The purpose of this solicitation is to solicit competitive proposals from contractor who can offer full-service, confidential, statewide, 24 hours per day, 7 days per-week, 365 days per year, including holidays, state-of-the-art, functionally-equivalent telecommunications relay service (TRS) to meet the Arizona Relay Service (AZRS) - Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing’s needs and expectations as described within this RFP, as well as any current or future standards for TRS established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 1. Purpose and Background The purpose of this solicitation is to solicit competitive proposals from contractor who can offer full-service, confidential, statewide, 24 hours per day, 7 days per-week, 365 days per year, including holidays, state-of-the-art, functionally-equivalent telecommunications relay service (TRS) to meet the Arizona Relay Service (AZRS) - Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing’s needs and expectations as described within this RFP, as well as any current or future standards for TRS established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The telecommunications relay service (TRS), collectively known as Arizona Relay Service (AZRS), shall provide for the uniform and coordinated provision of service on a statewide basis. The Agency encourages contractors to be as innovative as possible when submitting proposals in response to this RFP keeping in mind minimum industry standards but striving to exceed them; and to ensure that the provision of AZRS is flexible and responsive to service the demand and is adaptable for implementation of technological advances as they become available. 1.1. AZRS shall be designed to enable persons with a hearing or speech disability, utilizing Functionally Equivalent Communication Devices (FECD) or other means determined to be acceptable by the FCC, to place and receive telephone calls to standard telephone call users and by using the telephone assistance of a communications assistant (CA). TRS shall be available at all times (24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, including holidays). Arizona citizens shall be able to place relay calls to and receive relay calls from all other persons in Arizona, the nation, and the world. There will be no limit on the number of calls or length of calls 3. Scope of Work 3.1. Mandatory Requirements: 3.1.1. The Contractors shall provide TRS in adherence with all mandatory minimum standards and regulations relating to TRS found in 47 C.F.R. §64.601 through §64.6047. In addition to the services listed therein, Contractor shall provide Video-Assisted Speech to Speech (V-A STS) services. The AZRS shall comply with all state and federal requirements for intrastate and interstate telecommunications relay service. At a minimum, it shall comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and rules and regulations published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding TRS. The Contractor shall provide necessary information, data, and materials to the Arizona State Procurement Office to be used in applying for FCC certification renewal. 3.1.2. 9-1-1 Locator services for TRS providers must include: a. User’s physical location b. Provide a way for users to update their location information free of charge c. Relay the caller’s location to emergency services d. Route emergency calls to the correct 911 call center 3.1.3. The Contractor must provide all necessary facilities, equipment, software, circuits, telephone service, personnel, training, setup, testing, reporting, and other program elements as may be needed for the implementation and operation of AZRS 3.1.4. In addition to three-digit, 7-1-1 dialing, the existing Agency-owned, nationwide, toll-free numbers shall be used. All current Agency-owned toll- free numbers and any additional toll-free numbers provided under this solicitation will remain the property of the Agency.
