Consent 1.K.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 06/28/2010
- TITLE
- Purchase Approval for City Telephone System Upgrades
- PRESENTED BY:
- David Watterson
- Department:
- City Hall Administration
Presentation:
PROBLEM/ISSUE STATEMENT
The City of Billings utlizes a Nortel/Avaya centralized telephone system to provide telephone service to its facilities. This system includes a main Nortel CS-1000M PBX located at City Hall, five (5) remote Option 11 units located at Airport, Billings Operations Center (BOC), PW-Belknap, Library, and the Communications Center/Fire #1, and one (1) remote unit located at MET Transit. The City delayed upgrading the phone system in the past year because Nortel was up for sale. Avaya, a leader in the communications industry, has purchased Nortel and provided a product development roadmap that shows a strong commitment to this product line both today and into the future. Information Technology would now like to move forward with upgrading of the main PBX and two (2) of the remote telephone units.
The proposed City Hall upgrade will bring the system up to the current release level to ensure continued manufacture support, provide improved support for SIP and VoIP technologies, and save the City money by centralizing product licensing. The upgrade will also replace the Airport Option 11 and the remote unit at MET Transit. The project will enhance the Airport's functionality, reliability, and ensure manufacturer support. In addition to the same benefits as the Airport, the MET upgrade will direct all network traffic (phone & data) directly to City Hall. MET Transit phone traffic presently routes through Airport which represents a single point of failure for two facilities.
Attached is the Statement of Work Contract and quote for the proposed upgrade. The City will purchase the proposed upgrade from Black Box Network Services, which has an exclusive contract for telephone services with the State of Montana. Black Box has been the City's telephone vendor for over 15 years.
The proposed City Hall upgrade will bring the system up to the current release level to ensure continued manufacture support, provide improved support for SIP and VoIP technologies, and save the City money by centralizing product licensing. The upgrade will also replace the Airport Option 11 and the remote unit at MET Transit. The project will enhance the Airport's functionality, reliability, and ensure manufacturer support. In addition to the same benefits as the Airport, the MET upgrade will direct all network traffic (phone & data) directly to City Hall. MET Transit phone traffic presently routes through Airport which represents a single point of failure for two facilities.
Attached is the Statement of Work Contract and quote for the proposed upgrade. The City will purchase the proposed upgrade from Black Box Network Services, which has an exclusive contract for telephone services with the State of Montana. Black Box has been the City's telephone vendor for over 15 years.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYZED
Staff reviewed several strategies for addressing the telephone system upgrades needed by the City of Billings. The proposed upgrades were determined to be the best initial steps for modernizing the system. The City Council may accept the recommendation and authorize purchasing the system upgrades from Black Box or it may reject the recommendation and indentify its preferred action.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City Telephone System Upgrades for City Hall, Airport, and MET Transit will be funded out of the FY2010 IT Centralized Telephone Budget. The purchase of $ 134,856.91 will be made through an existing State of Montana contract with Black Box Networking Services for telephone systems and services. The City is allowed to purchase many items and services from State contracts because the State's competitive bidding/selection process complies with the State law that applies to the State and local governments.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve the purchase of the City Telephone System Upgrades from Black Box Network Services at a total cost of $134,856.91.