FCC Again Seeks Outside Help to Run DTV Call Center
The FCC again is seeking help running its DTV-switch call center (CD March 12 p1) as the deadline approaches for full-power broadcasters to cut off analog signals. In a request for quotation updated Monday, the commission sought a vendor to help answer calls to 888-CALL-FCC from April 15 through June and possibly beyond. The commission will spend some of the $86.5 million in economic stimulus money it’s getting for DTV education to pay a contractor. The request didn’t state the amount.
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In January, IBM got a $12 million contract from the commission to handle calls the week of Feb. 17, the original analog cutoff deadline. An IBM spokeswoman didn’t reply to messages seeking comment. The new RFQ seeks a contractor to answer viewers’ questions in relation to the new deadline, June 12, including how to install digital converter boxes and receive digital signals. The FCC probably soon will issue at least one more request for quotation, for “grassroots” and other groups to do converter-box installations in homes and to run walk-in centers, commission officials said. An FCC spokesman declined to comment on the contracting process.
888-CALL-FCC should be staffed 8 a.m. to midnight Eastern time daily, the request said. Some government officials had complained that call centers weren’t open long enough hours before Feb. 17 and calls were missed. The commission has expanded capacity at the centers, “which had been criticized by FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell and others for having busy signals, long wait times, and a high number of dropped calls,” said a staff memo to members of the House Communications Subcommittee ahead of Thursday’s DTV oversight hearing. (See the separate report in this issue.) In the week before Feb. 17, the FCC increased staffing to more than 2,500 specialists, the memo said. They answered 119,000 calls Feb. 13-Feb. 18, it said.
The winning vendor should answer at least 80 percent of calls within 20 seconds, and operators should be prepared for 30 percent of calls to come from Spanish speakers, the request said. “The contractor shall provide qualified personnel in sufficient quantities to perform this task, including agents, project management, and support staff,” it said. “The contractor shall demonstrate that they have the capability to scale up to 4,000 agents” and can deal with “unpredictable call patterns,” the request said. Responses are due Wednesday.
Because stimulus money will pay for the call center, vendors must expect heightened oversight, FCC officials said. The winning vendor must provide access to records to the Government Accountability Office or the FCC Inspector General and submit quarterly reports on how the money is being spent and how many jobs were created, the request said. Call logs will offer 25 categories, including problems receiving a station’s signal, holding an expired NTIA converter box coupon, failing to re-scan the box to get digital transmissions and not understanding box setup instructions, it said.