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

school Alma School District 30
IFCB Posted : Nov 27, 2020
Bid Deadline : Friday, Jan 22, 2021

Questions Due By : Tuesday, Dec 22, 2020
Applicant Address : Alma, AR 72921
IFCB ID : 210005831

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. This does not apply to the recent FCC exemptions of the Gift Rule for the COVID pandemic.

 

·         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.

 

·         LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Any and all installation charges must be identified on your bid. If you submit a bid indicating that installation charges may apply without listing those charges, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

 

·         LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Vendors must bid all connections. If vendors submit a bid missing any connection, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

 

·         DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS: Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting will be disqualified.

 

·         SELF PROVISIONED NETWORK DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Vendors must bid all connections. If vendors submit a bid missing any connection, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

·         SELF PROVISIONED NETWORK DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting will be disqualified.

 

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

 

·         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: Bids from companies that include equipment barred by the Federal Communications Commission due to national security risks (such as ZTE or Huawei) will be disqualified.

·         DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors must complete and include the 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.  Bids for individual components of the project will be disqualified.

 

·         DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting 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 BMIC BOTH PROJECTS: Service providers are required to bid the entire hardware project.  Bids for individual components of the project will be disqualified.

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

·         DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC BOTH PROJECTS: 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 12/21/2020 - Additional maps are now available to download.

UPDATE 12/15/2020 - Additional maps are now available to download.

UPDATE 12/11/2020 - Final vendor answers and copper drop maps are now available to download.

UPDATE 12/10/2020 - We have filed a new 470 #210008022 because the Middle School location was left off of the original 470. Vendors that attended a mandatory site visit from the first 470 (time period 12/7-12/11) are NOT required to attend another mandatory site visit. Vendors that did not attend a mandatory site visit during the original 12/7-12/11 time period now have two additional options to attend a manadatory site visit. Vendors can email erate@almasd.net to receive an invitation for a virtual visit to be held on December 21, 2020 at 8:15 am. The second option is to attend an in person visit on December 22, 2020 at 10:00am. Question and bid deadlines have been extended.

12/8/2020 - Q&A and updated maps have been added, as well as the C2 list with typos corrected.

UPDATE 12/3/20: Please use the Google calendar link to schedule a site visit 
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/selfsched?sstoken=UUF4a2NESWZva285fGRlZmF1bHR8M2IwYmQ2ZDcwMDJmMzJiNjQ5YzU5NzhiOGNkOTgwY2M

 


UPDATE 12/3/20 - Maps/floor plans for wiring have been added

Category 1

MANDATORY SITE VISIT

Vendors wishing to submit bids for the leased wide area network circuits must attend a mandatory site visit. The site visits will be held from December 7, 2020 through December 11, 2020. Times will be available on those dates from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Vendors should email  erate@almasd.net  to set up a time for a site visit. THIS EMAIL IS TO SET AN APPOINTMENT ONLY. ALL QUESTIONS AND BIDS MUST STILL BE SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB. BIDS NOT SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

 

Leased Wide Area Network Circuits4 5 connections any delivery/technology type. Leased dark fiber bidders should bid 2 strands. Leased lit fiber bidders should bid 1 GB, 10 GB, 40 GB, and 100 GB bandwidths.

Administration (HUB) – 916 Hwy 64 East
Annex/Data Center – 1023 Hwy 64 East
Alma Primary School – 1600 Hwy 64 East
Alma High School – 101 East Main Street
Alma Intermediate School – 1220 Collum Lane
Alma Middle School - 706 Hwy 64 East

LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Any and all installation charges must be identified on your bid. If you submit a bid indicating that installation charges may apply without listing those charges, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Vendors must bid all connections. If vendors submit a bid missing any connection, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR LEASED WIDE AREA NETWORK CIRCUITS: Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting will be disqualified.

 

MANDATORY SITE VISIT

Vendors wishing to submit bids for the self-provisioned network must attend a mandatory site visit. The site visits will be held from December 7, 2020 through December 11, 2020. Times will be available on those dates from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Vendors should email  erate@almasd.net  to set up a time for a site visit. THIS EMAIL IS TO SET AN APPOINTMENT ONLY. ALL QUESTIONS AND BIDS MUST STILL BE SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB. BIDS NOT SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

 

Self-Provisioned Networks: The district will accept bids for any type of technology that can achieve our connectivity goals (fiber, wireless, etc.). There is currently an existing pathway. Vendors must coordinate with the district to conduct the pulling of existing fiber and installation of new fiber over a school holiday, weekend or after hours to reduce the chances of district down-time.

Administration (HUB) – 916 Hwy 64 East
Annex/Data Center – 1023 Hwy 64 East
Alma Primary School – 1600 Hwy 64 East
Alma High School – 101 East Main Street
Alma Intermediate School – 1220 Collum Lane
Alma Middle School - 706 Hwy 64 East

SELF PROVISIONED NETWORK DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Vendors must bid all connections. If vendors submit a bid missing any connection, we will consider your bid incomplete and disqualify your bid.

SELF PROVISIONED NETWORK DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR:
Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting will be disqualified.

 

Category 1 Network Equipment:

Type of Equipment

Quantity Vendor Should Bid

 

Preferred Make/Model

Switch

1

HP 5406 Rz12 with 8 -port SFP+ module (J9538A) or functional equivalent

Antennas, Connectors and Related Components

28

10 Gb SFP+ transceivers (J9151D) or functional equivalent

Antennas, Connectors and Related Components

28

2m SM LC fiber patch cables

 

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

 

Operations and Maintenance Services – 4 connections, all from hub at Administration, 916 Hwy 64 East to the following:

Annex/Data Center – 1023 Hwy 64 East
Alma Primary School – 1600 Hwy 64 East
Alma High School – 101 East Main Street
Alma Intermediate School – 1220 Collum Lane

 

Category 2

Internal connections – There is another document associated with this IFCB available for download which lists the equipment requested. District will accept functional equivalent of all items. The district’s goal is to provide district wide fiber backbone for “as long as possible” future-proof upgrade to entire wired infrastructure. District has new construction at the High School. The district will be replacing existing wired plant (aging Cat 5, non-plenum) with Cat6 plenum. The district is requesting a multi-year contract from the bid winner. The project may be broken out to different stages which might take multiple years. Installation, configuration, written (electronic) documentation, training for handoff on all switches will be needed.

MANDATORY SITE VISIT

Vendors wishing to submit bids for the category two project must attend a mandatory site visit. The site visits will be held from December 7, 2020 through December 11, 2020. Times will be available on those dates from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Vendors should email  erate@almasd.net  to set up a time for a site visit. THIS EMAIL IS TO SET AN APPOINTMENT ONLY. ALL QUESTIONS AND BIDS MUST STILL BE SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB. BIDS NOT SUBMITTED VIA THE IFCB WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

NOTE: We are requesting switch licenses on this IFCB, which sometimes may be categorized as BMIC or MIBS by USAC (the BMIC and MIBS boxes on the 470 have been checked to cover this scenario).

 

COMPATIBILITY REQUIREMENT

All equipment must be compatible with HP or compatible programming language. 

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: Bids from companies that include equipment barred by the Federal Communications Commission due to national security risks (such as ZTE or Huawei) will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors must complete and include the 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.  Bids for individual components of the project will be disqualified.

 

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS: Vendors who wish to bid must attend a mandatory site visit. Vendors who submit a bid but have not attended a meeting will be disqualified.

 

Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (BMIC)

Project A – District would manufacturer’s support on equipment on the equipment requested under internal connections on this IFCB.

Project B – District would like 4 hours supper per month on equipment on the equipment requested under internal connections on this IFCB.

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

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

DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR BMIC BOTH PROJECTS: 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.

 

Questions Received with Applicant Answers   ( Ask Questions? )




Category 2: Do we have to bid fiber cabling AND network equipment? Category 2: Is all MMF and SMF internal with NO outside cabling? Category 2: Will maps showing ALL Cat6 locations, showing MMF/SMF cabling be provided during site visit?

Answer:

Do we have to bid fiber cabling AND network equipment?  YES, ALL ITEMS ON THE C2 SPREADSHEET MUST BE BID TO BE COMPLETE AND NOT DISQUALIFED

Is all MMF and SMF internal with NO outside cabling? YES

Will maps showing ALL Cat6 locations, showing MMF/SMF cabling be provided during site visit?  YES

For the Cat 2 UPSs: • Is there a particular UPS model that is being requested? • If switches will be connected, how many PoE devices will a given switch stack be supporting? • Are the PoE devices just access points or will it have phones and cameras supporting? As it relates to the Cat 2 racks: o Wall mount of freestanding? o Number of rack spaces/units required * Open or enclosed?

Answer:

For the Cat 2 UPSs: 

• Is there a particular UPS model that is being requested? no particular brand required. 

• If switches will be connected, how many PoE devices will a given switch stack be supporting?  no more than 48 per rack

• Are the PoE devices just access points or will it have phones and cameras supporting?  phones and access points, no cameras. no more than 24 per rack  

As it relates to the Cat 2 racks: 

o Wall mount of freestanding? wall mount

o Number of rack spaces/units required 21

* Open or enclosed?  open

Alma School District indicates that their contract can be voluntarily renewed by the applicant, upon written notice to the provider, for five consecutive one year terms. Are they open to proposals for 5-year and 10-year initial terms with the voluntary extensions on the end of the initial term? Thanks so much for your response. Denice Weybrew WANRack

Answer:
we are open to 5 year and 10 year initial terms with extensions

Which location should we go to for the start of a site visit?

Answer:

1023 hwy 64 east alma ar 72921

Dec 14 - Can you post a downloadable IFCB for Category 1?

Answer:

All of the documents we have available have already been posted. I’m not sure what you mean by a downloadable IFCB. You should be able to print to PDF, I think.

For leased lit fiber bids of 10 Gbps to the schools, will you be able to accept a single 100 Gbps interface at the Admin? For leased lit fiber bids of 40 Gbps, will you be able to accept a 100 Gbps interface provisioned at 40 Gbps at each remote site? Will you be able to accept multiple 100 Gbps interfaces at the Admin?

Answer:
Yes, all of that is fine

On the Middle School MDF rack ¼ upper library. It says they want a 12 slot chassis with only 4 SFP+ fiber ports. Is there a reason you are requesting a 12 slot chassis for only 4 SFP+ ports?

Answer:

that rack is the center and most populated rack in the building, it serves 96 + 1gb ports currently and has a 12 slot chassis now. it will serve out fiber to only 2 other racks.