D -- Federal Relay Service (FRS)

The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) intends to increase the Federal Relay Service Contract (FRS) (GS00T04NSD0001) ceiling from $25M to $35M to allow for continued uninterrupted services to federal agencies during the replacement contract solicitation phase and the associated transition period from the current contract to a new contract. The FRS provides an intermediary telecommunications service for federal employees who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind, or speech disabled, for communications with and within the Federal Government. Public Law 100-542 requires the General Services Administration (GSA), among other things, to continue to operate an existing relay service for text telephone (TTY) users; to maintain and publish a TTY directory; to promote research to reduce costs and improve capabilities of telecommunications devices and systems that provide accessibility to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf/blind or speech disabled; and to take technological improvements into consideration when planning alterations and modifications to the Government?s FRS. The current FRS contract is with Sprint Communications Company, L.P.