Telecommunications Services

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: 
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
This notice is only to inform the supplier community that 
PWGSC is expecting to publish a bid solicitation on MERX
in early summer 2012 to procure
telecommunication services for Elections Canada.


1.	Introduction
Elections Canada is moving forward with a new approach for the
agency to procure telecommunications and network services: it is
based on the concept of Telecommunications as a Service (TaaS).
This approach is to establish a contract vehicle in which
products and services may be acquired and deployed quickly and
avoid capital costs unless they are supported by a return on
investment.
2.	Background
Elections Canada is an independent agency reporting to
Parliament and is responsible for conducting federal electoral
events - general elections, by-elections and referendums. Its
mandate includes informing citizens about the electoral system
and maintaining the National Register of Electors. 
Elections Canada headquarters (ECHQ) in Ottawa employs
approximately 500 people for ongoing planning and administrative
functions required by the Canada Elections Act. This staff
complement expands considerably to support a general election.
In the spring and early summer of 2013, Elections Canada will
consolidate its numerous Ottawa offices into new offices in the
National Capital Region. This move is an opportunity for the
agency to consider and migrate to enhanced telecommunications
and network services.
During a general election or referendum, up to 500 Elections
Canada field offices should be established across Canada within
hours of the writ being issued. The logistics involved in
commissioning these offices is enormous, and the dependency on
telecommunications is mission-critical from the beginning of an
event.
Elections Canada carried out a successful pilot project for the
41st general election in 2011 that deployed wireless data modems
and both fixed wireless and portable cellular telephones to
field offices in advance of the writ. The result was a dramatic
reduction in the time needed to open all field offices,
effectively shrinking the timeline from several days to hours.
Elections Canada would like to continue to exploit existing and
emerging telecommunications technologies not only to further
enhance the setup of field offices but also to introduce
operational efficiencies. The key findings of the pilot project
indicated the following:
The agency is not well served by purchasing telecommunications
products for elections. It would be better to lease these items
for the duration of the event and subsequently return them to
the provider.
The resolution of integration issues amongst and across devices,
service providers and technologies is a work area that is best
handled by a knowledgeable and well-resourced contractor.
With the rapid pace of change in Canada's telecommunications
technologies, the agency requires a flexible procurement vehicle
that will allow it to be an agile, early adopter of new products
and services based on business needs.
The demand for bandwidth increases in coincidence with its
availability.
3.	Telecommunications as a Service 
The general objective to procure TaaS is to create a long-term,
flexible procurement vehicle for telecommunications products and
services that:
provides ongoing services to ECHQ;
establishes a catalogue approach to products and services,
allowing the agency to acquire and deploy additional
telecommunications products and services on an as-and-when
requested basis 
provides for the integration of new devices and technologies,
and for the "evergreening" of products, through regular and
timely replacements
enables the agency to support a general election without a
preceding or concurrent procurement exercise
provides an ongoing and dynamic IT support organization for the
products and services
Elections Canada is looking to implement a new framework for its
telecommunications requirement because, like many public and
private enterprises, it sees telecommunications playing an
increasingly prominent role in its core operations. The agency
also recognizes that its business model supporting
telecommunications must change to meet the emerging
characteristics of this industry, in which rapidly advancing
capabilities and the frequent introduction of new equipment call
for a rethink of return on investment.
3.1	The Catalogue Concept
The central concept behind the TaaS procurement process is a
catalogue of products and services that form the substance of
the contract. The catalogue identifies the products and services
required to support the ongoing business of ECHQ, and the field
offices across Canada during an electoral event. This catalogue
would be comprised of three divisions: those products and
services that the agency would commit to order for ECHQ;
products and services in support of an electoral event; and
optional products and services that the agency may request
during the lifetime of the contract.
In addition to providing products and services, the contractor
will be responsible for developing plans for deployment of the
various services. Of particular importance is the need for an
established plan that will ensure all of the approximately 500
field offices for which the contractor has to provide voice and
data services, are opened within a two-day window.
3.1.1	Ongoing products and services
The following products and services will be required at ECHQ:
toll-free voice services
audio and web conferencing
equipment and services for remote workers
portable devices
instant messaging and presence
They will be described in detail in the bid solicitation
document.
3.1.2	Products and services required for field offices during
electoral events
The following products and services will be required at each of
the approximately 500 field offices opened during an electoral
event:
high-speed access to the Internet
wireless LANs in some or all offices
fully functional preconfigured network hardware
telephone service (both wire-based and wireless)
all related devices used at the offices
They will be described in detail in the bid solicitation
document.
These products and services will be supplied as part of an
overall service package in which hardware is installed, services
activated and support provided for the election period over the
course of approximately 10 weeks. At the conclusion of the
election, the contractor is expected to recover the equipment
from each office.
3.1.3	Optional products and services
Contact centre services
Unified communications
WLAN service for ECHQ
Local access telephony services, including VoIP at ECHQ
Voice mail services
Network services
and fixed VPN services
Polling station connectivity and services on election day
3.2	Role and responsibility of the Contractor
The scope of the products and services included in this project
suggests strongly that the successful contractor may have to
take on the role of a Multi-Sourcing Integrator as it will be
responsible for planning, sourcing and delivering products and
services from diverse suppliers while taking on the
responsibilities for all related integration and support issues. 
The contractor for TaaS will not only be at the forefront of an
emerging model in telecommunications management but will also be
a highly visible enabler of Canada's electoral process. This
relationship, once established, could span an entire decade.
4.	Communication
Any communication pertaining to this upcoming requirement must
be submitted in writing to the PWGSC Contracting Authority
identified below:
Ginette Plante
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Acquisitions Branch
Informatics and Telecommunications Systems Procurement
Directorate
Portage III, 4C1
11 Laurier Street, Gatineau, Qc  K1A 0S5
Telephone: 819-356-1430
Facsimile:  819-953-3703
E-mail address:   ginette.plante@tpsgc-pwsgc.gc.ca

Definition of Terms
Term	Definition
Field Office	A local Elections Canada office. A local office is
installed in each of Canada's electoral districts, expected to
be 338 in the next general election. Field offices are formally
known as "returning offices" or "additional assistant returning
offices."
Returning Office	Also known as the "office of the returning
officer," a returning office may be the only local Elections
Canada office in an electoral district or it may be the parental
office for one or more "additional assistant returning offices"
(see below). A returning office typically has approximately 20
functional positions staffed in three shifts daily. It is
equipped with approximately 20 telephones of various types,
approximately 12 computers, a high-capacity printer and a
scan/fax multifunctional device. Returning offices require
inbound call-handling features and higher-speed access to the
Internet. They are typically located in level access premises
that are accessible to the public.
Additional Assistant Returning Office	An additional assistant
returning office may be established as a supplemental satellite
office in electoral districts that are very large or in those
districts with exceptionally high population density. The
expectation for such offices in the next election is that they
will be equipped with 3 to 5 personal computers, a corresponding
telephone complement, a printer, fax machine and higher-speed
access to the Internet.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.