All bid deadlines are 11:59pm Pacific Time the date of the bid deadline listed unless otherwise noted.
· 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 https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-2-responding-to-bids/lowest-corresponding-price/ 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.
· If the applicant is requesting purchases of new equipment, or maintenance of that new equipment, bids for functionally equivalent equipment will be accepted.
· LEASED LIT FIBER 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 LIT FIBER 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.
UPDATE 11/8/21: A new 470 # 220003609 has been posted. The question and bid deadlines have been extended. District needs a 50 GB connection to the Technology Center, preferably 2 aggregated handoffs. They also need a 2 GB connection to Washington JHS, not a 1 GB connection.
Category One:
Leased Lit Fiber – District is requesting the following leased lit circuits and bandwidths:
1) 10GB 50 GB to Technology Center 1210 NW Leopard Lane, Bentonville, AR 72712
2) 10GB to Technology Center 1210 NW Leopard Lane, Bentonville, AR 72712
3) 5GB to Technology Center 1210 NW Leopard Lane, Bentonville, AR 72712
4) 5GB to Bentonville West HS 1351 Gamble Rd, Centerton, AR 72719
5) 5GB to Bentonville North HS 1801 SE J St, Bentonville, AR 72712
6) 5GB to Bright Field Middle School 5101 Bright Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
7) 2GB to Grimsley JHS 850 North Vaughn Rd, Centerton, AR 72719
8) 2GB to Fulbright JHS 5303 SW Bright, Bentonville, AR 72712
9) 1GB to Old High Middle School 406 NW 2nd Street, Bentonville, AR 72712
10) 1GB 2 GB to Washington Junior High 1501 NE Wildcat Way, Bentonville, AR 72712
11) 1GB to Ruth Baker Middle School 500 SE 18th Street, Bentonville, AR 72712
12) 1GB to Elm Tree ES 101 NW Elm Tree Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
13) 1GB to Central Park at Morningstar ES 1400 SW Liberty Ave, Bentonville, AR 72712
14) 1GB to Centerton Gamble ES 1550 Gamble Rd, Centerton AR 72719
15) 1GB to Evening Star ES 9649 W Pleasant Grove Rd, Bentonville, AR 72713
16) 1GB to Maintenance Warehouse 8579 W Ford Springs Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
17) 1GB to Ignite Prof Studies 1510 N Walton Blvd, Bentonville, AR 72712
18) 1GB to Mary Mae Jones ES 500 SE 14th Street, Bentonville, AR 72712
19) 1GB to Sugar Creek ES 1102 Bella Vista Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
20) 1GB to Thomas Jefferson ES 810 Bella Vista Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
21) 1GB to Cooper ES 2 Blowing Spring Rd, Bella Vista, AR 72714
22) 1GB to Apple Glen ES 1801 Brave Ln, Bentonville AR 72712
23) 1GB to Osage Creek ES 3001 Featherston Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712
24) 1GB to Vaughn Elementary School 5301 SW Barron Rd, Bentonville, AR 72713
LEASED LIT FIBER 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 LIT FIBER 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.
Answer:
3 year term with the option to voluntarily renew for 2 additional one year terms.
Answer:
1)Is the Technology Center the district's desired hub? YES
2) Are you asking for/allowing over subscription? Basically, I'm asking if you want the sum of the parts to equal what is delivered at the hub. For example, if you wanted 1 Gb to be delivered to your 24 edge sites, then you would be asking for 24 Gb to be delivered at the hub. It is very common for districts to only clarify what they want delivered at their edge sites and to neglect to mention the hub. This allows incumbents to over-subscribe your network. Yes we are asking for over subscription.
3) Will you allow alternate contract lengths? We typically offer districts 5 and 10 year contracts. The E-Rate Special Construction Rule allows districts to drastically buy down their monthly for life. This rule is a game changer and we allow districts to pay off any remaining construction costs after Special Construction over 4 years. Using a three year contract would not allow you to take full advantage of the cost savings associated with Special Construction. Taking these savings into consideration shows 20-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as E-Rate requires. YES
4) Are you interested in bidders providing voluntary renewal pricing? We would be happy to provide multiple voluntary renewals with multiple bandwidth speeds so that the district can forecast their future bandwidth needs/costs. YES
5) Does the district have any district owned fiber and/or conduit between any of these sites? Or conduit that can be used for building entries? If so, this would lower construction costs. We want to make sure our estimate is as accurate as possible.
NO. We have moved away from our district owned fiber and should be considered 100% leased lit fiber for this bid.
Answer:
Question : 1) I know the district is looking for a 3 year contract but will you consider alternate contract lengths if they benefit the district financially? We are specifically looking for a three year contract. We typically offer districts 5 and 10 year contracts. The E-Rate Special Construction Rule allows districts to drastically buy down their monthly for life. This rule is a game changer and we allow districts to pay off any remaining construction costs after Special Construction over 4 years. Using a three year contract would not allow you to take full advantage of the cost savings associated with Special Construction. Taking these savings into consideration shows 20-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as E-Rate requires. 2) Are you interested in bidders providing voluntary renewal pricing? Yes We would be happy to provide multiple voluntary renewals with multiple bandwidth speeds so that the district can forecast their future bandwidth needs/costs without being contractually obligated. 3) Does the district have any district owned fiber and/or conduit between any of these sites? No Or conduit going into your building entries? If so, this would lower construction costs. We want to make sure our estimate is as accurate as possible. 4) Will the district consider alternate bandwidth speeds? Please bid the bandwidth requested. For example, we would like to submit an option that would start all of your edge sites at 10Gb in order to "future-proof" your network. Would this be allowed as an alternate option to the speeds that are requested in the RFP?
