Why GAO Did This Study
“The federal government relies on an extensive global telecommunications network to carry out operations and provide information to the public. These networks and call centers, which handle public inquiries, are often maintained or supported by contractors. Concerns have been raised about the extent to which federal contractors are subcontracting or offshoring work, and have in place worker protections and mechanisms to secure the technologies and the data they handle.”
“GAO was asked to review aspects of contracting for federal telecommunications and call centers, including the extent of subcontracting and offshoring. This report provides information on, among other things (1) federal obligations on telecommunications and call center contracts, (2) worker protections identified in selected contracts, and (3) data security and privacy protections identified in selected contracts…”
What GAO Found
“The federal government obligated over $30 billion for telecommunications contracts and almost $4 billion for call center contracts from fiscal years 2014 through 2018. On average for the 5-year period, telecommunications and call center obligations were a nominal portion of total federal spending—accounting for 1.2 percent and less than 0.2 percent, respectively. Defense agency obligations accounted for the majority of federal telecommunications spending to support a range of information capabilities across the full spectrum of military operations. The Department of Health and Human Services accounted for the majority of call center obligations to support customer inquiries about Medicare and the health insurance marketplace, among other services.”
“Federal procurement data systems do not collect information that can provide insight into the extent of subcontracting or offshoring—including for telecommunications and call center contracts—because they were not designed to do so. GAO’s review of selected contracts found that four of the five contracts expressly stated that some or all work must be performed within the continental United States or by U.S. citizens…”
Access the full 43-page report here.
Source: Telecommunications and Call Centers: Observations on Federal Contracting Practices – April 13, 2020. GAO.
