Stuttgart School District

All bid deadlines are 11:59pm Pacific Time the date of the bid deadline listed unless otherwise noted.

IFCB Posted : Jan 26, 2018

Bid Deadline : Monday, Mar 5, 2018

Questions Due By : Monday, Feb 5, 2018

Applicant Address : Stuggart, AR 72160

IFCB ID : 180019618

IFCB Requirements :

· All Questions and Bids must be submitted using the on-line IFCB system. If for some reason the system is down before the respective deadline, please email your bid to info@crwconsulting.com or fax it to 918.445.0049. Bids or questions submitted in this fashion will be disqualified if the on-line system is active at the time of submission.

· Bidder must agree to participate in USF Program (AKA “E-rate”) for the corresponding funding year.

· Please include the correct Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) on your bid.

· By submitting a bid, bidder certifies that the bidder does have a valid (non-red light status) SPIN for the E-rate program at the time of submission. Should the Applicant discover that the bidder is on red light status, or if the FCC classifies the bidder as on red-light status before work is performed and invoices are paid, the contract will be null and void and the applicant will have no payment obligations to the bidder.

· Bidder is expected to provide the lowest corresponding price per E-rate rules. See http://www.usac.org/sl/service-providers/step02/lowest-corresponding-price.aspx for details.

· Contracts must not prohibit SPIN changes.

· Bidder must agree to provide the Applicant the choice of discount methods (SPI or BEAR).

· Bidder will be automatically disqualified if the District determines that the bidding company has offered any employee of the District any individual gift of more than $20 or gifts totaling more than $50 within a 12 month period.

· All contracts awarded will be contingent upon E-rate funding and final board approval. The applicant may choose to do all or part of the project upon funding notification.

· All contracts awarded under this IFCB bidding process may be voluntarily renewed by the applicant, upon written notice to the provider, for five consecutive one year terms. Please include this language in your final contract.

· All applicable fees, surcharges, and taxes must be identified on the bid. E-rate rules require the applicants to evaluate the price of eligible goods and services that will be listed on the 471 application during the competitive bidding process. Fees and surcharges that apply but are not listed on the bid will be the responsibility of the bidding company, should their bid be awarded.

· The winning vendor will be required to complete the USAC approved Item 21 template for the project within 7 working days after notification that the vendor has won the bid.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors must complete and include the C1 and C2 Cover Page with their bid. Bids received without the cover page will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Service providers are required to bid the entire hardware project/upgrade. Bids for individual components of the project/upgrade will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: It will be the bidder’s responsibility to provide documentation about the compatibility requirements listed in this IFCB. Vendors that submit bids without documentation demonstrating the required compatibility listed in this IFCB will have their bids disqualified, unless that vendor has bid the preferred make/model number listed.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Applicant will not accept bids for refurbished equipment. Any bids containing refurbished equipment will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Bids that include equipment that was manufactured for use outside of the United States will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC: Service providers are required to bid the entire hardware project/upgrade. Bids for individual components of the project/upgrade will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC: Vendors must complete and include the C1 and C2 Cover Page with their bid. Bids received without the cover page will be disqualified.

· DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC - Maintenance bids listing only an hourly rate and not a monthly or annual total will be disqualified. Vendors quoting an hourly rate are required to also a) confirm that you have the ability/expertise to maintain all of the equipment listed and b) propose a number of hours at a particular rate monthly to properly maintain the entire list of equipment. Bids that contain only hourly rates, without confirmation that the company can service the list of equipment, or without a monthly total will be disqualified.

Services and Equipment Requested :

UPDATE: 2/15/18 4:01PM- The bid deadline has been extended until 3/5/18.

UPDATE: 1/29/18 11:06AM-The request for 10G SM LR Optic HPE X132 10G SFP +LC LR Transceiver part number J9151A or equivalent at each site on category one equipment, is not needed. Please disregard the request for those items and do not bid them.

Category One Modulating Electronics - District is requesting 4 switches for their fiber network that they own. There is another document associated with this IFCB available for download that details the equipment the applicant wishes to purchase. The document lists equipment that the applicant prefers – they will also accept functional equivalents of said items.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR C1 Modulating Electronics: Vendors must complete and include the C1 and C2 Cover Page with their bid. Bids received without the cover page will be disqualified.

INTERNAL CONNECTIONS

INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: There is another document associated with this IFCB available for download that details the equipment the applicant wishes to purchase. The document lists equipment that the applicant prefers – they will also accept functional equivalents of said items.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

The intent of this project is to update the existing school district data network with Ethernet switches, wireless access points, Cat6 data cabling, and fiber optic cabling to improve functionality and to establish a uniform manufacturer standard for management efficiency. District is also requesting a multi-year category two contract. Want to add to the RFP that existing equipment such as switches as wireless access points will be valued and taken as trade in to apply toward the non-discounted portion that our school district will be paying (non ERate discount portion). Please indicate if your company will accept trade-ins on your bid. Installation, activation, and configuration will be needed.

VOLUNTARY SITE VISIT

Vendors wishing to bid on internal connections can attend a voluntary site visit one day February 1^st beginning at 8AM. Vendors will meet at 2501 S Main St., Stuttgart, AR 72160.

COMPATIBILITY REQUIREMENT

All requested equipment must be compatible with Aruba 2920 switches.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: It will be the bidder’s responsibility to provide documentation about the compatibility requirements listed in this IFCB. Vendors that submit bids without documentation demonstrating the required compatibility listed in this IFCB will have their bids disqualified, unless that vendor has bid the preferred make/model number listed.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors must complete and include the C1 and C2 Cover Page with their bid. Bids received without the cover page will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Service providers are required to bid the entire hardware project/upgrade. Bids for individual components of the project/upgrade will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Applicant will not accept bids for refurbished equipment. Any bids containing refurbished equipment will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Bids that include equipment that was manufactured for use outside of the United States will be disqualified.

BASIC MAINTENANCE OF INTERNAL CONNECTIONS

BASIC MAINTENANCE OF INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: There is another document associated with this IFCB available for download that lists the equipment to be maintained.

PROJECT NARRATIVE

District is seeking a management solution cloud, or on premise for daily management performed by Stuttgart Schools, tech support, and software updates for WAPs.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC: Service providers are required to bid the entire hardware project/upgrade. Bids for individual components of the project/upgrade will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC: Vendors must complete and include the C1 and C2 Cover Page with their bid. Bids received without the cover page will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC - Maintenance bids listing only an hourly rate and not a monthly or annual total will be disqualified. Vendors quoting an hourly rate are required to also a) confirm that you have the ability/expertise to maintain all of the equipment listed and b) propose a number of hours at a particular rate monthly to properly maintain the entire list of equipment. Bids that contain only hourly rates, without confirmation that the company can service the list of equipment, or without a monthly total will be disqualified.

There is an additional document associated with this IFCB. Please click the buttons to download the document.

2018C2BiddingInstructions9563.docx
StuttgartC1andC2COVERPAGE.pdf
StuttgartIFCBDocumentsandFloorPlans.zip

Bid deadline has been reached.

Questions Received with Applicant Answers ( Ask Questions? )

Q- On all the spread sheets, They are all named with each school but when you go to print each one, the header on all have Park Avenue elementary.

Answer:
The excel files are named according to the proper schools. Please ignore any header that may appear when printing as it may be incorrect.

Will you be replacing your existing Aerohive AP's with Aruba AP's

Answer:
All existing wireless access points will be replaced by Aruba APs or equivalent.

Would you prefer plenum or riser rated cable? Would you prefer CAT6 or CAT6a cable? Would it be acceptable to leverage an armored indoor/outdoor fiber cable in the place of the specified EMT conduit? It's our understanding the district wishes to leave the existing CAT5 cabling in place. Will the district require the vendor to do anything else with the existing cable? Does the district wish to have the vendor terminate all existing cable into the new patch panels, along with the new data cable runs or do you only want terminations for the new data runs in the new patch panels?

Answer:

Would you prefer plenum or riser rated cable?

Plenum rated as specified on Sheet T2, General Notes, note G

Would you prefer CAT6 or CAT6a cable?

CAT 6

Would it be acceptable to leverage an armored indoor/outdoor fiber cable in the place of the specified EMT conduit?

Please bid fiber in EMT conduit as specified in fiber plans

It's our understanding the district wishes to leave the existing CAT5 cabling in place. Will the district require the vendor to do anything else with the existing cable?

District doesn't require vendor to do anything with existing cabling

Does the district wish to have the vendor terminate all existing cable into the new patch panels, along with the new data cable runs or do you only want terminations for the new data runs in the new patch panels?

Vendor will only terminate new cable runs into new patch panels. Existing cabling will be left alone.

For the fiber between MDF and IDF locations, could armored fiber be used in place of fiber in conduit?

Answer:
Please bid fiber in EMT conduit only

Thank you for the opportunity to walk through the District and better understand your needs. We have a couple questions with regards to providing our bid. 1. Do the existing underground conduits have sufficient space for pulling in the new fibers? 2. Are these existing conduits in functional shape and passable to pull in new fiber? 3. Is the existing fiber to stay in place or can it be cleared in order to free space in the existing conduit if necessary? 4. The bid calls for EMT conduit everywhere inside the facilities for the new fiber. Would the District like to consider the optional price of armored fiber in place of the EMT conduit? 5. Would the District like to have an option for Cat6A cabling, capable of 10Gig instead of just 1Gig Cat6? 6. We are installing new patch panels but much of the existing cabling is direct connected in the IDF locations. Do we need to re-terminate the head end of these cables? If so, what is the quantity that we will need to re-terminate? 7. Do we need to supply patch cords for this project or will the District be supplying their own? If so, do we supply head end, field end, or both? 8. The plans call for "Direct Attach Modified Permanent Link" and shows a patch panel on the head end but an RJ45 plug on the field end. This reduces longevity and may not carry warranties that the standard RJ45 keystone jack would. Should we provide an option for upgrading to traditional terminations as well? 9. What warranties are being requested with the fiber and cabling? 10. How many years of support are requested with the wireless solution? 1yr, 3yr, or 5yr? Thank you, we look forward to the opportunity to serve!

Answer:

1. Do the existing underground conduits have sufficient space for pulling in the new fibers?

Existing conduit should have plenty of space

2. Are these existing conduits in functional shape and passable to pull in new fiber?

Existing conduits should be in functional shape and passable for new fiber pull

3. Is the existing fiber to stay in place or can it be cleared in order to free space in the existing conduit if necessary?

Existing fiber is to remain. If existing fiber causes a problem and hinders the install of new cabling, it may then be removed to free up space for the new fiber.

4. The bid calls for EMT conduit everywhere inside the facilities for the new fiber. Would the District like to consider the optional price of armored fiber in place of the EMT conduit?

Only bid EMT conduit

5. Would the District like to have an option for Cat6A cabling, capable of 10Gig instead of just 1Gig Cat6?

Only bid CAT6 plenum, cabling

6. We are installing new patch panels but much of the existing cabling is direct connected in the IDF locations. Do we need to re-terminate the head end of these cables? If so, what is the quantity that we will need to re-terminate?

Only new cabling will be terminated in new patch panels, existing will be direct connected

7. Do we need to supply patch cords for this project or will the District be supplying their own? If so, do we supply head end, field end, or both?

District will provide their own data patch cables. Refer to Fiber plans sections for qty of fiber patch cables.

8. The plans call for "Direct Attach Modified Permanent Link" and shows a patch panel on the head end but an RJ45 plug on the field end. This reduces longevity and may not carry warranties that the standard RJ45 keystone jack would. Should we provide an option for upgrading to traditional terminations as well?

RJ45 jack on end, which will be below ceiling for AP

9. What warranties are being requested with the fiber and cabling?

Just standard, no extended

10. How many years of support are requested with the wireless solution? 1yr, 3yr, or 5yr? Thank you, we look forward to the opportunity to serve!

5 year support

Two more clarifications please. 1. During the walk-through the statement was made that there were no plenum spaces and no cable would be plenum. An above answer shows all cable must be Cat6 plenum cable. Please clarify which we should supply. 2. The RJ45 plug vs. the RJ45 jack question shows that field end terminations shall be an RJ45 jack. Do you want this keystone RJ45 jack in a housing or raw connected at the end of the Cat6 cable. Thank you!

Answer:

1. During the walk-through the statement was made that there were no plenum spaces and no cable would be plenum. An above answer shows all cable must be Cat6 plenum cable. Please clarify which we should supply.

Please bid plenum cable at referenced on Sheet T2, General Notes, Note G

2. The RJ45 plug vs. the RJ45 jack question shows that field end terminations shall be an RJ45 jack. Do you want this keystone RJ45 jack in a housing or raw connected at the end of the Cat6 cable. Thank you!

Please refer to Sheet E-19 as it shows RJ45 plug on end plugging directly into WiFi AP. So install plug, not jack

Question deadline has been reached.