March 23, 1999
DR 3300-1
APPENDIX L
LOCAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
1 PURPOSE
This appendix establishes policies and assigns responsibility for the management and use of local telecommunications services within the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
2 BACKGROUND
Public Law 104-106, the Information Technology Management Reform Act (ITMRA) effective February 10, 1996, repeals the 1965 Brooks Act. Consequently, regulatory control of telecommunications and the General Services Administration's (GSA's) mandatory oversight role ended August 8, 1996. However GSA has implemented a strategy of the Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) Program to provide local voice and data telecommunications services to meet the needs of its Federal customers. The Local Telecommunications Advisory Committee (LTAC) was established by GSA to address the local services requirements and priorities of the various Federal Government agencies.
3 REFERENCES
Source Publication Title/Subject
Congress Public Law Clinger-Cohen Act (Formerly 104-106 called the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996)
Executive E.O. 13011 Federal Information Office of Technology the President
OMB Local Telecommunications Services Policy
4 ABBREVIATIONS
BAC - Billing Account Code
FTS - Federal Technology Service
GSA - General Services Administration
IMC - Interagency Management Council
IT - Information Technology
ITMRA - Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996
LTAC - Local Telecommunications Advisory Council
MAA - Metropolitan Area Acquisition
NFC - National Finance Center
OCIO - Office of the Chief Information Officer
OMB - Office of Management and Budget
POC - Point of Contact
TCO - Telecommunications Control Officer
TSO - Telecommunications Services and Operations
USDA - United States Department of Agriculture
WITS - Washington Interagency Telecommunications System
5 POLICY
Consistent with the Clinger-Cohen Act,and following an integrated planning, budgeting, and evaluation process for the acquisition and utilization of telecommunications resources and services:
a USDA agencies and staff offices shall acquire telecommunications services in a manner that is most cost effective for the government.
b Agencies and staff offices contemplating changing or adding new local telecommunications services shall coordinate with the Office of the Chief Information Officer
c Shared telecommunications services provided through the General Services Administration
=s (GSA) Federal Technology Services (FTS) Local Services programs shall be considered as the first source of supply, if available, unless agencies and staff offices can provide cost compelling cases for obtaining local services elsewhere.d USDA agencies and staff offices shall investigate sharing and optimization of local telecommunications services using the GSA Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) contract within major metropolitan areas.
e Within the Washington D.C. National Capital Region (NCR), the General Services Administration Washington Interagency Telecommunications System (WITS) contract and its follow-on contract WITS2001 are considered mandatory contracts to be used.
This policy applies to locations where existing telecommunications services are changing or new telecommunications services are acquired.
6 RESPONSIBILITIES
a The Office of the Chief Information Officer will:
(1) Establish policy and procedures for the management and cost control of local telecommunications services;
(2) Provide advice and assistance to agencies and staff offices regarding local telecommunications services and facilities;
(3) Serve as liaison for local telecommunications services related activities and interchange between USDA and GSA and the Local Telecommunications Advisory Council (LTAC); and
(4) Manage the WITS program, as it applies to USDA implementation within the Washington D.C. National Capital Region.
b Agencies and Staff Offices will:
(1) Evaluate how telecommunications resources support the business of the organization before making an investment decision;
(2) Document current and future telecommunications resources, assets, and capabilities;
(3) Provide the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) documentation requesting waivers to this policy and obtain approval prior to seeking alternative telecommunications services;
(4) Submit a "Request for Telecommunications Services Change" to the OCIO 90 days prior to changing, terminating, and/or withdrawing from the services provided by the local lead agency and/or GSA shared telecommunications services and facilities. The request shall include rationale and justification and cost/ benefit analysis. The request shall identify the reasons why existing and/or planned consolidated, resource aggregation, and/or resource sharing cannot meet the telecommunications mission requirements;
(5) Appoint a Telecommunications Control Officer (TCO) who will be the POC for agency local voice service requirements. Provide the OCIO with written notice establishing a primary Point-of-Contact (POC) for each local service area other than the TCO. The TCO shall maintain an understanding of how local telecommunications services are currently provided; identifying the local agency designated as the lead agency for that shared resource community; and describing the cost recovery procedure used;
(6) Within the Washington, D.C. National Capital Region, coordinate through the TCO with the OCIO Telecommunications Services and Operations (TSO) for agency WITS telecommunications services;
(7) Establish Billing Account Codes (BAC) for payment of Recurring Lease of Maintenance Charges for Telephone Equipment within the Washington, D.C. NCR. Annually update these accounts, using the Form AD-838, Purchase Order, to document the contract in-accordance-with the NFC Voucher and Invoice Payments Manual Chapter 3, Section 3, Telephones; and
(8) Require the TCO to identify critical circuits within the WITS service area for priority restoration in the event of service disruption.
7 FORMS
Submit annually
8 DEFINITIONS
a Local Telecommunications Services. Local telecommunications includes any access services which provide, for a recurring fee, electronic connectivity to the public switched network and those support services which provide for the acquisition, operation, and management of attached systems. Access services include local voice and data communications, video-conferencing, cellular and paging services, and those services necessary for efficient operation and management of a telecommuni-cations system. Agency private networks which use or aggregate local access to the public switched network are likewise included.
b Local Telecommunications Advisory Council. The Council chartered and established by the Inter-agency Management Council (IMC) to provide leadership of the local telecommunications services policy implementation as promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and GSA. The LTAC will provide communications channels for agencies to discuss the aggregation of requirements, foster the
sharing of telecommunications expertise, realize economies of scale through competition in the local area, and make better decisions on using their individual and collective telecommunications resources.
c National Capital Region. The NCR includes the District of Columbia, the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince Georges; the Virginia cities of Alexandria, Manassas, Fairfax, and Falls Church; and the Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.
d Washington Interagency Telecommunications System. The Current Washington Interagency Telecommunications System (WITS) contract signed with Bell Atlantic on January 12, 1989 provides telecommunications services to Federal Agencies in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. WITS provides T1/Primary Rate Interface Trunking, analog and ISDN services through GSA owned Lucent Technologies 5ESS host switches connected together by a Synchronous Optical Network Ring. The current WITS contract is to be replaced with a more robust contract in FY1999 called WITS2001.
e