The federal government’s telephone systems are getting an upgrade courtesy of Canadian carrier Telus.
The carrier has been awarded a seven-year, $176 million CAD contract to provide “modern, network-based workplace communication services” for Canada’s federal government.
According to an October 5th, 2017 media release from Shared Services Canada, the Telus contract will “improve the reliability of the government’s telecommunications systems and reduce the costs of supporting legacy infrastructure.”
The federal government currently relies on a mix of landline telephones, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) tech, as well as mobile devices. Additionally, Shared Services Canada reported that 130 of the government’s traditional landline phones are “at end of life, some using technology that will be retired by the suppliers in 2018.”
The goal is to replace approximately 80,000 landlines with “modern, cost-effective and fully managed VoIP telephone services” that will bolster the approximately 100,000 VoIP lines that the government already uses.
“Upgrading our communication services will equip employees with the modern tools they need to enhance productivity to deliver the programs and services Canadians deserve,” said Steven MacKinnon, Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Minister Responsible for Shared Services Canada, in the same media release.
Selecting Telus
The vendor-selection process began on August 18th, 2014. The federal government set out a request for proposals, opening up the competition “for all vendors to express interest and to participate.”
“[SSC] engaged vendors in identifying industry best practices to inform the development for the request for proposals (RFP),” an SSC spokesperson told MobileSyrup. “Qualified vendors were then able to apply through the competitive RFP process.”
Telus won the contract “based on the evaluation and selection criteria outlined in the RFP.”
Update 06/10/17: Shared Services Canada responded and this article has been updated with the information they provided.
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