1. Why is NISN making this change to VoTS usage billing?

Answer:
The Office of Space Communications was asked to provide a suggestion as to potential funding contribution to the NASA Administrator’s reserve. Space Communications suggested that the VoTS usage charges be billed to the centers beginning in FY08, and the budget currently allocated to Space Communications for this service would be provided for the Administrator’s Reserve. This proposal was accepted.

2. When will VoTS usage charges be billed to the centers?

Answer:
NISN will fund VoTs usage for FY 08.

3. How will I receive billing for VoTS usage charges?

Answer:
Billing for VoTS usage charges will be billed to each center via the Intra-governmental Payments and Collection (IPAC) process. This is the same process currently used to bill centers for Switched Voice Services and Video Teleconferencing Service (ViTS) usage.

4. When will I expect to see the first occurrence of VoTS usage charges on the IPAC bill?

Answer:
GSA billing to NASA runs 4-6 weeks in arrears. Therefore, costs for October 2007 would not be seen until the December 2007 IPAC bill.

5. How can I determine what my VoTS usage charges for my center will be?

Answer:
A spreadsheet showing actual and projected VoTS usage is provided at VoTS Usage. Centers may use this information in determining the projected costs for FY08 and out-years. Centers will need to account for growth/reduction of project activity and personnel at their centers to determine if their usage will increase/decrease. Additionally, NISN uses a 3% budget escalation factor per year, but centers may choose to use the budget escalation factor established by their center. NISN recommends that centers continue to use the $.06/minute usage rate in making their budget projections.

6. Is the $.06/minute rate the same regardless of the VoTS service level (Premier, Standard, Unattended, and Instant Meeting)?

Answer:
The $.06/minute is the same regardless of the service level; however, Premier and Standard have a setup fee of $1.31/participant. Therefore, total costs for those conferences are higher. Instant Meeting account subscriptions over 50 ports also carry a monthly fee. Additional information can be provided as requested.

7. Is the $.06/minute rate expected to increase or decrease in the out-years?

Answer:
NISN currently uses the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Technology Service (FTS) 2001 contract to obtain Voice Teleconferencing bridging services. Historically, the service charges have decreased. For example, over the last few years, NISN has worked to reduce costs from $.30/minute for Premier service level down to the current $.06/minute level for all service levels. NISN’s goal is to continue to negotiate the lowest rate possible as GSA transitions to the FTS2001 follow-on contract, Networx. Networx is expected to be in place in 2007.

8. How will the budget that is currently used to pay for VoTS usage, be split between the centers?

Answer:
The budget will not be provided to the centers. The budget currently used to provide VoTS usage for the Agency will be provided to the Administrator’s reserve.

9. This change in billing will necessitate me charging back to my customers at my center. To what level can you provide usage information?

Answer:
Currently, NISN can provide the VoTS usage by service levels (Premier, Standard, Unattended, and Instant Meeting), cancellation charges and Instant Meeting account holders at your center. NISN is working with the service vendor to provide greater detail of the customer. NISN will not be able to provide down to the badge level of a user, but we are working to provide down to the telephone number of the user. A center specific usage details package is being developed, and more information will be forthcoming on this activity.

10. This change will create a budget hardship at my center. To whom can we escalate this concern?

Answer:
Please direct electronic mail to Ms. Betsy Edwards; betsy.edwards@nasa.gov

11. When will NISN provide voice over IP (VoIP) services?

Answer:
NISN is exploring the VoIP technology and will be ready to support the technology once the Agency decides to implement it across the NASA Centers.

12. Describe the process and expected timeline for intra-NASA transfers of funding from the Centers to gain NISN services. Differentiate between project and institutional funding.

Answer:
The budget analyst completes a NASA form 506 in order to send intra-NASA transfers. This process can take up to 30 days since it has to travel through NASA Headquarters. Once the 506 is received at MSFC, Denise Smithers is notified that funds are available for use. Project funding is direct funding earmarked for specific projects such as Shuttle, Station, NACC, EOS etc Institutional funds are funds that support the infrastructure of NASA such as Service pools, Center G&A and Corporate G&A. This funds transfer process only applies to Project funding.

13. What services does NISN offer and who exactly provides them?

Answer:
The NISN Services are described in the NISN Services Document. Each Service has both a Civil Service and UNITeS Contractor Service Owner identified (link to Service Owners Page). If you have questions or problems with a specific Service that your Customer Service Representative cannot answer or resolve please feel free to contact the appropriate Service Owner.

14. How are services paid for and, if I need to send money, who does it go to and how do I send it?

Answer:
Services are paid for in 2 ways: either Core or Customer funded. The Core funding is money that comes directly from Headquarters to Doralee Searcy in order to fund the core NISN services. Customer funding is funding that customers send in order to have services rendered. This funding is sent to Denise Smithers. It is sent via NASA form 506.

15. What is the difference between NISN and ODIN, and what is their working relationship?

Answer:
Primarily, NISN provides data, voice, and video networking services between NASA locations. ODIN provides networking services within a NASA center.