Russellville School District

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

IFCB Posted : Sep 29, 2022

Bid Deadline : Thursday, Nov 10, 2022

Questions Due By : Saturday, Oct 8, 2022

Applicant Address : Russellville, AR 72801

IFCB ID : 230001620

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 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 there is a request for Internal Connections (Category Two) equipment, or Category One equipment listed on this IFCB the applicant will accept bids for functionally equivalent equipment.

· E-rate rules require applicants to evaluate the cost of eligible goods and services, and to cost-allocate out the amount for ineligible services from their funding request. If your company will be bidding internet access service, please identify the amount to be cost-allocated out for the ineligible services – email service, web hosting, content filtering, or other bundled ineligible services.

· INTERNET ACCESS 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.

· INTERNET ACCESS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Bids submitted for services to an incorrect address will be disqualified.

· 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: Bids submitted for services to incorrect addresses will be disqualified.

Services and Equipment Requested :

Category 1

Internet Access: District currently has 1 GB bandwidth, but is considering upgrading. Please submit bids for 3 GB bandwidth. Terminating address for this circuit is 1006 S Arkansas Ave, Russellville AR 72801.

E-rate rules require applicants to evaluate the cost of eligible goods and services, and to cost-allocate out the amount for ineligible services from their funding request. If your company will be bidding internet access service, please identify the amount to be cost-allocated out for the ineligible services – email service, web hosting, content filtering, or other bundled ineligible services.

INTERNET ACCESS 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.

INTERNET ACCESS DISQUALIFICATION FACTOR: Bids submitted for services to an incorrect address will be disqualified.

Leased Lit Fiber – 12 connections. See below for bandwidth needed for each site. District would prefer a 3-year contract term. All circuits originate at the Data Center, 1006 S Arkansas Ave, Russellville, AR 72801:

1. Center Valley Elementary 5401 SR 124 Russellville, AR 72802 – 2 GB bandwidth

2. Crawford Elementary 1116 N Parker Rd Russellville, AR 72801 – 2 GB bandwidth

3. Dwight Elementary 1300 West 2^nd Place Russellville, AR 72801 – 2 GB bandwidth

4. London Elementary 154 School Street London, AR 72847 – 2 GB bandwidth

5. Oakland Heights Elementary 1501 S Detroit Street Russellville, AR 72801 – 2 Gb bandwidth

6. Sequoyah Elementary 1601 W 12^th Street Russellville, AR 72801 – 2 GB Bandwidth

7. Russellville Intermediate School 1201 West 4^th Place Russellville, AR 72801 – 3 GB bandwidth

8. Russellville Middle School 1203 West 4^th Place Russellville, AR 72801 – 5 GB bandwidth

9. Russellville Junior High School 2000 West Parkway Russellville, AR 72801– 5 GB bandwidth

10. Russellville High School 2203 S Knoxville Ave Russellville, AR 72801– 5 GB bandwidth

11. RSD Transportation Complex 1002 S Denver, Russellville, AR 72801 – 1 GB bandwidth

12. RSD Maintenance Facility 1405 S Oswego, Russellville, AR 72801 – 1 GB bandwidth

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: Bids submitted for services to incorrect addresses will be disqualified.

Bid deadline has been reached.

Questions Received with Applicant Answers ( Ask Questions? )

1) Are all of your WAN services expiring June 30, 2023 or are some sites expiring June 30, 2024? Please confirm the desired delivery date. 2) The IFCB requests both Internet and Leased Lit Fiber. Are both services required in a proposal? Is there any disadvantage if only bidding Leased Lit Fiber and not Internet? 3) The IFCB says the district prefers an initial 3-year term. Will the district consider (without penalty) longer initial terms such as 5-year and 10-year initial terms for greater cost savings? 4) Please explain the 470's Installment payment plan Range of 4 - 4 Years. Is the District asking for or open to a Special Construction option? And if the initial term is 3 years, would the district be seeking a 3-year payment term and 4-year payment plan for longer initial term proposals, if longer terms are acceptable? 5) Please clarify the 470's Category One Service Request, third line item, for 25Gpbs-50Gbps. Is this for Leased Lit Fiber? 6) To ensure optics compatibility, please confirm the make and model of the equipment at each district location (LAN switch). 7) Does the district have a topology preference? What is the district's current topology? (hub-spoke, ring, etc.) 8) For the Leased Lit Fiber solutions, does the sum of the parts (at each edge site) need to equal what is delivered to the hub? Do you permit oversubscription? By oversubscription, I'm asking do you allow the vendor to deliver less at the hub than the total of the bandwidth offered at each of the edge sites added together? 9) Will you share the scoring matrix and criteria against which vendors will be evaluated?

Answer:

1. The leased lit fiber to our warehouse and bus yard expires in March 2025. Our campus connections expire this year.

2. No, both services are not required. You can bid either or both.

3. I would consider a 5-year term if the savings were considerable. Otherwise, a 3-year term is standard.

4. If there are construction costs in the bid, we may want to spread out the district’s payment over a four year period.

5. The 25-50 Gbps request is for an aggregating circuit back to the hub, if necessary.

6. We use HP/Aruba switch gear. Preferred handoff is single mode fiber.

7. Hub-spoke.

8. Yes, the sum of all parts must equal what is delivered to the hub.

9. Yes

Question deadline has been reached.