RFP for 2015 E-Rate Funded Wireless Upgrade Project at Four Locations In Thomasville City Schools RFP Reference# 2015Wireless Cabling Contact Mike Ingram Chief Information Officer Thomasville City Schools 336-474-4243 ingramm@tcs.k12.nc.us
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Thomasville City Schools requests proposals from qualified vendors to provide E-rate eligible products and services, per the specifications and timelines detailed in this document. Details are provided below on the Request for Proposal (RFP) outlining the eligible product(s) and service(s) sought by the district, and proposal submission requirements in accordance with N.C.G.S. 143-129.8. Note the following very important items in order for the proposal to be considered: a. All prospective vendors must follow the requirements related to the competitive bidding process described in Section 3. b. All submission criteria described in Section 4 must be followed. Proposals will be evaluated with price of the eligible components as the primary consideration. All vendors should give the lowest competitive prices as required by E-Rate rules/guidelines. An example of the evaluation matrix is included in Section 5. The district reserves the right to reject any proposals or any portion of submitted proposals based on the evaluation criteria, and to make any and all purchases to the best interest and advantage of Thomasville City Schools (TCS). SECTION 2 REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO E-RATE PROGRAM The proposal shall cover E-Rate Funding Year 2015 (July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016). As such, bidders shall note and include the following required items: 1. All bidders must have a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN). The SPIN should be listed in the proposal. 2. All vendors submitting a bid must have a current Form 499 and Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) filed for Funding Year 2015. 3. All bidders must agree to comply with rules and regulations of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Vendors must be familiar with billing methods and timelines associated with the program, and bid submission indicates agreement to comply with billing process requirements. The submission of a bid constitutes agreement to all USAC terms. This agreement and understanding must be reflected in the proposal. 4. Bids resulting from this proposal request will be subject to all USAC, FCC, State of North Carolina, and Thomasville City Schools specifications and requirements. 5. All proposals must be submitted with the understanding that implementation will be dependent on budgetary requirements, included but not limited to E-rate funding approval and/or the required local funding match to take advantage of E-rate funding. 6. The start date of the provider contract and services must begin on or after July 1, 2015 per E- rate Funding Year 2015 rules unless approval is received and work can commence on April 1 st if there is no interference with the school day. SECTION 3 COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS REQUIREMENTS 1. Any overt attempt to circumvent the competitive bidding process shall result in the disqualification of the prospective vendor from consideration. i. All communications between Responder and Requestor shall be through the Requestor s RFP contact (as listed below in this RFP) and no other Requestor s employees or consultants. ii. Written questions concerning the RFP specifications will be received until January 27, 2015
at 4:30 PM. They must be sent via e-mail to the following contact person: ingramm@tcs.k12.nc.us For all questions, please reference the RFP identifier in the subject matter of your email. Every attempt will be made to respond to questions within 3 business days. A summary of all questions and answers will be posted to the TCS website no later than January 29, 2015 at 4:30 PM. Questions and Answers will be posted on http://www.tcs.k12.nc.us/cms/one.aspx?portalid=980949&pageid=21330782 1.No negotiations, decision, or actions shall be executed by any Responder as a result of any oral discussions with any Requestor s employees or consultants. General, non-technical questions will be accepted until the RFP submission deadline. 2. Proposals must include the following: this RFP number, a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN), and a current Service Provider Annual Certification (SPAC) filing. 3. Prospective vendors shall note and strictly follow restrictions related to gifts and favors, mandated by the Federal Communications Commission using USAC guidelines and North Carolina law. North Carolina General Statutes 133-32 and 138a-32 and Executive Order 24, issued by Gov. Beverly Perdue, makes it unlawful for any vendor, bidder or contractor to make gifts or to give favors from any entity seeking to do business with a state governmental agency. Thomasville City Schools is governed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina State Board of Education and strictly adheres to these laws and policies. 4. Thomasville City Schools may make such reasonable investigations as deemed proper and necessary to determine the ability of the service provider to perform the work/furnish the item(s), and the service provider shall furnish to TCS any such additional information and data for this purpose as may be requested SECTION 4 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 1. Electronic submissions will not be accepted. Sealed Bids (TO INCLUDE ORIGINAL AND ONE HARD COPY AND ONE DIGITAL SPREADSHEET WITH PRICING) will be received by mail or hand delivery until the time specified under section 4 item 3 to the office of: Mike Ingram Thomasville City Schools 400 Turner St Thomasville, NC, 27360 2. All respondents will provide a detailed description of the products/services as it relates to the services and products sought by TCS. The elements of the proposal must be relevant to the services and products sought. 3. Copies of the proposal must be received no later than 3:00 p.m., February 9th, 2015. Any proposal received after this deadline shall not be considered. 4. Specific requirements for individual proposals are listed in the appropriate sections below. Each proposal will be reviewed to determine if it is complete prior to final evaluation. Proposals not containing the information requested will not be considered for final evaluation.
Respondents shall clearly indicate their experience and qualifications, and describe their technical approach to the implementation of E-rate eligible product(s) and service(s). Proposals will be evaluated in light of the material and substantiating evidence presented in the proposal, and not on the basis of what is implied. 5. Appendix A (Execution of Proposal), properly filled out and signed by the Responder representative, must accompany the proposal in order to be considered. Unsigned bids will not be considered. 6. Thomasville City Schools encourages participation in this process by businesses classified as Historically Underutilized Business (HUB). Vendors will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, gender, color, national origin, or ancestry in consideration of an award. 7. A proposal that is in the possession of Thomasville City Schools may be altered by letter, addressed as above in Section 4, item 1. The letter shall bear the signature and name of the person authorized for offering. An acceptable alteration shall be received prior to the proposal deadline specified in Section 4, item 3. 8. A proposal that is in the possession of Thomasville City Schools may be withdrawn by letter, addressed as above in Section 4, item 1. The letter shall bear the signature and name of the person authorized for the withdrawal. An acceptable withdrawal shall be received prior to the proposal deadline specified in Section 4, item 3. Proposals may not be withdrawn after the proposal deadline. SECTION 5 SELECTION PROCESS 1. Proposals will be reviewed to ensure that they have met all basic requirements outlined in Sections 1-4. Remaining proposals will then be equally considered, based on an evaluation matrix. 2. Thomasville City Schools reserves the right to reject any or all proposals if the evidence submitted by, or investigations of, a service provider fails to satisfy TCS that such service provider is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to perform the services contemplated therein. 3. Thomasville City Schools reserves the right to make any and all purchases to the best interest and advantage of the district. 4. The award will be made on a best value procurement policy. Price is not the only factor that will be considered in determining a winning proposal. However, price of eligible components and services will be the primary factor in determining a winning proposal. 5. The following is an example of the proposal evaluation matrix that is to be used in proposal evaluations. The district reserves the right to revise the final evaluation matrix, with price of eligible components remaining as the primary factor.,
Sample Evaluation Matrix Area Maximum Points Price 40 Prior Experience 30 Technical Response 20 Responder References 10 Total Points Available 100 SECTION 6 SPECIFICATIONS OF SOUGHT PRODUCT(S) ANDSERVICE(S) Internal Connections-Cabling 1. Description of Products and Services a. Thomasville City Schools will provide 222 new Access Points to be mounted in order to provide teachers and students with access to high-density Wi-Fi infrastructure capable of supporting robust digital teaching and learning. Thomasville Schools currently has 121 Cisco AIR-LAP1131AG-A-K9 installed in classrooms providing basic coverage. This cabling and installation project requires low voltage Cat-6 cabling to be installed, labeled, tested and certified. 86 new drops will need to be installed for this project with each pull no longer than 75. These requirements are under project control and will be completed by the awarded vendor. The number of drops required to be installed at each site are listed below. b. The vendor will provide all wire, plugs, jacks, patch panels, patch cables, plates, etc. The vendor must provide all associated tools, testers, and materials for code quality installation IAW NFPA-70 (National Electrical Code), state codes, local codes, and requirements of authorities having jurisdiction. Vendor will be responsible for materials to support cables to include but not limited to: j-hooks, hangers, tie wraps, fire-stopping and associated screws and fasteners. Standard 568B for CAT 6 is our standard for punch down management. All vendor installed wire will be tested and verified to meet or exceed ANSI/TIA/EIA standards and specifications for CAT 6. Reports of same will be provided to the owner via electronic file or on paper. c. It is the desire of Thomasville City Schools to begin this cabling and installation project once e-rate funding has been procured. During wireless access point installation, a single Category 6 cable should be installed to each access point location marked for new access point per the schematics and new Category 6 network cables of proper length neatly routed within the management products. The cable management system should manage the patch cables extending from the patch panel to the network switch and be both neat and enable network technicians to quickly troubleshoot issues.
2. Experience and Qualifications a. The district seeks a company that has 5 or more years experience in the installation and support of the above products. The vendor must be able to provide as a reference a project of similar size and scope within the last five years. b. Installers should be certified in the components/products that are to be installed. c. The company should be bonded and personnel eligible to work within the schools; background checks of personnel working in the schools may be required. Professionalism is implied and expected. 3. Implementation Plan a. The vendor will provide detailed information as to the products and a reasonable time line for installation. b. A product and service inventory will be included for each location. c. Clean up and disposal of refuse is the responsibility of the vendor. 4. Service Level Guarantees and Technical Support a. There is an expectation of 100% support of all products and services. b. Completion will require signature of the TCS Manager of Information Systems for each site listed below. c. Vendor will provide a warranty/guarantee for goods and services provided in the contract of 1 year following installation. d. Vendor will work with the Technology Support personnel to transfer information/knowledge of products and services as related to the installation within the district locations and networks. 5. Pricing/Billing Charges: a. The district seeks detailed billing per school for the products and services described above. b. The product and services will be billed in the allowable period for e-rate 2015. 6. Service Locations and Product Request: a. The E-rate application for Category 2 Internal Connections will include the following schools: Thomasville High School, 410 Unity St. Thomasville NC 27360 Thomasville Middle School, 400 Unity St., Thomasville NC, 27360 Liberty Drive Elementary, 410 Liberty Drive, Thomasville, NC 27360 Thomasville Primary School,915 Sunrise Ave. Thomasville, NC 27360
b. The products requested per site are as follows: Location New CAT6 Cable Drops 3 Patch Cables Required 10 Patch Cables Required Thomasville HS 31 31 31 2 Thomasville MS 34 34 34 4 Liberty Drive 10 10 10 1 Thomasville Primary 17 17 17 2 Totals 92 92 92 9 Patch Panel Required 7. Installations Criteria Cabling: 1. Contractor will pull (1) Cat-6 cable to each 1 port drop. 2. Contractor will mount 1 port drop box above ceiling inside classroom on hallway wall. 3. Contractor will leave 4 foot service loop at each drop. 4. Contractor will supply (10 Cat-6 patch cable) between drop and WAP unless total length from switch is over 300 ft from switch. 5. Contractor will terminate both ends of each cable 6. Contractor will supply (3 Cat-6 patch cables) between patch panel and switch. 7. Contractor will supply 24 port Cat-6 patch panel as necessary. 8. Contractor will label both ends of Cat-6 cable and 1 port drop box. 9. Contractor will test and certify all cables. 10. Contractor will be responsible for all cable hangers, wall penetrations, conduit, and fire stop. 11. Contractor will use EMT conduit on all exposed cabling. Contractors: 1. Contractors are responsible for all permits. 2. Are responsible for providing their own lift equipment. 3. Are responsible for any and all damage to schools during project. 4. Contractor will replace damaged ceiling tiles 5. TCS will supply maps of MDF / IDFs identifying drop number and locations. 6. Submissions a. Vendor will provide a detailed list of products and pricing as per the stated requirements. Pricing will be done per school so 4 pricing sheets need to be submitted. b. All responses must clearly indicate any proposed ineligible product and service and their associated costs that are required to complete the project as proposed. All responses must clearly indicate the cost allocation of any proposed product and service that are determined to be partially eligible.
Appendix A: EXECUTION OF PROPOSAL Agreement: By signing this proposal, the Responder agrees to the following items. Initial each line item below for acceptance. # Item Initials 1 This proposal is signed by an authorized representative of the firm. 2 Responder has read and understands the conditions set forth in this RFP and agrees to them with no exceptions. 3 The Responder understands the scope and requirements of this RFP and has included all labor costs, direct and indirect, in the proposed cost. 4 The cost and availability of all equipment, materials, and supplies, if needed, associated with performing the services described herein have been determined and included in the proposed cost. 5 Responder will be responsible for all warranty issues related to goods and services provided during the factory warranty period if applicable. Authorization: In compliance with this RFP, and subject to all conditions herein, the undersigned offers and agrees, if this proposal is accepted within 90 days from the date of the opening, to furnish the goods or services as stated in this RFP. Company Name Street Address City, State Zip Federal ID # Contact Name Telephone Number Email Address
THIS PAGE MUST BE SIGNED AND INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL. Unsigned proposals will not be considered. RESPONDER ATTESTATION BY: DATE: (Signature) Printed Name: TITLE: COMPANY DATE ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL (to be completed upon award) Thomasville City Schools BY: DATE: (Signature) Printed Name: TITLE: