For Public Use
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
USAC SOLICITATION FOR
Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Program Business Process Outsourcing and Call Center
Services
CONTRACT INFORMATION:
Method of Solicitation: Request for Proposal ("RFP”)
Award Effective Date: TBD
Period of Performance: (12) month base period; four (4) twelve (12) month option periods
Solicitation Number: LI-22-130
Solicitation Issue Date: September 14, 2022
Offer Due Date: October 19, 2022
CONTRACT TO BE ISSUED BY:
Universal Service Administrative Co.
700 12
th
Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
USAC RFP PRIMARY CONTACT:
USAC CONTACT INFORMATION
OFFEROR CONTACT INFORMATION
Noor Jalal
Lead Procurement Specialist
P: 202-263-1616
E: noor.jalal@usac.org
(complete)
Name:
POC:
POC Title:
POC Phone:
POC Email:
Address:
OFFEROR SIGNATURE
Name and Title Date
(RFP)
COVER PAGE
For Public Use
Page 2 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 5
CONTRACT / PRICING STRUCTURE .............................................................................................. 8
SCOPE OF SERVICES ...................................................................................................................... 10
MEETINGS ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Project Kick-off Meeting .................................................................................................... 10
Weekly Status Meetings. ..................................................................................................... 10
Milestone Status Meetings. ................................................................................................. 11
Operational review Meetings. ............................................................................................. 11
Accessibility. ....................................................................................................................... 11
Weekly Status Report (WSR) ............................................................................................. 11
Monthly Steering Committee .............................................................................................. 11
Key Personnel ..................................................................................................................... 12
OPERATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 12
PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................................................... 13
SECURITY ......................................................................................................................................... 14
For Public Use
Page 3 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................ 16
LEGAL NOTICES .............................................................................................................................. 28
ATTACHMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 31
For Public Use
Page 5 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
INTRODUCTION
USAC is seeking a contractor to provide customer service professional services and technology
support for Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Program. All entities who receive this RFP
shall be referred to as an “Offeror”. The entity that is awarded the work shall be referred to as
“Contractor”. Contractor must provide Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”) and Call Center
Services, while also maintaining timely and user-friendly processes for the participants of the
federal Lifeline program and Affordable Connectivity Program (both defined in Section 1.1).
Contractor must demonstrate the ability to build and sustain a workforce that will become
knowledgeable about policies and procedures for the Lifeline program and Affordable
Connectivity Program, as well as the tactical steps required to assist all program participants in a
short time period.
Background
USAC is the administrator for the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) universal
service programs. The goal of the universal service programs is to ensure that all Americans have
access to robust, affordable broadband and voice services. USAC administers the Universal
Service Fund (“USF”) under the oversight of the FCC, consistent with section 254 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 254 Part 54 of the Code of Federal
Regulations; FCC orders, FCC written directives, other instructions promulgated by the FCC; and
other laws as applicable, including government and FCC accounting requirements. As part of its
duties and subject to the FCC’s rules and oversight, USAC bills contributors to the USF, collects
USF contributions, and disburses universal service support payments through the following four
programs:
1. The High Cost Program: provides support for connectivity in rural and underserved
communities
2. The Lifeline Program: provides support to low-income consumers
3. The Rural Health Care Program: provides support for rural health care providers; and
4. The E-rate Program: provides support to eligible schools and libraries and a consortia of
eligible schools and libraries.
Established in 1985, the Lifeline Program (“Lifeline”) is part of the USF and provides discounts
to phone and broadband internet services to over 6 million low-income households in U.S. states,
territories, and Tribal lands. In 2021, Congress established the Affordable Connectivity Program
(“ACP”), which provides discounts to internet service and connected devices to approximately
13 million low-income households across the U.S. states, territories, and Tribal lands. These vital
programs connect households to their families, communities, and emergency services.
Working closely with the FCC, USAC has developed the National Verifier (“NV”). The NV
is USAC’s centralized application system. It determines whether consumers are eligible for
Lifeline and ACP. USAC manages the NV and provides customer service to consumers through
the Lifeline support center.
For Public Use
Page 6 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
In order to assist with the successful operation of the NV, USAC seeks a partner to provide BPO
services for the NV solution, including call center support (such as phone and webchat), inbound
mail processing, outbound mail processing, outbound robo-call processing, and outbound SMS
messaging.
Description of Lifeline and ACP
An applicant can apply for the Lifeline or ACP online, by completing and mailing a paper
application, or with the assistance of a service provider. During the application process the
applicant will be required to provide their name, their date of birth, the last four digits of their
social security number (Lifeline only), their address, and their enrollment in specific
governmental subsidy programs. The information provided will be used to verify the applicant’s
identity, eligibility, and enrollment status for both programs. Once the applicant completes and
certifies their application, the NV will check applicant's identity and determine whether the
applicant is already enrolled in the National Lifeline Accountability Database ("NLAD”). If this
stage is successful, the NV then attempts automated verification by checking several state and
federal data sources to determine if the applicant participates in an eligible program. If the
systematic checks fail, the applicant will be asked to provide documentation that will require
manual review. If an application is qualified (automatically or through manual document
review), the applicant must contact participating service providers in their area who must enroll
them into NLAD, at which point the applicant may begin receiving their benefit.
On an annual basis, the subscribers must be re-certified at the anniversary of his or her service
initiation date. At this point the subscriber's eligibility is re-checked through the NV's automated
functionality; if the NV cannot verify eligibility, the applicant may complete a self-certification
by mail, phone, or web portal.
This RFP will support Lifeline and ACP.
Goals
Contractor shall possess expertise and extensive experiencing standing up and operating a BPO
and customer support center (“Call Center”), including all supporting functions, and shall fulfill
BPO/Call Center performance-based Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) requirements (see
Attachment 5 -- SLA Template). USAC will manage Contractor relationships and define SLA
metrics for core BPO/Call Center work with clear timelines and budget implications (including
incentives/credits).
Specifically, Contractor will perform the following functions:
• Mail and form processing: Process all incoming mail-related services, including paper
mail and digital documents (HTTPS), including digitizing incoming mail and inputting it
into the NV via application programming interface.
For Public Use
Page 7 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
• Customer outreach: Handle outgoing consumer contacts, which will be completed
through mail, automated email, text, and robo-call. Mail will consist of different mail
size packets depending on outreach type.
• Customer support: Provide general customer support, including but not limited to;
application status inquiries, enrollment inquiries, and support for the annual
recertification process (which can be completed through interactive voice response
(“IVR”), mail, web portal, or with a live agent). Additionally, associates may be
requested to support applications over the phone.
Company Profile
USAC is a not-for-profit Delaware corporation, which works under the oversight of the FCC.
USAC is not a federal agency, a government corporation, a government controlled corporation or
other establishment in the Executive Branch of the United States Government. USAC is not a
contractor to the Federal Government. The contract that may be awarded as a result of this RFP
(“Contract”) will not be a subcontract under a Federal prime contract.
USAC does, however, conduct its procurement activities in accordance with the terms of a
Memorandum of Understanding with the FCC, which requires USAC to adhere to the following
provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations: 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.318-321; 200.323; 200.325-326
and App. II to C.F.R. Part 200. Additionally, any confidential or proprietary information received
from or disclosed by Offeror to USAC is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act. Information systems at USAC, including the solution proposed by the Offeror, must be
compliant with Federal Information Security Management Act (“FISMA”) security requirements
as a system managing federal funds and interfacing with Department of Treasury systems.
Place of Performance
A. All required Contract services must be performed within the United States at either USAC’s
headquarters at 700 12th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005 (“USAC
Headquarters”), or such other location as USAC may approve in its sole discretion.
B. A Contract kick-off meeting may be held at USAC Headquarters or virtually. Status meetings
and other meetings may be held telephonically or in person, at USAC’s discretion. USAC will
not reimburse Contractor for any travel related expenses for kick-off meetings, status meetings,
and other meetings.
C. Services requiring work at USAC Headquarters will include appropriate work space and
appropriate access to USAC’s computer network. NOTE: To access USAC IT Systems,
Contractor must first sign USAC’s IT Security Rules of Behavior Form and complete
mandatory IT Security and Privacy Awareness Online Training. Contractor may be
required to complete Role-Based Privacy Act Training if accessing USAC information
systems designated as federal system of records (i.e., NV and NLAD).
For Public Use
Page 8 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
D. Status update meetings and other meetings may be held virtually, except to the extent that
USAC or Contractor requires in-person presence, and in accordance with USAC and
Contractor Continuity of Operations Plan (“COOP”). While attending USAC Headquarters
for meetings or to conduct audits, Contractor staff will be considered as visitors. All visitors
are required to complete USAC’s Visitor Form, USAC Visitor Form, and wear a badge while
on premises. All in-person meetings will be held at USAC Headquarters or other reasonable
locations designated by USAC. Contractor may also be required to attend meetings at the FCC
Offices located at 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. USAC will not reimburse
Contractor for any travel related expenses under an awarded Contract.
E. Within five (5) business days, upon written request by USAC, Contractor shall provide a COOP
including business continuity plans, disaster recovery plans, emergency operations plan and
procedures, and associated plans and procedures in the event performance must be conducted
virtually.
Confidentiality
This RFP and any resultant contract are subject to the terms found in Attachment 8
(Confidentiality Agreement) to this RFP, which must be executed by Offeror and submitted
along with any proposal to this RFP.
CONTRACT / PRICING STRUCTURE
2.1 RESERVED
2.2 Contract Type
USAC intends to award a contract to a single Offeror. Offeror must be willing to enter into a
Contract with USAC for a term of up to multiple years, with no pricing structure increases during
the term of the Contract. The Contract to be awarded to the selected Offeror will be a hybrid firm
fixed price (“FFP”), fixed unit price (“FUP”) and variable labor rate costs (labor hour), single
award contract. The FFP and FUP price for the work (total project and all line items) is to be set
forth in the Offeror provided Attachment 1 (Bid Sheet) to the RFP. The Contract pricing will
include all direct and indirect costs set forth in this RFP, including equipment, product support,
supplies, general and administrative expenses, overhead, materials, travel, labor, taxes (including
use and sales taxes), shipping, and profit. USAC will not reimburse any Offeror or Contractor for
any travel related expenses.
The per unit price for each service will be tiered based on increasing volume expectations, and
Offeror will bid a range of volume tiers as outlined in Attachment 1, Bid Sheet. USAC will
attach credits of at least five (5) percent of variable fees for failing to reach agreed upon goals for
any of three (3) to five (5) critical service level agreements (“CSLAs”) within each billing
period. Details of credits and definitions of CSLAs will be defined in contract negotiations with
For Public Use
Page 9 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
the selected Offeror. Offeror must address any concerns with CSLAs or other milestone credits
in its response to this proposal to minimize negotiation and contract award time.
In addition to the ongoing FFP and variable per unit fees, USAC will pay an initial stand-up FFP
("Stand-Up FFP") for Contractor to stand up operations by agreed upon milestone deadlines.
The Stand-Up FFP includes all costs for preparing Contractor to take on program requirements
described below as well as ensuring that calls from existing call centers are effectively
transferred to Contractor if needed.
2.3 Contract Term
The initial term of the Contract will commence on the Award Effective Date and will continue for
twelve (12) months, unless the Contract is sooner terminated in accordance with its terms (”Initial
Term”).
USAC may, in its sole discretion, extend the term of the Contract for up to four (4) twelve (12)
month periods (each an “Option Term”) on the terms and conditions then in effect, by providing
Contractor notice of USAC’s intent to extend the term of the Contract no later than forty-five (45)
days prior to the expiration of the current Initial Term or Option Term.
The Initial Term, together with any exercised Option Term(s), shall be referred to as the “Contract
Term”).
2.4 Contract Pricing
USAC anticipates that the Contract will have a hybrid fee structure of FFP, and FUP. The initial
stand-up of the BPO and Call Center, ongoing project management, and oversight activities will
be fixed-price and the BPO and Call Center transactions will be based on a per unit cost.
USAC reserves the right to hire additional support for BPO and Call Center operations as
required to meet program needs.
In order to obtain the best value for USAC, USAC requests that bidders provide pricing in
accordance with Attachment 1 (Bid Sheet). Bidders are encouraged to present additional creative
pricing options, along with any assumptions, that may prove best value for USAC.
USAC is expecting Offerors to provide minimum stand-up and ongoing monthly FFP fees, and a
reasonable transactional price that will not be contingent on average handle time.
2.5 Service Level Credits
USAC expects Contractor to perform to a high standard and deliver work of consistently high
quality. In order to ensure that Contractor meets USAC's expectations, USAC intends to measure
For Public Use
Page 10 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Contractor's performance against a variety of SLAs. The proposed SLAs are listed in Attachment
5 (SLA Template).
The primary performance standards applicable to Contractor are identified below (See Section 6).
Contractor shall present itself to all customers as USAC, not as a third-party contractor.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The scope of services can be found in Attachment 2 (Statement of Work).
MEETINGS
Project Kick-off Meeting
Contractor shall schedule, prepare an agenda for, and coordinate a project kick-off meeting to be
held at USAC’s Offices, or virtually, within five (5) calendar days of execution of the Contract.
USAC may include any additional items on the agenda it deems necessary. The project kick-off
meeting is intended to serve as an introduction between Contractor, Contractor’s personnel that
will perform the services set forth herein, and USAC personnel who will be involved with the
project. The meeting shall provide the forum to discuss the project, approach and schedule,
technical or business questions, project roles, responsibilities of the respective parties, and any
project communications. Attendees at this meeting shall also include all Key Personnel (as
described in Section 4.8 of this RFP and Attachment 4), USAC’s technical representatives, and
any other attendees designated by USAC, including key representatives from the FCC. USAC
will not reimburse Contractor for any travel related expenses related to the project kick-off
meeting.
Contractor shall present the project plan to USAC for discussion. A concerted effort shall be made
to gain a thorough understanding of USAC’s expectations. However, nothing discussed in this, or
in any subsequent meetings or discussions between USAC and Contractor shall be construed as
adding to, deleting, or modifying any Contract requirements, including deliverable specifications
and due dates. USAC will approve the project plan within five (5) business days. All Contract
modifications and amendments must be approved in writing by an authorized USAC Procurement
representative.
Weekly Status Meetings.
Beginning five (5) business days after contract award, Contractor must schedule and participate
in weekly status meetings regarding the stand-up of the Call Center.
Contractor shall prepare a status report and submit it to USAC once per week. The report must
include the current status for each of the project work streams including percentage of
completion, achievements, and any risks/issues relating to Contract performance or payment.
The report must include an expected completion date and the circumstances surrounding any
For Public Use
Page 11 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
possible delays. The report shall be submitted one (1) business day before each regularly
scheduled status meeting and no later than Friday noon (12:00 PM ET) during weeks in which
the meeting is scheduled for Monday or when no status meeting is scheduled.
Milestone Status Meetings.
Key Personnel must be prepared to present each deliverable either in-person or virtual via
webcast meeting, as directed by USAC. For revision rounds, the Contractor’s Key Personnel
should be prepared to walk through any editing round questions via phone.
Key Personnel must be prepared to provide interim deliverable updates, as requested by USAC.
Operational Review Meetings.
After successful stand up, USAC and Contractor will agree upon a new operational meeting
schedule.
Accessibility.
Key Personnel must be accessible via telephone or email during USAC’s normal business hours,
Monday through Friday (9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET).
Weekly Status Report (“WSR”)
Contractor shall develop and provide a WSR using Microsoft Office Suite applications, on a
weekly basis (timing to be agreed upon with USAC after kick off) via electronic mail to the
USAC Contract Administrator during Project Transition. The WSR will be used during the
weekly status meetings to ensure Deliverables are on track. The WSR shall include the
following:
a) Activities during each week by task (include on-going activities, new activities,
activities completed; progress to date on all above-mentioned activities). Start
each section with a brief description of the task.
b) Problems and corrective actions taken. Also, include issues or concerns and
proposed resolutions to address them.
c) Personnel gains, losses, and personnel security status updates.
d) USAC actions required.
e) Schedule (show major tasks, milestones, and deliverables; planned and actual
start and completion dates for each).
Monthly Steering Committee
Contractor shall schedule, prepare an agenda and coordinate monthly meeting with USAC / FCC
governance body (likely containing Executive leadership, USAC Chief Financial Officer, USAC
Chief Information Officer, and FCC representatives). Meetings should include project status
For Public Use
Page 12 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
updates, product demos, a summary of challenges experienced by Contractor in performing its
duties, including alternative strategies for accomplishing its tasks, as appropriate.
Key Personnel
Attachment 4, Key Personnel, details the minimum personnel who shall be designated as Key
Personnel. USAC does not intend to dictate the composition of the ideal team to perform this
Contract. The contractor shall provide staffing for the labor category below, or the Contractor
may propose other labor categories in its proposal submission. USAC requires that Key
Personnel be assigned for the duration of the Contract. Key Personnel may be replaced or
removed subject to special contract requirements, Key Personnel substitution. Any additional
labor categories must include the associated labor hour bill rate for each additional category
submitted as well as the experience and qualifications of the personnel to be assigned to that
labor category.
All Key Personnel and other staff to support this Contract must have employment background
checks equal to those required by USAC for employees and contractors: education, national
criminal, employment verification and social security verifications. Contractor may propose
additional labor categories in its proposal submission. All proposed labor categories must
include the experience and qualifications of the personnel to be assigned to that labor category.
OPERATIONS
Responsibilities and Requirements of Contractor
The primary responsibilities and requirements of Contractor are identified below.
A. Contractor and its reviewers, staff and employees working on the USAC account shall be
located within the United States.
B. Contractor shall operate its facility in accordance with all federal and state laws and
regulations, to include compliance with any accessibility-related requirements (Section 508
compliance).
C. Contractor shall be responsible for all work performed by any subcontractors.
D. Contractor shall ensure that the following are reported to USAC and included in any
invoice:
1. Name and address of Contractor;
2. Invoice date, number and period of performance;
3. Contract number
For Public Use
Page 13 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
4. Name and address of official to whom payment is to be sent or to notify in event of
invoice or payment issues; and
5. Any other substantiating documentation or information as reasonably required by
USAC.
E. Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and other similar state wiretapping laws (e.g.,
for recording customer support calls).
F. Contractor shall forecast demand and keep strong workforce management principles to
maintain adequate staffing and meet performance standards described in this RFP.
G. Contractor will use USAC’s Lifeline online portal and other USAC IT systems, to conduct the
reviews. However, Contractor may suggest additional tool(s) that could be used to supplement
existing tools that would drive efficiencies.
H. Contractor shall ensure that the reviews team is available to program participants during
regular business hours of 8am – 8pm ET (“Business Hours”).
I. Contractor shall ensure that a supervisor is available during Business Hours to handle
escalation, and that program participants will always be transferred to a manager upon request.
PERFORMANCE
Performance Standards
Contractor will perform to a high standard and deliver work of consistently high quality. In order
to ensure that Contractor meets USAC's expectations, USAC will measure Contractor's
performance against a variety of SLAs. The proposed SLAs are listed in Attachment 5 (SLA
Template).
Continuous Improvement Standards
The primary continuous improvement (“CI”) responsibilities and requirements of Contractor are
identified below.
6.2.1 Contractor shall stand up a CI team with clear governance for the entire CI process, as
agreed to by USAC.
6.2.2 Contractor shall facilitate a process to collect feedback from key stakeholders to be
approved by USAC before stand-up.
For Public Use
Page 14 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
6.2.3 Contractor shall facilitate alignment among stakeholders at USAC on CI objectives.
6.2.4 Contractor shall define and quantify expected and measurable quality and efficiency
benefits of improvement initiatives.
6.2.5 Contractor shall set up regular monthly meetings to review the improvement initiatives and
their measurable impact.
6.2.6 Contractor shall assess the initiatives and plan for the implementation of selected
initiatives.
6.2.7 Contractor shall track and publish the measured impact of implemented initiatives to
USAC.
SECURITY
Data Safeguards
In providing the Services, Contractor shall conduct itself in a manner that safeguards USAC Data
against destruction, loss, damage, corruption, alteration, loss of integrity, commingling, or
unauthorized access or processing (the “Data Safeguards”), which Data Safeguards shall be no less
rigorous than the most protective of (a) the requirements of applicable Law; (b) the specific
standards set forth in this Article 7; (c) the applicable USAC standards relating to data security
(including such standards and procedures relating to quality, change, and problem management,
safety, data privacy and data security, and disaster recovery), as set forth in Attachment 7
(Security and Confidentiality Procedures). Each Party shall designate an individual responsible
for coordinating data security related matters for such Party, who will be the primary contact
person of such party for all data security related matters under the Contract.
FedRAMP
In the event that cloud-based services shall be employed by Contractor and interact with USAC
data, Contractor shall provide documentation and proof of accreditation to demonstrate
compliance and shall be certified by the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program
(“FedRAMP”), or equivalent authorization, for use at a moderate risk (“Authority to Operate” or
“ATO”) before Contractor goes live. USAC reserves the right to inspect the ATO notice for
services certified by the FedRAMP Joint Accreditation Board (“JAB”) or the complete package of
documents for those with agency accreditations. To demonstrate compliance, Contractor shall
provide a FedRAMP Security Authorization Package, or equivalent authorization, to USAC to
include (but not limited to): System Security Plan (“SSP”), Security Assessment Report (“SAR”),
Plan of Action and Milestones (“POA&M”), ATO, Contingency Planning (“CP”) documentation,
and Continuous Monitoring Plan. CP documentation to include (but is not limited to): Information
System Contingency Plan (“ISCP”), Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”), Business Impact Analysis
(“BIA”), and COOP. USAC prefers that Contractor host the solution in a FedRAMP accredited,
For Public Use
Page 15 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
government cloud-based environment. Regardless of hosting approach, the solution must be able
to achieve FISMA accreditation prior to going live.
Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”)
Contractor’s information systems, applications and processes shall be approved by USAC’s
security team. Contractor shall write, review, and update an assessment of all applicable Federal
mandates, including, but not limited to FISMA and most recently released revision of NIST 800-
53, Revision 5 or later revision (Security and Privacy Controls for federal Information Systems
and Organizations), including Appendix J, NIST privacy controls – or the most current revisions
of the aforementioned documents, to ensure adherence to NIST, FISMA, OMB, FCC, USAC, and
other industry-accepted standards. Data and documentation collected will include personally
identifiable information (“PII”), including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and
commercial banking information and other confidential business information. PII shall be
protected in accordance with all federal and USAC requirements, including, but not limited to, the
most current revision of the following: OMB Circular No. A-130, OMB Memoranda M-06-16 and
guidance from the NIST, including NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 (Security and Privacy controls for
Federal Information Systems and Organizations) and NIST SP 800-122 (Guide to Protecting the
Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information) – or the most current revisions of the
aforementioned documents. All privacy and/or security-related incidents including, but not limited
to, the disclosure of PII, shall be tracked in accordance with policy standards as outlined in the
Incident Response (“IR”) controls documented in most recently released revision of NIST 800-53,
Revision 5 or later revision and NIST SP 800-61 and consistent with the requirements of OMB
Memoranda M-17-12 – or the most current revisions of the aforementioned documents. The
Incident Response Plan (“IRP”) shall include reporting to USAC’s Privacy Officer and to USAC’s
Director of Information Security or designated representative within one (1) hour of any breach or
suspected breach of PII. Failure to notify USAC’s aforementioned representatives will result in
USAC receiving a service level credit outlined in Attachment 4 (SLA Template).
Encryption and Secure Storage
Contractor shall ensure that USAC Data, Confidential Information, and PII are encrypted at all
times in accordance with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-3 standards. This
encryption requirement includes both Data at Rest (i.e., stored on a hard drive, CD, DVD, thumb
drive, etc.) and Data in Transit (i.e., via email or other electronic means). Any PII that is retained
in any formats must be stored in a secured location and with limited access. The standard for
disposal of PII requires practices that are adequate to protect against unauthorized access or use of
the PII, including at minimum shredding or burning papers containing PII and securely erasing
(using U.S. Department of Defense standards or the equivalent) electronic files and other media
containing PII.
Contractor Vulnerabilities
For Public Use
Page 16 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Contractor shall address vulnerabilities in accordance with NIST vulnerability management
controls. Contractor shall address vulnerabilities in the applicable timeframes set forth in such
policies. Contractor shall provide a monthly vulnerability report and a risk mitigation plan to
address any identified vulnerabilities. Critical and high vulnerabilities shall be reported to the
USAC Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), or designee, and mitigated within thirty (30)
days of being identified. In the event that Contractor cannot meet the applicable timeframe,
Contractor shall provide USAC a plan of action and develop milestones to address such
vulnerabilities promptly, and shall prioritize remediation based on the risks implicated by such
vulnerabilities. Failure to meet the applicable timeframe will also result in USAC receiving a
service level credit outlined in Attachment 5 (SLA Template).
Further Requirements
Contractor’s Services, and Contractor’s applications, processes and systems used in the
provisioning of Services, shall be approved by USAC’s IT Security Team and shall comply with
FISMA, NIST, and OMB requirements.
Notification and Assistance
Contractor shall cooperate with USAC in any litigation and investigation against third parties
deemed necessary by USAC to protect USAC Data, other USAC Confidential Information and/or
PII. Each Party will bear the costs it incurs as a result of compliance with this Section.
INSTRUCTIONS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA
Master Services Agreement Contract Terms
The Contract awarded as a result of this RFP will be governed by, and subject to, terms and
conditions closely based upon the Master Services Agreement set forth in Attachment 10 (Master
Services Agreement) and all attachments herein. Offeror’s submission of a proposal constitutes
its agreement to the Master Services Agreement and their precedence over any other terms,
requirements, or conditions proposed by Offeror.
Offeror’s proposal shall identify exceptions or additional terms (collectively “Exceptions”) to the
Master Services Agreement. Exceptions will be considered only if they are clearly identified in a
separate Attachment B to Volume II, titled “Exceptions to RFP Terms.” Proposals that include
material exceptions to the Master Services Agreement may be considered unacceptable and render
Offeror ineligible for award unless Offeror withdraws or modifies any unacceptable exceptions
prior to USAC’s selection of the successful Offeror for award. USAC will only review changes
or additions to the Terms and Conditions that are included in Offeror’s proposal. USAC will not
consider or negotiate any exceptions to the Master Services Agreement not included in Offeror’s
proposal.
For Public Use
Page 17 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Period of Acceptance of Offers
Offeror shall ensure that its proposal remains valid for 120 calendar days from the date specified
for receipt of offers, unless another time period is specified in an addendum to the solicitation.
Offeror’s shall ensure that its proposal:
A. Concisely addresses USAC’s requirements, as set forth in this RFP, and should not
contain a significant amount of corporate boilerplate marketing information.
B. Is submitted to the USAC Procurement Department no later than 11:00 AM ET on
October 19, 2022 (“Proposal Due Date”).
line for all email communications related to this solicitation should only state the
Solicitation Number of this RFP.
To be timely, Offeror’s proposal must be received by USAC by the Proposal Due Date at the email
address specified above. Any offer, modification, revision, or withdrawal of an offer received by
USAC after the Proposal Due Date and time is “late” and will not be considered by USAC - unless
USAC determines, in its sole discretion, which circumstances beyond the control of Offeror
prevented timely submission, or consideration of the offer is in the best interest of USAC.
Proposals, once submitted, cannot be withdrawn for 120 calendar days from the date specified for
receipt of offers, except with the written consent of USAC.
Submission of Questions
USAC will only accept written questions regarding the RFP. All questions must be emailed to
post all questions and responses under this procurement on our website on September 27, 2022 at
5:00 PM ET.
Amend, Revise, or Cancel RFP
USAC reserves the right to amend, revise or cancel this RFP at any time at the sole discretion of
USAC, and no legal or other obligations are assumed by USAC by virtue of the issuance of this
RFP, including payment of any proposal costs or expenses, or any commitment to procure the
services sought herein.
Documentation Requirements
Each document deliverable shall be submitted in an acceptable electronic unprotected format,
using Microsoft® Excel, Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Project Professional, PDF, or any other
format that is mutually agreed upon by USAC and Offeror.
For Public Use
Page 18 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
RFP Key Dates
DATE
EVENT
September 14, 2022
RFP Released
September 22, 2022
Questions Due to USAC by 11:00 AM ET at [email protected]
September 27, 2022
Answers posted by USAC by 5:00 PM ET
October 19, 2022
November 1-4, 2022
Demonstrations / Offeror Discussions
November 9, 2022
Final Proposal Revisions and Best and Final Offers Due by
11:00 AM ET at [email protected]
November – December, 2022
Contract Negotiations
January, 2022
Anticipated Kick Off
Contract Award
USAC will evaluate proposals and may award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the
Offeror whose offer will be most advantageous to USAC. USAC may reject any or all offers if
such action is in the public’s or USAC’s interest. USAC need not accept the lowest offer. USAC
may waive informalities and minor irregularities in any or all offers received.
Identification of Confidential Information
Offeror’s proposal shall clearly and conspicuously identify information contained in the proposal
that Offeror contends is confidential information.
All deliverables submitted by Offeror to USAC are considered Confidential Information of USAC
(as defined in Attachment 8) and are the sole property of USAC. USAC may use, copy, distribute
or disclose the deliverables in its sole discretion.
Proposal Cover Page
Offeror must ensure that its proposal contains a cover page that includes the following information:
A. The name of Offeror’s organization;
B. Offeror’s contact name;
C. Offeror’s contact information (address, telephone number, email address, website address);
D. Offeror’s UEI number;
E. The date of submittal;
F. A statement verifying the proposal is valid for a period of 120 days; and
G. The signature of a duly authorized Offeror representative.
For Public Use
Page 19 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Proposal Content
The proposal shall be comprised of the following five (5) volumes, numbered Volumes I, II, III,
IV, and V. All text shall be twelve (12) point font, and page limits shall be followed as indicated.
Corporate Information (Volume I) – Limit to three (3) single-spaced pages, excluding financial
statements.
Each Offeror should provide a summary of any corporate information relevant to this RFP, which
should include, at minimum:
1. Length of time in BPO/Call Center business;
2. Place(s) of incorporation of business;
3. Place(s) where the Offeror conducts business, including primary place of business;
4. Percentage and number of relevant employees / contractors in the U.S. and any other
countries;
5. Number of intellectual property infringement suits brought against the Offeror in the
last five (5) years, including brief description of the nature and status of such disputes
(e.g., settled, under active litigation); and
6. Recent financial statements, including:
a) Audited balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement for previous
three (3) fiscal years, and
b) Quarterly financial statements prepared since previous year end financial
statements.
Technical (Volume II) – Word / page limits as indicated per section
1. Differentiators
Each Offeror shall provide a brief summary of its qualifications to provide the described BPO/Call
Center services for USAC, including any unique differentiators. Differentiators may include
employee-hiring practices, practices to retain experienced staff, staff training, methods the Offeror
uses to maintain high quality standards and staff proficiency, and ability to staff for variable
volumes of services. If Offeror intends to partner with another firm that will act as a subcontractor
for the performance of any task related to the solicitation, Offeror shall include the identity and
qualifications of the subcontractor, any potential conflicts of interest, the scope of the services to
be subcontracted, and documentation evidencing that the proposed subcontractor has a
demonstrated history of providing excellent services within the scope of services proposed to be
subcontracted. This summary should be no more than 250 words.
2. Summary of Project Approach
Each Offeror shall submit a summary of its approach for the provision of scalable, reliable, and
high-quality BPO/Call Center services for Lifeline and ACP. Offeror shall identify its
For Public Use
Page 20 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
methodology for accomplishing the deliverables in this RFP, as well as any deliverables or work
efforts not included in the RFP solicitation that should be included to assure success in developing
or implementing a core curriculum. The methodology should also include the requirements laid
out in the Transition Plan (Attachment 2, Section 9), and meet designated Milestones set forth in
Attachment 9 (Transition Milestones).
The described approach should include a quality assurance plan indicating all key metrics and
KPIs Contractor will be measuring, including explanations of how the metrics are measured as
applicable (e.g., how Offeror tracks such as completion of "first call resolution"). Each Offeror
shall also describe plans to regularly survey customer satisfaction (including sampling rate and in
line with requirements set forth in the Paperwork Reduction Act) and allow auditing of contact /
review quality by USAC. This summary should be no longer than fifteen (15) single-spaced pages
of text, including any diagrams.
3. Key Personnel
As part of its RFP response, each Offeror shall provide resumes for each of its Key Personnel,
including subcontractors if proposed, for all roles listed in Attachment 4 (Key Personnel). Each
Key Personnel will be listed with the percentage of their expected dedication to the project. Each
resume will set forth the years of relevant experience and other material information regarding the
Key Personnel. Limit each resume to 2 single-spaced pages.
Each Offeror shall provide an organizational chart identifying its proposed team structure,
including roles and responsibilities of those employees who would be assigned lead
responsibilities.
Each Offeror shall provide resumes of reviewers, supervisors, and training leader.
Each Offeror shall identify in its response the names and citizenships of all non-U.S. citizens
proposed to work under the contract. Any additions or deletions of non-U.S. citizens after contract
award shall also be reported to USAC, and non-U.S. citizens shall not be authorized to work under
the contract without USAC’s prior written consent.
If Offeror, at time of proposal and/or prior to the award of the contract, has information that any
such Key Personnel anticipates terminating his or her employment or affiliation with Offeror,
Offeror shall identify such personnel and include his or her expected termination date in its
proposal.
4. Contractor Capability Template
Each Offeror shall respond to a series of questions regarding capabilities and components offered
in Attachment 3 (Vendor Capability Checklist). For prompts that request a yes/no response,
Offeror must respond to each prompt with "Yes" or "No" as indicated on the attachment. For
prompts that request a free-form response, Offeror must indicate its response as appropriate (e.g.,
with a number, or by indicating the use of certain technologies); in no case should these responses
For Public Use
Page 21 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
exceed 15 words per prompt. An Offeror may provide, but is not required to provide, additional
explanatory notes regarding each prompt; such notes may not exceed 40 words per prompt.
5. SLA Proposal
A list of SLAs is included in Attachment 5 (SLA Template). Each Offeror shall fill out this tab
according to the following instructions:
A. Best Fit SLA: Please insert the closest SLA to the corresponding “USAC Proposed SLA”
that you will commit to provide as part of this bid. USAC expects each “Best Fit SLA”
provided to meet or exceed the corresponding “USAC Proposed SLA”. If Offeror lists an
SLA that does not meet or exceed the corresponding “USAC Proposed SLA”, please
explain why in the “Notes” column.
B. Optimized SLA: Please insert SLAs according to what you believe you could provide if
you optimized processes across all SLAs to provide the best possible value for USAC,
according to your experience, current processes, and the associated pricing structure. Such
optimization will be considered after the first year of the contract.
Offeror may provide, but is not required to provide, additional explanatory notes regarding each
SLA; such notes may not exceed 40 words per line item. These notes should include specifics on
the price effect of altering the SLA up or down, if relevant. USAC will request a separate price
bid for the “Best Fit SLAs” and “Additional Requested SLAs”, as instructed in Attachment 1.
6. RESERVED
7. Specific Prompts
In addition to the responses listed above, Offerors shall provide short responses to the following
questions, in accordance with the word count limits provided:
(1) What will be included in the stand-up phase for the BPO efforts? How would your team
collaborate with USAC to integrate with NV systems? We would expect your plan to at
least include: (300 word limit)
a. Collaborating with USAC to design and pressure test BPO-related process flows
b. Working with USAC to seek and incorporate external stakeholder feedback on
design of BPO processes and systems
c. Training staff on USAC process flows
d. Testing and evaluating system/processes to identify and resolve issues before
launch
(2) What is your staffing model to surge resourcing as needed (e.g., percentage of
subcontracted vs. internal vs. new hires, number of dedicated and non-dedicated staff, what
For Public Use
Page 22 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
location(s) staff are pulled from, training of non-dedicated staff) and/or plan for volume
variability)? Please provide instances where you were able to significantly surge
development staff with numbers of staff added vs. base effort. (250 word limit)
(3) What specific fraud prevention capabilities could you build into your services to aid USAC
and the FCC in our goal of preventing waste, fraud, and abuse? Please indicate if you have
included the services in the proposed bid or expect the capabilities to be next-gen functionality
that can be added in the future as desired by USAC. (500 word limit)
(4) Are there other considerations that would allow you to offer a better price to USAC while
maintaining similar quality? Please enumerate any recommendations for alternative contract
and pricing structures that you believe could offer better value to USAC, including any specific
alternative models to tiering prices by monthly volume actuals. (400 word limit)
(5) Please describe your experience standing up Call Centers and tools with federal agencies,
and demonstrate your expertise in navigating federal requirements such as those associated
with the Federal Information Security Management Act (“FISMA”). (500 word limit)
8. Facilities Information
As part of Offeror’s RFP response, please describe each facility from which you intend to provide
services, including the location, approximate number of people who will provide services from
that location, and other relevant information. Please include a description of security measures
(physical and/or logical) in place at each facility in which you plan to work to ensure PII is handled
with care by your staff. (400 word limit)
9. Conflicts of Interest
Provide a description of any potential conflicts of interest (as described in Section 9.3) including
(a) the nature of the potential conflicts and (b) the nature of the means by which you propose to
avoid, neutralize, or mitigate such conflicts. (150 word limit)
Past Performance Information (Volume III) – Limit to ten (10) single-spaced pages including
diagrams.
Each Offeror shall describe two (2) to four (4) examples of similar BPO or Call Center support
services that Offeror has provided for similar-sized BPO and Call Center operations in the past
five (5) years. Where the example(s) of similar BPO or Call Center support services were with
clients with federal government security requirements (e.g. FISMA, NIST, OMB guidance), please
state so explicitly. It is expected that the Key Personnel provided according to Attachment 4 (Key
Personnel) will have been heavily involved in at least one (1) of the provided examples of past
performance.
Past performance information should specify details across two broad areas:
For Public Use
Page 23 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
a. Program Oversight – build of a program similar in nature to the required BPO and Call
Center activities, including details on speed to ramp up each activity and process
improvement to reduce manual work and improve efficiency and reporting.
b. Recent and Relevant: This will be evaluated based on Offeror’s discussion of its past
performance for similar efforts, information obtained from Offeror’s references
(including detailed references for Offeror’s proposed teaming partner(s) and/or
subcontractor(s), as applicable) and information that may be obtained from any other
sources (including government databases and contracts listed in Offeror’s proposal that
are not identified as references).
Each Offeror shall provide three (3) references for whom Offeror provided similar services in the
past five (5) years, including contact information for Offeror’s point of contact at each reference.
If required by a reference, Offeror shall provide written permission for a reference to discuss its
performance with USAC. If the past performance referenced in this volume is that of a
subcontractor being proposed, Offeror shall clearly state that the reference is that of the
subcontractor and not Offeror.
USAC will attempt to contact past performance references identified in the proposal for
confirmation of the information contained in the proposal and/or will transmit a past performance
questionnaire to the contacts identified in Offeror’s proposal. Although USAC will follow-up with
the contacts, Offeror, not USAC, is responsible for ensuring that the questionnaire is completed
and returned by the specified date in USAC’s transmission. If USAC is unable to reach or obtain
a reference for the project, USAC is not obligated to consider the contact in an evaluation of past
performance.
Price Proposal (Volume IV)
1. Each Offeror shall provide the best financial proposal to complete the work for the duration of
the contract term based on the proposed work plan. Identify any assumptions made to create
the Price Proposal. Travel or other costs must be factored into the bid, as no additional fees
will be paid to perform this work. Each Offeror will provide the following: A bid with a
combination of fixed and transactional pricing for the entire scope of work outlined in the RFP.
Offeror shall propose the following prices in the bid sheet (Attachment 1):
a. Stand-up FFP – Fixed fee to cover all costs for initial set up of the work.
b. Ongoing FFP – Provide fixed fee pricing, to cover monthly costs of providing set contract
requirements, including project management, reporting, auditing, and continuous
improvement.
c. Variable fee – Fees to cover per unit service costs for services outlined in Attachment 2,
SOW; Offeror shall include all costs for provisioning the services described in the proposal.
Any cost not indicated here will be considered included at no cost to USAC. Offeror may
provide prices for additional services as desired, but this is optional. Each Offeror may
For Public Use
Page 24 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
propose pricing tiers for each service if they wish to do so. The variable fee will include
at a minimum the activities/services as detailed in Attachment 1 (Bid Sheet):
d. Improvement terms – Percentage of per unit variable or per service fixed fee that Offeror
will commit to reducing annually.
e. CSLA Service Level Credits – Percentage of total fixed or variable fee that will not be paid
if Offeror fails to meet the minimum performance on any of the CSLAs for a particular
month.
2. In addition to the two pricing structures mentioned above, bidders are encouraged to propose
additional creative pricing structures that will be cost-effective for USAC.
Insurance (Volume V)
Contractor shall obtain and maintain at its own cost and expense and shall require its
subcontractors to obtain and maintain at their own cost and expense insurance of the type set forth
below.
In this Volume, please indicate the level of insurance coverage to be maintained by Offeror during
the Contract Term the following categories of insurance, and supply a copy of the insurance
certificate(s).
The level of insurance shown in brackets are USAC’s required coverage limits.
1. Worker’s Compensation:
(a) State: Statutory
(b) Employer’s Liability US$1,000,000 per accident
2. Commercial General Liability:
(a) US$1,000,000 Per Occurrence on a Per Project or Per Location Basis
(b) US$2,000,000 General Aggregate
(c) US$2,000,000 Products Completed Operations
(d) US$1,000,000 Personal & Advertising Injury
3. Commercial crime coverage including employee dishonesty, forgery, or alteration, inside
the premises, outside the premises, computer fraud, funds transfer fraud and coverage for
loss of USAC’s property resulting from any other covered cause.
(a) US$10,000,000 Per Occurrence
(b) US$10,000,000 General Aggregate
4. Automobile Liability Insurance (owned, not owned or hired) in the amount of $1,000,000
Combined Single Limit.
5. Umbrella Liability Insurance providing excess liability for items Worker’s Compensation,
For Public Use
Page 25 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Employer’s Liability; Comprehensive General Liability; and commercial crime coverage
as noted above in subjections 1(b), (2), and (3). Coverage to be at least as broad as the
primary program:
(a) Each occurrence, and Aggregate US$15,000,000
6. Professional Liability (errors and omissions) and Cyber Liability (If applicable based upon
the Scope of Work for each Task Order)
(a) Each incident and aggregate US $25,000,000
Insurance shall be maintained for not less than three (3) years after the Contract Term. Evidence
of coverage shall be provided to USAC on an annual basis.
Evaluation
Evaluation Criteria
USAC will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer
conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to USAC, price and other factors
considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers and select the Contractor: Price,
Past Performance, Technical, and Transition Management. Each Offeror’s response to the Master
Service Agreement and associated shift in risk to USAC will be included in overall evaluation.
Price: The most important priority guiding the evaluation of the RFP responses will be price.
Pricing will be evaluated across three areas:
Fixed component – base costs charged to USAC regardless of volume, including but not
limited to program management, reporting capabilities, and investment in continuous
improvement.
Variable component – costs charged to USAC, or reductions in those costs, as a function
of volume (e.g., per transaction / contact / document). As volume rises, unit costs should
decrease in each volume tier.
Structural component – modifications to costs charged to USAC based on Offeror
performance (e.g., service level credits due to missed KPI targets), or over time (e.g., cost
efficiencies from continuous improvement).
Offeror will be expected to confidently bid toward meeting established SLAs, with reduced fees
when these targets are not met.
Unit costs should decrease as Contractor captures efficiencies due to continuous improvement, and
significant gains in cost efficiency over and above committed improvement are expected to be
shared equitably between Contractor and USAC.
For Public Use
Page 26 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Past Performance: Past performance information will be evaluated to assess the risks associated
with each Offeror’s potential performance of this effort, considering the relevance, recency (within
the past five (5) years), and quality of Offeror’s past performance on past or current contracts for
the same or similar services. USAC will also consider whether Offeror has successfully executed
contracts of a similar size, has a record of continuous improvement over time, including through
technological innovation, and/or has experience working with similar programs. Past performance
information will be evaluated across six (6) broad areas:
● Program Oversight – build of a program similar in nature to the required BPO and
Call Center activities, including details on speed to ramp up each activity and
process improvement to reduce manual work and improve efficiency and reporting.
● Recent and Relevant: This will be evaluated based on Offeror’s discussion of its
past performance for similar efforts, information obtained from Offeror’s
references (including detailed references for Offeror’s proposed teaming partner(s)
and/or subcontractor(s), as applicable) and information that may be obtained from
any other sources (including government databases and contracts listed in Offeror’s
proposal that are not identified as references).
● Past SLA performance – success in meeting SLAs promised to previous clients.
● Customer support – provision of BPO and Call Center services for previous
clients across all channels.
● Document processing – processing inbound documents on behalf of a client.
● Demographic experience – prior work with similar programs (e.g., government
entitlements) or with reaching and / or working with customers whose
demographics are similar to the Lifeline and ACP base, large and small service
providers and healthcare facilities.
This will be evaluated based on Offeror’s discussion of its past performance for similar efforts
(including a detailed mock-up of costs, project timeline, and illustrative materials from a similar
project) information obtained from Offeror’s references (including detailed references for
Offeror’s proposed teaming partner(s) and/or subcontractor(s), as applicable) and information that
may be obtained from any other sources (including government databases and contracts listed in
Offeror’s proposal that are not identified as references).
Technical: USAC expects that all Offerors will meet a variety of technical criteria. For example,
all Offerors will need to discuss their ability to perform against a variety of metrics / SLAs (e.g.,
manual review time, service level), and they will also need to discuss their core technical
capabilities (e.g., ability to process incoming mail). Finally, Offeror’s must demonstrate that they
have incorporated sufficient redundancies into their operations. Technical information will be
evaluated across four (4) broad areas:
● SLAs – Offeror’s agreed SLAs, and how they compare to the SLAs desired by
USAC, set forth in Attachment 4 (SLA Template).
For Public Use
Page 27 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
● Capabilities – Offeror’s ability to meet the capabilities outlined in the capability
template set forth in Attachment 3 (Vendor Capability Checklist).
● Scalability – Offeror’s ability to quickly ramp up (or down) capacity.
● Redundancy – Offeror’s disaster recovery plans, ability to provide highly reliable
/ continuous service, and wide geographic reach (e.g., ability to serve multiple time
zones easily).
Transition Management: Offeror must demonstrate the ability to successfully ramp up operations
and to successfully support USAC in transitioning operations to another vendor or USAC staff
should USAC choose to modify its relationship with Contractor. Contractor may be required to
integrate these new features, and must demonstrate the ability to do so. Transition management
will be evaluated across three broad areas:
● Ramp-up – Offeror’s ability to quickly and comprehensively stand up operations,
including initial technical integration, trainings, etc.
● Ability to integrate new features – Offeror’s ability to integrate new features with
existing processes as the new features are released.
● Transition support – Offeror’s ability to support USAC in transitioning operations
to USAC staff should USAC choose to modify its relationship with the awarded
Contractor or to another vendor should USAC decline to renew its relationship with
the awarded Contractor at the end of the Contract Term.
Down-Select Process
USAC may determine that the number of proposals received in response to this RFP are too
numerous to efficiently conduct a full evaluation of all evaluation factors prior to establishing a
competitive range. In such a case, USAC may conduct a down-select process to eliminate Offerors
from further consideration based on a comparative analysis of Offeror proposals, with primary
focus on the price proposal. USAC may, in its sole discretion, consider other factors such as quality
of proposal, technical capabilities and past performance. Proposals that include proposed prices
that are significantly higher than the median proposed price for all Offerors may be excluded from
the competition without evaluation under the other evaluation factors. Proposals that contain
prices that are unrealistically low in terms of sufficiency to perform the awarded Contract may
also be excluded from the competition.
Discussions
USAC may hold discussions with the highest rated Offerors. Discussions will include issues
related to the Offeror’s Technical, Past Performance, and Price proposals, and include a targeted
demonstration of USAC provided use cases and data. Information for inclusion in discussions will
be provided by USAC in advance.
For Public Use
Page 28 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Offers that take material exceptions to RFP requirements, including the Master Services
Agreement, will be evaluated as technically unacceptable and will be ineligible for award unless
USAC subsequently amends the RFP to modify the requirements, or if discussions are held,
decides to address the exceptions during discussions and thereby resolves the exceptions.
Final Proposal Revisions and Best and Final Offers
After conclusion of discussions, Offerors may be invited to submit final proposal revisions
(“FPR”) and best and final offers (“BAFO”). At this time, Offerors can make changes to their
proposal submissions to address questions and concerns, and competitive pricing specifically
addressed in discussions. FPR’s and BAFO’s will be due no later than November 9, 2022 at 11:00
AM ET.
Competitive Negotiation Using Best Value Selection
This solicitation will be conducted using “Best Value Selection” that results in an award that is
most advantageous to USAC based on the best value combination of: (a) evaluated qualitative
merit and (b) evaluated price (cost) of the offers submitted. Best Value Selection is based on the
premise that, if all offers are of approximately equal qualitative merit, award will be made to the
Offeror with the lowest evaluated price (cost). However, USAC will consider awarding to an
Offeror with a higher evaluated price (cost) if the offer demonstrates the difference in price (cost)
is commensurate with the higher qualitative merit. Conversely, USAC will consider awarding to
an Offeror with a lower evaluated qualitative merit if the price (cost) differential between it and
other offers warrants doing so.
Responsibility Determination
USAC will only award Contracts to a responsible Offeror. USAC will make a responsibility
determination based on any available information, including information submitted in an Offeror’s
proposal. In making a responsibility determination USAC will consider whether:
A. Offeror has sufficient resources to perform the Contract;
B. Offeror has a satisfactory record of performance, integrity, and business ethics;
C. Offeror has the accounting systems and internal controls, quality assurance processes and
organizational structure, and experience necessary to assure that contract work will be
properly performed and accurately invoiced; and
D. Offeror has the facilities, and technical and personnel resources required to perform the
Contract.
LEGAL NOTICES
No Offer; RFP Procedures
For Public Use
Page 29 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
The issuance of this RFP does not give rise to any future intention, commitment, offer, or
obligation of USAC to enter into any kind of business relationship with any prospective Offeror.
No contract for the development and supply of BPO and/or Call Center services shall be formed
unless and until a written definitive agreement for such development and purchase is executed by
the selected Offeror and USAC. Following the execution of such a definitive agreement, the only
obligations of the parties thereto will be those set forth therein. For purposes of this paragraph,
definitive agreements do not include any preliminary written document, or any oral agreement or
course of conduct.
USAC and its representatives are free to conduct the RFP process as they determine in their sole
discretion (including by negotiating with any other prospective Offerors without prior notice to
you or any other person). USAC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change any of the RFP
procedures at any time, to reject any and all proposals with respect to this RFP, and to terminate
discussions and negotiations related to this RFP at any time and for any or no reason. USAC also
reserves the right to negotiate with those responding, or with any other person or entity, an
agreement on terms which, in USAC’s sole judgment, best serves its needs. USAC may seek
additional information from any potential Offeror after the due date.
USAC, its affiliates, and its or their directors, officers, reviewers, employees, or representatives
do not have any legal obligation or liability of any kind to you with respect to or arising from this
RFP, whether by virtue of this RFP or any other written or oral expression with respect to the RFP
or otherwise.
USAC and/or its professional advisors retain all right, title and interest, including the copyright, in
and to the materials provided by or on behalf of USAC or its professional advisors for the purposes
of this RFP, and all rights therein are reserved. All proposals submitted to USAC shall become
the property of USAC and shall not be returned.
Confidential Information
Confidential Information is defined in Section 1 of the Master Services Agreement.
Conflicts of Interest
Offeror’s services are in support of USAC’s administration of the USF, and as such Offeror will
be expected to maintain the same neutrality, both in fact and in appearance, and avoid any conflict
of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest. To the extent that Offeror or any Offeror
staff has client, membership, financial or any other material affiliation with entities that participate
in the federal USF in any respect, there may be actual, potential or apparent conflict(s) of interest.
Offerors must disclose in responses any potential conflict(s) of interest and the nature of any
restriction proposed to cure the conflict(s). USAC reserves the right to restrict participation and
access to Confidential Information by Offerors that in USAC’s sole discretion pose a conflict of
interest in the course of this procurement action and to require disclosure of any potential conflicts
of interest as a condition of receipt of Confidential Information.
For Public Use
Page 30 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
Protocol
Offerors should fully comply with this RFP or as otherwise communicated by USAC. Each
Offeror should ensure that all of its employees, reviewers, counsel, advisors or other
representatives involved in the RFP process are fully aware and understand the procedures set forth
in this RFP, and the obligations to be undertaken by the selected Offeror.
No Offeror personnel shall contact any USAC personnel or FCC personnel in relation to this RFP,
including USAC senior management and its Board of Directors, unless the USAC RFP primary
contact has provided his or her prior written consent. During the period of this RFP, no contact
related to this RFP should occur between any member of the Offeror’s staff and any staff member
of USAC, other than through the designated USAC RFP primary contact.
Publicity
Offeror shall not make (or cause to be made) any public announcement relating to this RFP or
USAC’s undertaking of this evaluation process, and shall not otherwise publicize this RFP in any
manner, unless prior written consent is obtained from the USAC RFP primary contact. Additional
obligations are set forth in Attachment 8 (Confidentiality Agreement).
Costs and Expenses
Offeror is responsible for bearing all costs and expenses of preparing, submitting and (if requested
by USAC) resubmitting its proposal, and any other prior or subsequent activity associated with
this RFP, including the following, as applicable: evaluation of the proposal, Offeror presentations,
meeting attendance, due diligence and/or contract negotiations and fees, and expenses of any
outside counsel or other advisors, regardless of whether or not USAC enters into an agreement
with the Offeror.
Due Diligence; No Representations
The information provided by USAC as part of the RFP process is intended only as a preliminary
background explanation. This RFP does not purport to be all-inclusive or to contain all information
that an Offeror may desire or deem to be material in connection with this RFP. In all cases,
Offerors should conduct their own investigation and analysis. In particular, Offerors should
consider the advice of their own financial, legal, accounting, tax and other business advisors, and
such other factors which they consider appropriate, in investigating and analyzing this RFP.
The information contained in this RFP is selective and subject to being updated, expanded, revised
or amended by USAC.
USAC, its affiliates and its or their directors, officers, reviewers, employees or representatives
have not made or do not make any express or implied representation or warranty, or accept any
For Public Use
Page 31 of 31
Universal Service Administrative Co. | Lifeline and ACP BPO and Call Center Services | Request for Proposals (RFP)
responsibility for the information contained in, or provided in connection with, this RFP or its
fairness, accuracy or completeness. None of them shall have any liability or otherwise to a Offeror
relating to or resulting from use of USAC confidential information or for any errors therein or
omissions therefrom (except as may otherwise be provided in a definitive written agreement signed
by the parties). Offerors are responsible for making their own evaluation of information and data
contained in, or provided in connection with, this RFP and in preparing and submitting their
proposals.
This RFP is intended to provide Offerors with enough information to build their proposals, but it
is the Offerors’ responsibility to request any additional information that it reasonably believes it
may need in connection with this RFP. The Offeror selected by USAC must complete its due
diligence prior to entering into a Contract with USAC. Any contract between the parties will not
contain provisions providing for post-signing due diligence or any related pricing adjustments.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Attachment 1: Bid Sheet
2. Attachment 2: Statement of Work
3. Attachment 3: Vendor Capability Checklist
4. Attachment 4: Key Personnel
5. Attachment 5: SLA Template
6. Attachment 6: Volumes
7. Attachment 7: Security and Confidentiality Procedures
8. Attachment 8: Confidentiality Agreement
9. Attachment 9: Transition Milestone
10. Attachment 10: Master Services Agreement
Note: In order to receive Attachment 7: Security and Confidentiality Procedures, please email a
signed copy of Attachment 8: Confidentially Agreement to [email protected] and
