Part 2. Information Technology

Chapter 13. Enterprise Networks

Section 5. Federal Technology Service (Long Distance)

2.13.5  Federal Technology Service (Long Distance)

2.13.5.1  (03-01-2006)
Purpose

  1. This IRM describes the Federal Technology Service (FTS) provided by the Enterprise Networks Directorate. It provides guidance and the processes used by IRS employees for using FTS. It also describes how to use FTS and the features and functions associated with it.

  2. If there are any questions or if additional guidance is needed with this IRM, contact Enterprise Networks at 202-283-4567.

2.13.5.2  (03-01-2006)
Federal Technology Service (Long Distance)

  1. The Federal Technology Service (FTS) was developed over 30 years ago to provide switched voice service, with limited data communications capability, to Government agencies. The FTS network was adequate for the analog voice-oriented requirements of 30 years ago. However, it lacked end-to-end digital connectivity and point-to-point high quality, high-speed capabilities.

  2. IRS, at the direction of Treasury and the General Services Administration (GSA), is required to acquire FTS services from the successful vendor(s) during each specified contractual period (normally 8 to 10 years). IRS invests significant amounts of annual funding in support of the products and services offered on the FTS contracts.

2.13.5.2.1  (03-01-2006)
FTS 2001 Contract

  1. In 1999, the FTS 2001 contract was awarded to two successful vendors: Sprint and MCI. Changing technology required government agencies to request more commercial like offerings. The term is a four-year non-mandatory contract with four, one-year options. This contract includes the following domestic and international offerings:

    • Fixed price with only price decrease.

    • Non-mandatory usage by agencies.

    • Domestic and International Service Offerings.

2.13.5.2.1.1  (03-01-2006)
Responsibility for Acquiring FTS Service for IRS Locations

  1. The Enterprise Networks (EN) Directorate has sole responsibility for managing, budgeting for, and overseeing the FTS Contracts. However, local Designated Agency Representatives (DAR) are available throughout the IRS to provide customer support to all business units. The DAR uses the Telecommunications Asset Tool (TAT) web site at http://tat.web.irs.gov to process service requests for voice and dedicated long distance services. Refer to the TAT web site for more information.

  2. The local and national DAR roles and responsibilities consist of:

    • Assist offices in selections of services

    • Ensure sufficient funding availability

    • Initiate and track service orders

    • Assist in the implementation process

    • Provide billing support.

  3. The DAR is designated by the local manager in Modernization Information Technology Services (MITS). The DAR must submit an FTS DAR form to the DAR Administrator in EN before placing a service request. For more information contact the current DAR. A list of current DARs' contact information is available on the TAT web site at http://tat.web.irs.gov/displaydars.asp .

2.13.5.3  (03-01-2006)
Products and Services

  1. The IRS currently uses all long distance voice products and services available on the FTS 2001 contract, except for 900 Service. These products and services include:

    1. Circuit Switched Service (also known as Switched Voice Service)

    2. Dedicated Transmission Service.

  2. For a further explanation of these services or how to acquire these services, refer to the detailed section of each service described in Sections 2.13.5.3.1, Circuit Switched Service and 2.13.5.3.2, Dedicated Transmission Service.

2.13.5.3.1  (03-01-2006)
Circuit Switched Service

  1. Circuit Switched Services (CSS) include:

    1. Switched Voice Service (SVS): supports voice or analog data transmission of provisioned (circuit) and non-provisioned (access) services. SVS allows voice calls initiated from on-net (government or Flexi Place) locations to connect to all On-Net and Off-Net locations via FTS.

    2. Circuit Switched Data Service (CSDS): provides dial up capability in increments of 56kbps or 64kbps over full duplex synchronous data circuits for FTS 2001 users. Some possible applications for CSDS include videoconferencing, computer-to-computer file transfer, image transfer, disaster recovery, and high-speed fax.

    3. Toll-Free Service: allows a caller to be connected from switched on-net or off-net locations to pre-designated telephone numbers or locations by dialing certain toll free numbers (e.g., Toll Free, 800, 866, 877, 888). If additional information is required on Toll-Free Service, contact Enterprise Networks at 202-283-4567.

    4. Calling Card Services: Provides various calling capabilities including 1) long distance calling from non-government locations; 2) audio conferencing which allows for large numbers of users to participate in a conference; and 3) personal conferencing which eliminates the need to make reservations for on-demand conferences. Refer to IRM 2.13.7, Calling Card Ordering System for more information on calling cards.

2.13.5.3.1.1  (03-01-2006)
Automatic Number Identification Standard

  1. The Automatic Number Identification (ANI) is the telephone technology that identifies a series of digits and characters which displays the telephone number and name of a person or business calling a user (also known as caller ID). The technology is also used to capture station level billing detail and to detect waste, fraud, and abuse.

  2. The ANI standardizes telephone service provided by IRS offices that have the capability to support station level call detail reporting to the long distance carrier by programming or reprogramming the telephone services. All offices must follow these procedures regardless of the technology that is used. Should any conflicts occur, waivers or amendments to this standard must be sought through MITS and the ACIO, Enterprise Networks. Types of waivers include:

    1. Equipment that does not support a 10-digit number identification capability (such as use of extensions)

    2. Ensuring confidentiality of on-going criminal investigation when contacts are made.

    Refer to Exhibit 2.13.5-1, Request for Waiver at the end of this IRM for an example of the Waiver form.

  3. Effective January 3, 2005, each official IRS site was required to deliver the true 10-digit origination telephone number of each IRS calling party to the Federal Technology Service (FTS) long distance carrier. This mandate has been necessitated by the requirements of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit 2004-20-156 which emphasize the Enterprise Networks’ responsibility to monitor, assess, and analyze the use of IRS telephone systems, cost considerations associated with that use, and avoidance of waste, fraud, and abuse in the use of government resources.

  4. The IRS has more than 700 Post of Duty (POD) offices (some sites have telephone systems or are receiving dial tone from older General Service Administration (GSA) switching systems). For the offices that have the capability to provide ANI, this initiative further requires the review of Call Detail Reports to determine potential Waste, Fraud, and Abuse (WFA) of FTS long distance service. The five (5) of seven (7) types of Call Detail Reports (CDR) that have been identified to meet this objective and are only related to FTS long distance services are:

    1. Government Telephone Calls for 60 Minutes or More to Non-Government Locations.

    2. Same Non-Government Number Called 15 Times or Greater in One Month for an Aggregate of 200 Minutes or More.

    3. Same Non-Government Locations Called After Hours (8.00 PM - 4.00 AM).

    4. Cancellation Fines for Conference Calls Not Cancelled Timely.

    5. Calls Over 1,440 Minutes (1 Day).

    6. Non-Government Locations Calls to Questionable Destinations, such as, Area Code 809 (Caribbean) or 702 (Nevada).

      Note:

      The seventh criterion refers to calls made using a government issued calling card.

    7. Calling Card Calls for 60 Minutes or More to Non-Government Locations.

  5. This ANI standard shall allow the originating telephone number to be passed to the FTS network for reporting purposes on costs that meet the above criteria. For offices or employees whose work requires anonymity, use of government issued calling cards is an alternative method of placing calls and has proved to be a reliable resource, which should be considered. Refer to IRM 2.13.7,Calling Card Ordering System for more information on calling cards.

  6. There are four (4) types of outbound telephone service that have been identified to meet the ANI capability criteria for transmitting the originating caller telephone number to the long distance carrier. These services require a specific level of technological sophistication at the 1) Central Office – the telephone company; 2) the circuit level – Primary Rate Interface (PRI) Circuit; and 3) the Government Premise Equipment (GPE) level. These services include:

    1. Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service at IRS Owned government premise equipment (GPE)

    2. Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service at GSA Owned GPE

    3. Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service with Voice Over Internet Protocol

    4. Switched Outbound Voice Service (Dial One Access).

2.13.5.3.1.1.1  (03-01-2006)
Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service at IRS Owned GPE

  1. Switched Voice Service supports voice or analog data transmission and allows calls from all FTS locations to connect to all government and non-government locations via FTS. The IRS orders Primary Rate Interface (PRI) access circuits from the FTS provider to support business requirements.

  2. ANI can be implemented at IRS locations that do not require phone numbers to be displayed. This process is described in paragraph 3 of this section.

  3. IRS MITS determines which dedicated sites are capable of supporting this initiative. The customer (MITS) will work with the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) to obtain a phantom number created, assigned, and named, such as U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The phantom number created by the LEC can be the billing telephone number (BTN) or another designated number. However, the number must be a legitimate phone number and how it is named is between the customer and the LEC. The standard name to be used is U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The customer works with their GPE provider to ensure that equipment has the phantom number set up to be passed. The customer provides the required information to the FTS provider who submits a Special Customer Arrangement (SCA) for approval to pass a phantom number along the FTS network. Once the SCA has been approved through the FTS provider, an FTS service request is then submitted. The following information may be required from the FTS or the LEC provider:

    • Physical Address (including City, State, ZIP Code)

    • LEC Address (if applicable)

    • Telephone Numbers (including quantity)

    • FTS Circuit Number

    • FTS Customer ID Number

    • Phantom Number (Billing Telephone Number) or other designated number

    • FTS Provider Additional Instructions, ANI required for station level billing

    • Programming GPE.

2.13.5.3.1.1.2  (03-01-2006)
Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service at GSA Owned GPE

  1. Switched Voice Service supports voice or analog data transmission and allows calls from all FTS locations to connect to all government and non-government locations via FTS. The IRS orders access circuits from GSA to support FTS business requirements.

  2. ANI can be implemented at IRS locations that do not require telephone numbers to be displayed. This process is described in paragraph 3 of this section.

  3. IRS MITS determines which dedicated sites are capable of supporting this initiative. The customer (MITS) will work with GSA to obtain a phantom number created, assigned, and named, such as U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The phantom number created by the LEC can be the billing telephone number (BTN) or another designated number. However, the number must be a legitimate phone number and how it is named is between the customer and the LEC. The standard name to be used is U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The customer works with their GPE provider to ensure that equipment has the phantom number set up to be passed. The customer provides the required information to the FTS provider who submits a Special Customer Arrangement (SCA) for approval to pass a phantom number along the FTS network. Once the SCA has been approved through the FTS provider, an FTS service request is then submitted. The following information may be required from the FTS or the LEC provider.

    • Physical Address (including City, State, ZIP Code)

    • LEC Address (if applicable)

    • Telephone Numbers (including quantity)

    • FTS Circuit Number

    • FTS Customer ID Number

    • Phantom Number (Billing Telephone Number) or other designated number

    • FTS Provider Additional Instructions, ANI required for station level billing

    • Programming GPE.

    Note:

    Some GSA switches are old, cannot pass ANI, and are not expected to be replaced by GSA. In the event of this, the responsible office must periodically perform a cost analysis to determine if it is more cost effective to change service to switched access (Dial One). Refer to Section 2.13.5.3.1.4, Switched Outbound Voice Service (Dial One Access) for additional information.

2.13.5.3.1.1.3  (03-01-2006)
Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service with Voice Over Internet Protocol

  1. The emerging technology of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application which supports station level ANI is a timely alternative. Using VoIP will allow both Voice and Data to flow over a single physical and logical network, with the support of the data communications staff. As new technologies emerge for changing and or improving Voice Switching Systems, such as VoIP, it is expected that all MITS employees and contractors who are responsible for telecommunication services will follow the guidelines in this IRM.

  2. ANI can be implemented at IRS locations that do not require telephone numbers to be displayed. This process is described in paragraph 3 of this section.

  3. IRS MITS determines which dedicated sites are capable of supporting this initiative. This technology is similar to that described in Section 2.13.5.3.1.1.2, Dedicated FTS Switched Voice Service at GSA Owned GPE. MITS will work with the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) to obtain a phantom number created, assigned, and named, such as U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The phantom number created by the LEC can be the billing telephone number (BTN) or another designated number. However, the number must be a legitimate phone number and how it is named is between the customer and the LEC. The standard name to be used is U.S. Government, Private Number, or Unknown Number. The customer works with their GPE provider to ensure that equipment has the phantom number set up to be passed. The customer provides the required information to the FTS provider who submits a Special Customer Arrangement (SCA) for approval to pass a phantom number along the FTS network. Once the SCA has been approved through the FTS provider, an FTS service request is then submitted. The following information may be required from the FTS or the LEC provider:

    • Physical Address (including City, State, ZIP Code)

    • LEC Address (if applicable)

    • Telephone Numbers (including quantity)

    • FTS Circuit Number

    • FTS Customer ID Number

    • Phantom Number (Billing Telephone Number) or other designated number

    • FTS Provider Additional Instructions, ANI required for station level billing

    • Programming GPE.

2.13.5.3.1.1.4  (03-01-2006)
Switched Outbound Voice Service (Dial One Access)

  1. Switched Voice Service supports voice or analog data transmission and allows calls from all FTS locations to connect to all government and non-government locations via FTS. The agency orders switched access to the FTS network via the Primary Inter-exchange Carrier (PIC) process to support their business requirements.

  2. Phantom numbers cannot be used with switched (Dial One) locations; therefore, if a Business Organization, such as Criminal Investigation (CI), requires anonymity when making outgoing calls, the customer may use a government issued calling card as an alternative method for remaining anonymous when placing calls from the home or work office.

  3. The following information may be required to support ANI at Dial One locations.

    • Physical address including city, state, ZIP Code

    • Telephone Numbers (including quantity)

    • FTS Customer ID Number

    • FTS Provider may have additional instructions or specific requirements to follow for ANI required station level billing.

2.13.5.3.2  (03-01-2006)
Dedicated Transmission Service (DTS)

  1. Dedicated Transmission Service (DTS) provides a dedicated continuous connection between two fixed points or multiple fixed points. DTS T1 service is a 1.544 mbps full duplex signal carried on a single facility and is equivalent to 24 DS0 channels. T1 service uses digital access and is most frequently used for high speed, high quality voice, data, and video applications. DTS T1 service is offered in a channelized or unchannelized configuration. DTS T1 service is used for backbone networks, integrated voice, data, and video multimedia; LAN-to-LAN connectivity; bulk data transfer; and high-speed tie lines.

2.13.5.4  (03-01-2006)
Asset Validation

  1. Asset Validation consists of the following two validation processes that must be performed by the IRS.

    1. Bill Asset Reconciliation or Monthly Validation:The local FTS DAR must verify each month if the assets billed by a vendor are actually on site and active.

    2. Annual Asset Validation: The IRS must run an annual inventory check to verify that assets on record exist on site. The local FTS DAR, local manager, or an IRS designee is responsible for running these checks and verifying records.

  2. Bill Asset Reconciliation must be completed by the last business day of each month during the calendar year. An Annual Asset Validation must be completed by the last business day in the month of June. Refer to the TAT web site at http://tat.web.irs.gov/TrainingManual/TrainingManual.asp for additional information on Asset Validation.

Exhibit 2.13.5-1  (03-01-2006)
Request for Waiver

REQUEST FOR WAIVER
Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
(This request should be initiated by the Manager and submitted to the EN Director and EUES Deputy Director for approval as this Standard states or requires.)
This request is for an ANI Policy Waiver for:  
Area/Territory ___________________________________________
  Location ____________________________________
  Location ____________________________________
  Location ____________________________________
  Location ____________________________________
  Location ____________________________________
Reason for request of Specific Waiver:  
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Circumstances contributing to, or actions pending, affecting the request (if applicable):
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
     
Signed: Manager   Date
     
Signed: Director, EN (If required)   Date
     
Signed: Director, EUES (If required)   Date

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