for Federal agencies. This bulletin focuses on the mandatory-use aspect of consolidated local telecommunications service. GSA's policy is to provide service where it can add value compared with similar service offered directly in the marketplace. This includes service at locations where consolidation can bring better prices or where a common need, for example, national security or emergency preparedness, cannot be cost justified by individual agencies. The objective is to have a single telecommunications service or system serve the needs of all agencies at a location. b. This single server concept is extended to locations where GSA designates a Federal agency to be responsible for meeting the needs of other agencies at a particular location. The concept requires the first (i.e., designated) agency serving any location to provide service to the agencies that follow. 9. Description of service. When GSA furnishes consolidated service, GSA will: a. Provide-- (1) The switching function, e.g., the PBX or a service contract such as centrex; (2) The wire and cable to provide services to an agency's point of connection; (3) To the extent feasible, data and voice communications wiring to meet enduser requirements; and (4) Billing, maintenance, and repair service for the location, except for that customer premise equipment (CPE), that is the responsibility of the agencies. b. Ensure that the telecommunications system serves the basic national security and emergency preparedness (NSEP) requirements of the individual agencies. c. Coordinate building arrangements and modifications with GSA's Public Building Service (PBS) in buildings owned or leased by GSA. d. Help agencies to determine if their proposed CPE is compatible with the consolidated service. 3 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 10. Mandatory service. FIRMR 201-24.102 requires agencies to use available consolidated local telecommunications service at designated locations. Agencies should work with the GSA Zone office to obtain the needed service. Since it is not practical to list individual buildings covered by the program given the technology, contracts and tariff structures that are in place, the designated locations are listed by state and city in Attachment A. Although consolidated service is designed to meet the needs of all agencies at a location, an agency may have a requirement that cannot be met by GSA's system. In addition, the program does not provide service to every building in every city location listed. In such cases, agencies may request an exception to the use of all or a portion of the consolidated service. 11. Exceptions. Agencies that have unique requirements may request an exception to the use of consolidated service. GSA will work with these agencies to either modify the system to meet the requirement or grant a specific delegation of procurement authority (DPA) to allow the agency to obtain separate service. This exception process is as follows: a. An agency submits a request to the GSA zone office asking that the existing system or service be expanded to serve new buildings in the city or modified to meet the agency requirement. b. If GSA determines that an expansion or modification can be made to meet the agency requirement, GSA will implement the expansion or modification and bill the agency the full cost for the expansion or modification. c. If expanded or modified service cannot be provided by GSA, then a request for an exception to the use for that designated location (i.e., that listed city) must be requested in accordance with FIRMR 201-24.102. Requests for exceptions to the use are directed to the General Services Administration, Management and Reviews Division (KMA), 18th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20405. GSA will grant the agency a DPA in conjunction with an exception to the use if the appropriate information is included. For further information, see FIRMR 201-20.305 and FIRMR Bulletin C-5, or call (202) 501-1566 or FTS 241-1566. d. If as a result of an exception to the use or for any other reason, an agency currently served at a mandatory location leaves that location, GSA will require that agency to pay a termination charge. Attachment C explains how this charge is developed. 4 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 12. Customer premise equipment (CPE). Each agency is responsible for that portion of CPE, i.e., inside wire, telephones, modems, and any other equipment used by the agency, that is not part of the GSA-provided, mandatory-for-use portion of the system. Agencies shall consider features and services that are offered by the consolidation before installing equipment that duplicates these system features. Agency CPE that serves as a switching interchange requires an "exception to the use" and may require a specific DPA. 13. Ordering. Agencies are to use Standard Form 145 (SF 145), Telephone Service Request, for ordering telephone service from GSA-operated or GSA-managed telephone systems. The completed form is to be forwarded to the address designated by the GSA Zone Office. GSA Zone Offices will provide guidance and assistance to agencies on the preparation and submission of the SF 145. 14. Billing. At GSA consolidated service locations, GSA will bill a line charge, a common distributable charge, and all other appropriate charges that are individually identifiable to the using agency. 15. Cancellation. FIRMR Bulletins 17 and 69 are canceled. Thomas J. Buckholtz Commissioner Information Resources Management Service 5 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A LOCATIONS OF CONSOLIDATED LOCAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE The locations listed are current as of the publication of this bulletin. The listing will be revised periodically as new locations are identified for consolidated service or existing locations are deleted from the list. The Zone office should be contacted for information and for requesting services. A location identified in this listing includes the adjoining communities normally considered part of that city's metropolitan area. Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 AK Anchorage AK Fairbanks AK Juneau Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 AL Birmingham AL Mobile AL Montgomery Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 AR Little Rock Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 AZ Flagstaff AZ Phoenix AZ Tucson Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 CA Bakersfield CA Berkeley CA Fresno CA Hawthorne CA Hollywood CA Inglewood CA Laguna Niguel CA Los Angeles CA North Sacramento CA Oakland CA Pasadena CA Redding CA Riverside CA Sacramento CA San Bernardino CA San Bruno 1 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 CA San Diego CA San Francisco CA San Jose CA San Pedro CA San Ysidro CA Santa Ana CA Stockton CA Van Nuys CA West Los Angeles Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 CO Denver CO Lakewood Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 CT Bridgeport CT Hartford CT New Haven CT Stratford NCR Zone Office - Washington, DC Area (FTS) 458-8000 DC Washington Area - See Attachment D. Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 DE Wilmington Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 FL Ft Lauderdale FL Jacksonville FL Miami FL Orlando FL St Petersburg FL Tallahassee FL Tampa GA Athens GA Atlanta GA Columbus GA East Point GA Macon GA Savannah 2 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 GU Agana (Guam) HI Honolulu Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 IA Des Moines Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 ID Boise Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 IL Champaign IL Chicago IL East St Louis IL Rockford IL Peoria IL Springfield IN Axminster IN Evansville IN Gary IN Hammond IN Indianapolis IN Jeffersonville IN South Bend Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 KS Prairie Village KS Topeka KS Wichita Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 KY Lexington KY Louisville 3 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 LA Alexandria LA Baton Rouge LA Lafayette LA Lake Charles LA New Orleans LA Shreveport Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 MA Boston MA Springfield MA Waltham MA Worcester MD Baltimore MD National Capital Zone Area - See Attachment D ME Augusta ME Bangor ME Portland Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 8413048 MI Ann Arbor MI Battle Creek MI Detroit MI East Lansing MI Flint MI Grand Rapids MI Lansing MI Saginaw MN Duluth MN Falcon Heights MN Ft Snelling MN Minneapolis MN St Paul Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 MO Kansas City M0 St Louis 4 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 MS Jackson Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 MT Billings MT Helena MT Missoula Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 NC Asheville NC Charlotte NC Greensboro NC Raleigh NC Research Triangle Park NC Wilmington NC Winston-Salem Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 ND Bismarck ND Fargo NE Lincoln NE Omaha Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 NH Concord NH Manchester NH Nashua NH Portsmouth NJ Camden NJ Newark NJ Trenton Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 NM Albuquerque NM Santa Fe Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 NV Las Vegas NV Reno 5 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 NY Albany NY Binghamton NY Brooklyn NY Buffalo NY Jamaica NY New York NY Rochester NY Syracuse NY White Plains Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 OH Akron OH Canton OH Cincinnati OH Cleveland OH Columbus OH Dayton OH Toledo Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 OK Muskogee OK Oklahoma City OK Stillwater OK Tulsa Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco (FTS) 484-8000 OR Corvallis OR Eugene OR Medford OR Portland OR Salem Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 PA Harrisburg PA Johnstown PA Philadelphia PA Pittsburgh PA Reading PA WilkesBarre PR Hato Rey (San Juan) RI Providence 6 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 SC Charleston SC Columbia Western Zone Office: Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 SD Aberdeen SD Sioux Falls Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3084 TN Chattanooga TN Knoxville TN Memphis TN Nashville Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4048 TX Amarillo TX Austin TX Beaumont TX Brownsville TX College Station TX Corpus Christi TX Dallas TX El Paso TX Ft Worth TX Galveston TX Houston TX Harlingen TX Laredo TX Lubbock TX Lufkin TX San Antonio TX Temple TX Waco UT Ogden UT Salt Lake City Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 VA Norfolk VA Richmond VA Roanoke VA National Capital Zone Area - See Attachment D VT Burlington VT Rutland 7 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment A Pacific Zone Office - San Francisco, CA (FTS) 484-8000 WA Auburn WA Olympia WA Seattle WA Spokane WA Tacoma WA Vancouver WA Walla Walla WA Yakima Central Zone Office - Atlanta, GA (FTS) 841-3048 WI Madison WI Milwaukee Eastern Zone Office - Philadelphia, PA (FTS) 597-4901 WV Charleston WV Huntington WV Morgantown WV Parkersburg Western Zone Office - Fort Worth, TX (FTS) 334-4084 WY Casper WY Cheyenne 8 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment B CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATING LOCAL SERVICE LOCATIONS OPERATED BY GSA 1. Description. GSA provides consolidated local telecommunications service through on-site switches or through services such as centrex. Through the use of cost-modeling techniques, GSA has determined that it can add value by consolidating telecommunications requirements at designated locations. Where an agency has requirements beyond those of the general Federal community, GSA will work with that agency to ensure that its requirements are met. 2. Priorities. The priorities observed in providing service are to ensure-- a. Continuity of service to agencies; b. The quality of service necessary for agencies to meet their telecommunications requirements; and c. That services are provided at an economical cost. 3. Service locations. GSA provides mandatory consolidated service in all five GSA Zones. Mandatory service locations are designated by GSA, based on the following criteria: a. A Federal Government requirement of 100 or more telecommunications lines at a location, complex, or geographic area. b. No agency has more than 90 percent of the lines at a designated location or geographic area. 1 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment C TERMINATION CHARGES 1. Applicability of termination charges. These charges apply to any agency that leaves a mandatory service location or reduces its requirement, during the life of a contract, to less than half its requirement at the time the contract was signed. 2. Content of termination charges. There are three types of termination liability charges: common distributable (CD) charges, main station charges, and agency identifiable charges. Departing agencies are required to pay all three, as applicable. 3. Calculating common distributable (CD) termination charges. Since staffing cannot be efficiently reduced after every departure, reducing the number of lines at a given location causes the overhead expenses at that location to be divided among fewer lines. To allow remaining agencies time to budget for the increase, the departing agency will pay GSA 12 months' CD rates using the CD rate in effect on the data of departure. 4. Calculating main station termination charges. The GSA Zone Office will calculate the actual cost resulting from the departure from GSA provided service as follows: a. Rate Stabilization Agreement (RSA). Only those agencies whose departures bring the number of lines on a system below the minimum guarantee will be assessed RSA termination charges. For agencies whose departures do bring the system below its minimum guarantee, termination charges are calculated as follows: (Main station rate per line) times (Number of lines below minimum) times (Months remaining on contract as of cutover) equals (Agency's remaining dollar responsibility). Some rate stabilization agreements charge only a specified percentage of the rate for each line below the minimum guarantee. Where these percentage factors exist, they will be incorporated into the calculation so that the assessed charge represents only the actual cost incurred. 1 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment C b. Competitively awarded contract. The actual cost method, or an appropriate similar method, will be used to determine costs that are paid by the remaining agencies. c. Capital expenses. (1) Switching equipment capital expenses. These expenses will be determined as follows: (Initial installation cost) plus (Capital switching equipment lease) plus (Add-ons (additional purchases against contract)) minus (Amount depreciated (recovered)) equals (Unrecovered capital costs) divided by (Lines in service) equals (Cost per line). (2) Customer premise equipment capital expenses. These expenses will be determined as follows: (Initial installation cost) plus (Capital customer premise equipment lease) plus (Add-ons (additional purchases against contract)) minus (Amount depreciated (recovered)) equals (Agency's unrecovered capital costs). 5. Agency identifiable equipment and services. Departing agencies will be responsible for the remainder of all amounts due on contracts entered into on their behalf by GSA. Calculation of charges to cover these amounts will be based on contract terms and conditions. 2 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment C 6. Phased transitions. A phased transition is when an agency departs from a GSA consolidated system in stages, reducing the number of lines it has on the system at each stage. Phased transitions will be treated as multiple departures. At each transition phase, the number of lines transferred will be used as the basis for calculating termination liability. 7. Minimizing termination charges. If an agency could time its departure from a mandatory local service location to coincide with the end of a rate stabilization agreement, system payoff date, or contract payoff date, then no termination charges for leased equipment or capital expenditures would be assessed. Should GSA decide to close the system entirely at that time, CD termination charges would be waived as well. 3 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment D INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE Information and assistance on issues about local service matters, including termination charges, should be addressed to the GSA Telecommunications Zone Office serving your area. EASTERN ZONE (Regions 1, 2 and 3) Coverage - CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VA, VI, VT and WV. Also Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. General Services Administration (3KM) 9th & Market Sts. Philadelphia, PA 19107 Telephone: (215) 597-4901 or FTS 597-4901 CENTRAL ZONE (Regions 4 and 5) Coverage - AL, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN and WI General Services Administration (4KM) 75 Spring St., S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303 Telephone: (404) 331-3048 or FTS 841-3048 WESTERN ZONE (Regions 6, 7 and 8) Coverage - AR, CO, IA, KS, LA, MO, MT, NE, ND, NM, OK, SD, TX, UT and WY General Services Administration (7KM) Fort Worth, TX 76102 Telephone: (817) 334-4084 or FTS 334-4084 1 FIRMR Bulletin C-15 Attachment D PACIFIC ZONE (Regions 9 and 10) Coverage - AK, AS, AZ, CA, GU, HI, ID, NV, OR, and WA. Also American Samoa and Guam. General Services Administration (9KM) 525 Market St. San Francisco, CA 95105 Telephone: (415) 744-8000 or FTS 484-8000 CAPITAL ZONE (National Capital Region) Coverage - Washington, DC Metropolitan Area (includes the District of Columbia and the counties of Prince George and Montgomery in Maryland and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia). General Services Administration (WKM) 7th & D Sts., S.W. Washington, DC 20407 Telephone: (202) 708-4300 or FTS 458-8000 GSA CENTRAL OFFICE General Services Administration Systems Operations Branch (KVOR) 18th and F Sts., N.W. Washington, DC 20405 Telephone: (202) 501-0123 or FTS 241-0123 2