Request for Proposal for a Fiber to the Premise Feasibility Study Introduction The is seeking proposals for a Fiber to the Premise Feasibility Study. The purpose of this effort is to hire a qualified firm to provide insight on the feasibility of installing fiber to the premise within the city limits of Northfield. This RFP is designed to elicit responses to a set of defined issues, listed under the Scope of Work, and also stimulate creativity in adding value to the overall concept of fiber to the premise within the. Description of the Northfield is a vibrant Minnesota city situated in the Cannon River Valley just south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Comprised of approximately 7.2 square miles, Northfield is an ideal location that offers residents a desirable combination of small town living within a 45-minute drive to big city amenities. Northfield enjoys a reputation as a leader in education, historic preservation, business and industry. The is a growing community of 19,500, which includes 4,900 college students. The majority of the college students enjoy high-speed Internet, voice and TV from oncampus housing. The economic infrastructure is supported by a diversified economy comprised of agriculture, food processing, high-tech manufacturing, higher education and tourism. The two liberal arts colleges, Carleton and St. Olaf, are forward looking and installed a fiber optic system several years ago. This provides gigabit connectivity to Internet2, much lower cost commodity Internet costs, and offers gigabit service on their campuses and campus housing. RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 1 of 6 5/27/08
Background Information The has been exploring the feasibility of fiber to the premise since the summer of 2007. With the help of a Blandin Foundation Open Network Feasibility Study grant, the City initiated a Fiber Optic Feasibility Task Force. The Task Force held a series of educational meetings and discussed whether or not the City should pursue an integrated citywide fiber optic network that would provide affordable high-speed services for data, voice and video to homes and businesses. As part of the overall question on pursuing a citywide fiber optic network, the Task Force also discussed topics such as financing, network operations, network ownership and potential providers and partners. The Task Force membership represented the city, EDA, Chamber, school district, colleges, hospital, large business, retail business and community. At the end of its work, the Fiber Optic Feasibility Task Force recommended that the City of Northfield conduct a feasibility study. The overall purpose of such a study would be to consider how the can best insure that all businesses and residents enjoy access to an integrated citywide network to provide high quality, affordable high-speed telecommunication services that will meet their needs long into the future. Scope of Work The study should provide an analysis for the provision triple play services, meaning competitive voice, video and data services over a citywide fiber network. At a minimum the study should provide: 1) Conduct a random sample, unbiased survey of residences and businesses to establish a likely market penetration rate and to clarify which benefits from a new city wide fiber optic network might be most important to the residents of Northfield. Items included, but not limited to: a) Should the city be in the communications business 1. own 2. operate 3. own and operate 4. collaborate with private business but rely on their investment for services 5. city should not be involved in the telecommunications business b) If the city were to offer services, would there be interest in taking services from a city enterprise? c) Identify users and market - who would use new communications system? 1. telecommuting 2. business (large/small) 3. cottage industry 4. home users 5. schools (public, private, secondary) 6. multi-dwelling units (apartments, retirement centers) 7. industrial parks / marketing of 8. identify each option (voice/data/video) that would be of interest d) Identify the most important benefits from a new telecommunications service such as: 1. more choice of service providers RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 2 of 6 5/27/08
2. lower prices 3. customer service 4. city ownership of new service 2) Create relevant business cases for outputs of market study. 3) Evaluate relevant community uses of the network to include government, education, health care, business and home uses. 4) Provide an overview of the current providers: their services, marketing bundles, pricing strategies and coverage. Establish a competitive marketing and pricing strategy for an independent city supported voice, video and data service and bundles over the FTTP network. 5) Assessment of network architecture(s) a) Pre-engineering study(s) at sufficient depth to estimate costs and approximate implementation timeframes for full fiber to the premise (FTTP) b) Support services should include (but not limited to) 1. Video 2. IP TV 3. VOD 4. Telephone services 5. Internet services (ISP, email, web hosting, etc.) 6. Security and authentication requirement for business 7. Bandwidth on demand 8. High speed (in excess of symmetrical 100 megabits) service 6) Options of ownership and services provision to include: a) Business Models 1. Open network city would finance and contract to build the network and then invite service provider to contract and deliver service on network. 2. Single/special service provider - (one provider over-build network) either city owned or privately owned. 3. City would finance the build of network and operate it as municipal enterprise. 4. Others b) Provision of projected profit and loss statements, balance sheets with a desired granularity of ten to fifteen percent of actual. Include investment rate of return calculation. c) Options for financing to include, but not limited to general obligation bonds, revenue bond, public/private partnerships and USDA s RUS funding (Rural Utility Service). 7) Probable project implementation schedule and phasing. 8) Prepare and attend open house to be held at Northfield City Hall in the evening to collect public information and review preliminary findings. Date to be determined. 9) Prepare and deliver presentation to City Council in a Monday evening meeting (date to be determined) to share findings. RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 3 of 6 5/27/08
Materials and/or Services to be provided by the Demographic profile Number of households 2007 aerial images and necessary maps of Northfield Existing fiber infrastructure General site visit Access to city communications / infrastructure Request for Qualifications The following will be considered minimal contents of the proposal. Limit proposal to 30 pages. 1) Goals and objectives and project tasks to demonstrate the responder s view of the project and exhibition of responder s knowledge and expertise regarding FTTP networks. 2) Outline of respondent s background and experience with particular emphasis on financial, marketing and network architecture for fiber based networks. a) Provide contact list for at least three (3) references in support of the background and experience. 3) Knowledge of local level government work. 4) Identify key personnel to conduct the project and detail of their training and work experience. No change in key personnel assigned to the project will be permitted without approval of the City. 5) Demonstrated ability to create and analyze customer survey, sales and marketing objectives. 6) Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret the regulatory and legal landscape and provide guidance on the regulatory hurdles of different delivery options. 7) Detailed work plan identifying: a) Tasks to be accomplished and the budget hours to be expended for each task and subtask. 1. This will be used as a work plan and managing tool for basis of invoicing. b) Identify deliverables. 1. Voice, video, data and other supplementary services 2. Key milestones of project 3. Level of City staff participation 4. Status meetings identified through work plan (minimum three). 8) Detailed cost estimate of the study, including professional hourly rates and multipliers and estimated service/task hours with a not to exceed cap. Other expenses related to the completion of the study will be discussed on a case-by-case basis. Preferred pricing will identify fixed cost bids with a menu of necessary and optional services. RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 4 of 6 5/27/08
Evaluation Criteria staff and city representatives will evaluate all proposals received by deadline. Factors upon which proposals will be judged include, but are not limited to: 30 % Express understanding of the project 40 % Qualifications of both company and personnel 20 % Project work plan and timeline 10 % Cost If necessary, the above-mentioned personnel may choose to interview candidates from the top three proposals. Consulting services require an expenditure of funds, which the Northfield City Council has sole authority. The final evaluation will be presented to City Council to authorized funds. Selection Selection of the consultant for this project will be based on the criteria noted above. Upon initial selection of the consultant, the will enter into negotiations with the selected consultant to develop a Professional Services Agreement and finalize the work plan including budget hours. Should the City and the selected consultant fail to satisfactorily reach agreement to the work plan including budget, the may enter into negotiations with the respondent judged second in the evaluation process, or the City may re-advertise for proposals. The reserves the right to reject any and all proposals regardless of merit. Project Timelines Legal Notice published... June 11, 2008 RFP will be sent out... June 11, 2008 through June 25, 2008 Notice of Intent to Respond... June 25, 2008 RFP responder questions due... June 30, 2008 Answers to questions distributed...july 3, 2008 Proposals Due:... July 14, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. CST Interviews, if necessary...july 17, 2008 Approval of contract by City Council...August 4, 2008 NOTE: If a vendor does not notify the City of its intent to respond and provide an e-mail address for contact, they will not receive answers to all questions received from other candidates. This does not prevent vendors from responding by the RFP due date; however they will not have the benefit of the provided answers. All proposals must be received by Monday, July 14, 2008, 11:00 a.m. The eligible vendor must provide three hard copies containing all relevant documents that such vendor wishes considered. RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 5 of 6 5/27/08
Primary Contacts Prospective responders with questions regarding this RFP may email: Ms. Melissa Reeder IT Director 801 Washington Street Northfield, MN 55057 Phone: (507) 645-3054 Fax: (507) 645-3055 melissa.reeder@ci.northfield.mn.us Submission of Proposal no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 14, 2008: Ms. Debra Little City Clerk 801 Washington Street Northfield, MN 55057 RFP for a Fiber to Premise Feasibility Study Page 6 of 6 5/27/08