REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 25, 2020
FROM
LARRY AINSWORTH, Chief Information Officer, Information Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with CenturyLink Communications, LLC for Countywide Internet Access Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 19-393 with CenturyLink Communications, LLC to add new rates for countywide internet access services for one year and increase the not-to-exceed amount by $450,000 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $2,450,000, with no change to the contract period of July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2024.
(Presenter: Jake Cordova, Information Services Division Chief, 388-0503)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 19-393 with CenturyLink Communications, LLC (CenturyLink) will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The current monthly charge will decrease by approximately 19% based upon current usage. The increase of $450,000 to the not-to-exceed amount should be sufficient to allow for payment of internet access services and any necessary increases to bandwidth for a one year period. Sufficient appropriation has been included in the Information Services Department (ISD) Telecommunication Services 2020-21 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets. Operating costs are recovered via service rates and fees approved annually by the Board of Supervisors (Board).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ISD is responsible for providing a variety of professional information technology and data communications services to all County departments, special districts and other federal, state and local government agencies. One of these services is the management of internet access services via the County’s Wide Area Network (WAN). There are over 300 locations throughout the County interconnected through the WAN. Internet access services are critical for departments to serve County constituents. ISD utilizes Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide internet access services to County departments. These services are critical to the operation of the County due to the volume of departmental applications that utilize the internet to receive and transmit data, as well as provide services online and disseminate information to constituents.
The County currently utilizes CenturyLink Communications, LLC (CenturyLink) for internet access services. CenturyLink’s internet access services include security services that monitor and mitigate risks posed by highly sophisticated and mass-distributed denial-of-service cyberattacks through their proven anomaly detection technology.
On June 11, 2019 (Item No. 34), the Board approved Contract No. 19-393 with CenturyLink for countywide telecommunication services, through June 30, 2024, with a total not-to-exceed amount of $2,000,000. Approval of Amendment No. 1 to this contract will add new rates for countywide internet access services for one year and increase the not-to-exceed amount by $450,000 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $2,450,000, which will ensure sufficient spending authority to allow the County to continue to purchase internet access services for one year. This Amendment will allow ISD to conduct a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for internet access services.
PROCUREMENT
On June 8, 2015, ISD released RFP No. ISD116-ADM-1527 to identify a vendor or vendors to provide primary and backup internet access services countywide. On September 1, 2015 (Item No. 21), the Board approved Contract Nos. 15-660 with Level 3 Communications, a subsidiary of CenturyLink, to provide internet access services at the County’s primary site in San Bernardino and 15-661 with CenturyLink to provide internet access services at the County’s backup site in Hesperia through August 31, 2018. These contracts also included two one-year options to extend the term. The Board approved the first extension to both contracts on August 7, 2018 (Item No. 14) and the second extension on August 6, 2019 (Item No. 21).
On October 8, 2018, ISD released RFP No. ISD119-ADM-3088 for countywide telecommunication services. This RFP included a wide range of telecommunication services; however, it did not specifically include internet access services. Contract No. 19-393 with CenturyLink was awarded as a result of this RFP to provide telecommunication services with internet access services as an option. Internet access services were not previously utilized through this contract due to pre-existing contracts with CenturyLink for internet access services, which will expire on August 31, 2020.
ISD recommends continuing the County’s internet access services with CenturyLink as a non-competitive contract for one year in order to allow time to complete a competitive RFP process for internet access services.
Approval of an increase in the not-to-exceed amount associated with the existing CenturyLink Contract No. 19-393 for telecommunication services, which includes the option for internet access services, will allow ISD to provide countywide internet access services through August 31, 2021. This extension will allow ISD to conduct an RFP for internet access services. Purchasing concurs with the recommendation of a one-year non-competitive purchase of internet services with CenturyLink.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Bonnie Uphold, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5545) on July 29, 2020; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Lead Buyer, 388-5546) on July 30, 2020; Finance (Joon Cho, Administrative Analyst, 387-5402) on August 7, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4376) on August 7, 2020.