FRCC NETWORK SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

FRCC NETWORK SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL January 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS A. INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS... 1 A.1 Introduction... 1 A.2 Background Information... 1 A.3 General Conditions... 2 A.4 Proposal Instructions and Time Frames... 3 A.5 Proposal Preparation... 5 B. EXISTING ENVIRONMENT... 7 B.1 Data Services... 7 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 8 2. CORPORATE PROFILE... 9 2.1 Company Background... 9 2.2 Financial Information... 9 2.3 Reference Accounts... 9 3. NETWORK OVERVIEW... 10 3.1 Carrier Circuit Information... 10 3.2 Fiber-Optic Transmission Information... 10 3.3 Network Architecture... 11 4. DATA SERVICES... 12 4.1 MPLS or Alternate Comparable Services... 12 4.2 Managed Network Solution... 16 4.3 Hardware... 17 4.4 Futures... 18 5. SUPPORT... 19 5.1 Implementation... 19 5.2 Customer Support & Problem Resolution... 19 5.3 Quality Program... 20 6. BILLING SERVICES... 21 6.1 Billing Hierarchy... 21 6.2 Flexibility in Billing Options... 21 7. PRICING INFORMATION... 22 7.1 Pricing... 22

APPENDICES A. FRCCNET SITE LOCATIONS... TABLE

A. INTRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS A.1 INTRODUCTION The purpose and intent of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to commission a data network to ensure the availability and reliability of the FRCCnet for the transfer of critical real-time data. We invite vendors to submit proposals for data services in accordance with the requirements, terms, and conditions of this Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP sets forth the requirements for all services and solicits a detailed response from vendors to include pricing and service descriptions in the specified format. Our objective is to enable a highly reliable, private and secure network to ensure data availability at all times on the FRCCnet. A.2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) is one of eight Regional Entities of the NERC Electric Reliability Organization. The mission of the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council is to ensure and enhance the reliability and adequacy of bulk electricity supply in Florida, now and into the future. We currently host two applications on an MPLS network; 17 entities and 25 total sites, including existing backup sites for 7 entities and 3 application host sites. There is an existing ISDN backup communications network for one of the applications that will be replaced by the MPLS network in this proposal. This proposal is to establish new redundant service at 13 network locations (Listed in Appendix A) allowing us to disconnect the 7 current MPLS backup sites and ISDN scheme. FRCC s most critical application is a real time data sharing application, the Reliability Data Link or RDL. High network availability is required for the RDL since data is exchanged at 10-second intervals. The other application on FRCCNet, FTMS, is utilized intermittently at various times throughout the day, often on an hourly basis. The electric utility industry is a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year operation, and a key part of the national critical infrastructure. January 7, 2013 Page 1

A.3 GENERAL CONDITIONS This RFP is not an offer to contract. Acceptance of a proposal neither commits FRCC to award a contract to any vendor, even if all requirements stated in this RFP are met, nor limits our right to negotiate in our best interest. We reserve the right to contract with a vendor for reasons other than lowest price. Failure to answer any question in this RFP may subject the proposal to disqualification. Failure to meet a qualification or requirement will not necessarily subject a proposal to disqualification. A.3.1 Valid Period of Offer The pricing, terms, and conditions stated in your response must remain valid for at least 120 days from the date of delivery of the proposal to the FRCC. A.3.2 Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure The information contained in this RFP (or accumulated through other written or verbal communication) is confidential. It is for proposal purposes only and is not to be disclosed or used for any other purpose. Information received in response to this RFP will be held in strict confidence and not disclosed to any party, other than our company or member companies, without the express written consent of said vendor. We will sign a non-disclosure agreement, if requested by vendors. A.3.3 Right of Rejection We reserve the right to accept or reject any or all responses to this RFP and to enter into discussions and/or negotiations with one or more qualified vendors at the same time. A.3.4 Best and Final Offer We reserve the right to request a best and final offer. A.3.5 Cost of Proposals Expenses incurred in the preparation of proposals in response to this RFP are the vendor s sole responsibility. January 7, 2013 Page 2

A.4 PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS AND TIME FRAMES This section contains instructions governing the proposal to be submitted. A.4.1 Proposal Delivery Deliver three printed copies of your proposal to the following address no later than 4:00 P.M. on February 15 th, 2013. 1408 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 1002 Tampa, Florida 33607-4512 Attention: Brian Malfant A.4.2 Intention to Bid Vendors must notify us, by e-mail, of their intention to bid or not by January 18 th, 2012. Please provide the name, address, e-mail address and telephone number for a single vendor contact who should receive answers to questions and RFP revisions and updates. Any vendor who elects not to bid is requested to destroy this RFP. Appendix A detailing site address information will be provided to you when FRCC receives notification of your intention to bid. A.4.4 RFP Questions Questions regarding this RFP are encouraged and should be submitted in by e-mail to: Brian Malfant IT Manager Email: bmalfant@frcc.com Answers to questions from any vendor will be provided to all vendors. No further questions will be accepted after Janurary 18 th, 2012. A.4.5 Oral Presentation As part of the evaluation process, we may require an oral presentation by the vendor. You will be notified by February 1 st, 2013 if an oral presentation will be required. January 7, 2013 Page 3

A.4.6 Schedule of Events Dates January 7 th January 18 th February 1 st February 15 th Activity RFP distribution All questions from vendors to FRCC due Responses to questions due to vendors Proposals due January 7, 2013 Page 4

A.5 PROPOSAL PREPARATION This section provides specific instructions on preparing your proposal. A.5.1 General Preparation Bind each copy of your proposal. Number pages consecutively within a section using section and page numbering (e.g., Page 3-30). Follow the proposal outline in Section A.5.2. For each response, identify the RFP item to which you are responding. Provide an electronic copy and three hardcopies to the FRCC. A.5.2 Required Proposal Outline The following chart details the required proposal outline and specifies the content of the proposal sections. Required Proposal Outline Section Number Section Title Section Content 1 Executive Summary Information requested in Section 1 of RFP; limit to five pages. 2 Corporate Profile Responses to Section 2 of RFP 3 Network Overview Responses to Section 3 of RFP 4 Data Services Responses to Section 4 of RFP 5 Support Responses to Section 5 of RFP 6 Billing Services Responses to Section 6 of RFP 7 Pricing Information Responses to Section 7 of RFP Appendices Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D FRCCNet Site Locations FRCCNet Pricing Information FRCCNet Node Information FRCCNet Application Demands Requirements January 7, 2013 Page 5

Sections A and B of this RFP do not require responses. January 7, 2013 Page 6

B. EXISTING ENVIRONMENT FRCC uses an MPLS Network running two applications to 17 entities and 25 total sites. These services are described below. B.1 DATA SERVICES FRCCNet currently has two applications running on an MPLS network. One of these applications has information updated periodically throughout the day while the third application is a real-time application, which updates every ten seconds. The FRCCNet applications are as follows: o FTMS Florida Transaction Management System. FTMS HTTP front end connectivity is primarily by Internet, and the existing MPLS connection is for backup communications purposes. A small amount of important forecast data, roughly 25 KB in size, are submitted by several entities, on an hourly basis, to the FTMS, via the MPLS network. There are 17 primary entity remote sites, 7 backup remote sites, and one application host site. o FRCC RDL FRCC Reliability Data Link. The RDL is a real time data sharing application for the FRCC Reliability Coordinator function. There are 12 remote sites, 7 backup sites, and two application host sites one primary and one backup. January 7, 2013 Page 7

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Briefly describe the key elements of your proposal. Highlight any major features, functions, or areas of support that differentiate your service offering from your competitors offerings. January 7, 2013 Page 8

2. CORPORATE PROFILE 2.1 COMPANY BACKGROUND Provide a brief overview and history of your company. Describe the organization of your company and include an organizational chart. 2.2 FINANCIAL INFORMATION Provide financial information on your company (e.g., annual report, 10-K). 2.3 REFERENCE ACCOUNTS List three accounts with networks similar in size or complexity to our company and include: Company name and address Contact person name and telephone number Network products or services and length of service January 7, 2013 Page 9

3. NETWORK OVERVIEW 3.1 CARRIER CIRCUIT INFORMATION To help us clarify the information contained in various published sources about the different carriers facilities, provide accurate, up-to-date information about your transmission facilities, including: Total number of route miles in fiber-optic cable (not individual strands). Total number of miles of copper cable. Fiber-optic miles as a percentage of total circuit miles. 3.2 FIBER-OPTIC TRANSMISSION INFORMATION To clarify the information contained in various published sources on carriers fiber-optic facilities, provide the following information. Percent of fiber-optic miles owned. Fiber-optic miles leased from other providers. Fiber-optic miles leased to other providers. Number of fiber-optic miles planned (for next five years). Expansion capacity of your network. Location of NOC s inside the state of Florida and Minnesota. Miles owned refers only to the physical fiber-optic cable to which you have title. A vendor with its own termination equipment on raw fiber-optic cable leased from another source must list this cable under the miles leased category, not under miles owned. The miles planned should provide your long range expansion projections. January 7, 2013 Page 10

3.3 NETWORK ARCHITECTURE 3.3.1 Network Design Advantages Describe the advantages of your network design. 3.3.2 Network Availability and Reliability Describe your network s availability and reliability. 3.3.3 Survivability and Service Continuity How do you ensure survivability and service continuity? January 7, 2013 Page 11

4. DATA SERVICES 4.1 MPLS AND OPTIONAL ALTERNATE COMPRABLE SERVICES Provide a brief (one- to two-page) overview of your proposed service. All vendors must provide an MPLS solution and may additionally provide an optional service based on an alternate technology. 4.1.1 Performance Requirements 4.1.1.1 Standards What standards does your MPLS or alternate network conform to? 4.1.1.2 Availability and Access Speeds Provide a list detailing the domestic availability of your service in Florida and Minnesota. For all locations, describe the access speeds supported. 4.1.1.3 Performance Objectives We want to use an MPLS or comparable service for our mission critical applications. We need a service with a high degree of network availability. Provide your network performance objectives in the areas of end-to-end network availability and bit error rate. Will you maintain high levels of network availability if network failures and/or loss of dedicated telco facilities occur? 4.1.1.4 Service Level Describe your service level offerings and SLA credit request procedures. January 7, 2013 Page 12

4.1.1.5 Quality of Service (QOS) What Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms do you use to guarantee that there will be no degradation of service for prioritized data on the network? How do you support end-to-end QoS? In a converged network supporting voice, broadcast video, H.323 video, and data, how are QoS issues resolved? 4.1.2 Breadth of Service Offering 4.1.2.1 Plans for Service Expansion Provide a brief overview of your company s plans for service expansion. 4.1.2.2 CIR Implementation Describe your implementation of Committed Information Rate (CIR). What levels of CIR do you support by city, where applicable? 4.1.2.3 CPE Certification We want to understand the specifics of your Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) certification program. Provide, as an appendix, your list of certified CPE by model number and software version number. 4.1.2.4 Network Management Capabilities Describe your network management capabilities, including your support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-based network management systems as they relate to your offering. 4.1.2.5 Network Security Service Capabilities Describe your network security service capabilities, including managed firewall, intrusion detection and incident response as they relate to your offering. 4.1.2.6 Telecommunication Service Priority Support Describe your process for providing TSP support. January 7, 2013 Page 13

4.1.3 Connectivity Requirements 4.1.3.1 LEC Connectivity Detail your plans to connect to LEC services where required. 4.1.4 Network Architecture 4.1.4.1 Architecture of Backbone Network Describe the hardware and software architecture of your backbone network. Please indicate, where appropriate, the protocols/standards you have implemented in your network. Indicate your use of proprietary protocols, where appropriate. 4.1.4.2 Congestion Management Standards Describe your congestion management standards. 4.1.4.3 Capacity Planning Describe your capacity planning strategy. How do you ensure your network consistently has enough bandwidth capacity? 4.1.4.4 Fairness Algorithm Describe your fairness scheme in detail. How is a non-cir connection assured of transmission capability alongside a CIR-based circuit? 4.1.4.5 Multi Vendor Interoperability What is your capability to route to and from the Sprint MPLS network where our primary FRCCnet connections currently reside? What is your capability for routing to and from other vendors networks? 4.1.4.6 Disaster Recovery Describe your disaster recovery capabilities, including, but not limited to, recovery of a failure of the local access loop, backbone failure, and host failure. January 7, 2013 Page 14

4.1.4.7 Cyber and Physical Security Describe your cyber and physical security measures and capabilities. Include information about the groups within your organization responsible for network security and the programs they have implemented. 4.1.5 Account Support 4.1.5.1 Network Performance Statistics We have a recurring need to monitor our network service to evaluate levels of use on each of our circuits. Describe your ability to deliver network performance statistics to our company. 4.1.5.2 Network Optimization What steps will you take to ensure that our service is appropriate for our traffic patterns as they evolve? January 7, 2013 Page 15

4.2 MANAGED NETWORK SOLUTION We are interested in a network management solution that includes a fully installed, maintained, and managed network. Provide a brief (one- to two-page) overview of your managed network offering. 4.2.1 Router Equipment and Transport Options Describe the router equipment and transport options that are available. 4.2.2 Service Components Describe the services (e.g., design, installation, maintenance) that are included as part of your managed network solution. What are your upgrade intervals or plans for upgrading software/operating systems of the managed components? What will be the memory capacity/capabilities of the routers? 4.2.3 Customer Router Access To aid in our roll of centrally managing this network the FRCC needs read-only access into each router. This access must be of a sufficient level to allow the FRCC to verify router configurations. Are you able to accommodate this access along with your managed network solution? 4.2.4 Network Visibility Tools Describe the tools or systems that we, as the customers, will have access to that will allow us to monitor issues, track equipment, communicate with network support, etc. 4.2.5 Financial Options Describe the financial options, such as purchase or lease arrangements, for router equipment. January 7, 2013 Page 16

4.3 HARDWARE 4.3.1 Equipment Offerings We would like to have a single vendor for service and maintenance of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) incorporated into this solution. What are your offerings and product lines that cover the following equipment categories? Routers Firewalls 4.3.2 Network Management Platform Management of network devices and elements are very important to us. Can your network management system platform support the following Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)- based system management functional areas? Fault management Configuration management Performance management Accounting management Security management Describe the interface to the network operators from the management system. Does the platform offer graphical analysis of network metrics? January 7, 2013 Page 17

4.4 FUTURES 4.4.1 Commitment to Standards What is your involvement in standards committees? How have you integrated standards into your service offerings? 4.4.2 Certification Process What is your certification process for new products or services? January 7, 2013 Page 18

5. SUPPORT 5.1 IMPLEMENTATION 5.1.1 Implementation Plan Provide a sample implementation plan that details the smooth transition from our current environment to your proposed services. Include the following information. A brief description of the major steps in the implementation process. Any major activity that involves our employees or premises (e.g., end user surveys, delivery dates for equipment, router configuration, etc.) Time frames for critical activities and other tasks required of our company. 5.1.2 Implementation Support Identify the individual in your organization who will act as a focal point for implementation. Include an organizational chart depicting your proposed implementation team, including titles and functional roles, and any subcontractors. Describe your escalation procedure for addressing problems during implementation. 5.2 Customer Support & Problem Resolution 5.2.1 Account Team Support Provide an overview of your account team support structure. Indicate the support level offered and identify the account team members and responsibilities. 5.2.2 Customer Support What customer support services do you offer for the contract term? 5.2.3 Trouble Reporting and Problem Resolution Do you provide proactive network monitoring and automated trouble ticket creation? Do you provide problem resolution 24 hours a day, seven days a week? What are your procedures for trouble reporting and escalation? January 7, 2013 Page 19

5.2.4 Mean Time to Repair What is your Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)? How will you ensure us a minimal Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)? 5.2.5 Ongoing Optimization You should provide proactive network management of your telecommunications environment through evolving network design and improvements. These services should be available to develop and maintain our telecommunications network and incorporate improvements and new technology. Network design resources should include: Pre-installation network design (collection, analysis, modeling, and engineering) Ongoing optimizations to ensure: - most cost-effective products/services are used - correct access methods are in use based on traffic provided - sufficient circuits are in place to carry traffic offered 5.3 QUALITY PROGRAM Describe your company s quality program. January 7, 2013 Page 20

6. BILLING SERVICES 6.1 BILLING HIERARCHY Do you provide a hierarchy structure for flexibility in organizing the information presented on the invoice? If so, please describe the levels in your billing hierarchy. 6.2 FLEXIBILITY IN BILLING OPTIONS Describe the media options offered for invoice detail information. The FRCC s minimum requirement is for payment to be 30 days. How are SLA credits handled for billing purposes? January 7, 2013 Page 21

7. PRICING INFORMATION 7.1 PRICING Provide your discounted unit rates and extended pricing (exclusive of access costs). 7.1.1 Pricing Information In addition provide the following pricing information: Contract term (years) Type of discount (by product) Discount as a percent off tariff rate and tariff discount Price in lieu of tariff rate and discount Volume levels of usage/service required to be eligible for the rates shown Vendors must perform a complete network analysis, to be provided with the proposal. The requirements below are designed to ensure a fair comparison of the vendors solutions: Present cost information at the location level, as well as in the aggregate. Present either all of the discounts or none of them at the location level. Anything in-between will make it very difficult for us to evaluate the bid. Some vendors will waive some installation costs. If the cost is being waived, omit it from the dollar volumes presented in your response. These waived costs should be segregated to provide a clear picture of the actual costs. Present the proposed discount schedule for each product. Explain any caps or other restrictions. Present cost information for Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) on all circuits. Present all cost and term liabilities. January 7, 2013 Page 22