Circularized Letter Nº 02 PRIVATE CALL FOR BIDS UPON INVITATION N 02/2014 SUPPLY OF VSAT BROADBAND IP SATELLITE HUB Please be advised of the issuance of the following Clarification Letter. Please find the answers below in blue to all questions received. Administrative questions Section 12. Bid Maintenance Bond The wording of the bond must contain reference to this bidding process, and the signatures of the guarantor s representative shall be notarized or certified by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic. 1- Question: We understand that certification of the signature of the guarantor's representative by a Notary Public will be enough. Please advise if this is correct. Answer: That's correct. A Notary Public's certification of the signature of the guarantor's representative will be enough. Section 10 LANGUAGE. 2- Question: May any legal and/or apostilled documents written in English carry a simple translation into Spanish or does such translation have to be notarized and apostilled as well? This is a significant issue as, in many cases, the translation and apostille certification process is very long and may not be in line with the submission date stated by ARSAT. Answer: The Apostille certification is required for documents issued by a foreign authority, or legal or corporate documents. It is not necessary for all documents. Section 14. PLACE, DATE AND METHOD FOR PRESENTATION OF THE BIDS 3- Question: Regarding document numbering: ARSAT requests numbering and a certain format for each page of the 6 binders requested in item C (Contents of the BID). Is it possible to include all datasheets, technical brochures and/or manuals referred to in each of the 6 binders as an
annex and avoid the numbering and signature requirement as they are all public documents which are available online? Answer: Everything must be numbered and signed. 4- Section 14. The BIDDERS must submit their BID in ONE (1) envelope, box or package perfectly closed at the headquarters of the BIDDER until XXXXXX XX, 2014, at 12 p.m., Argentine time. Answer: Yes, the documents to be submitted are expected to originate from the Manufacturer's Headquarters. Query: For the purpose of confirming the process only Answer: Please see the RFP. 1. ArSat expects all documents to be printed at the Headquarters and signed by the legal representative. 2. All 6 envelopes shall be detailed as described in the RFP, in addition to the electronic support. They shall be packaged in only one envelope or box to be delivered to a Courier office in Argentina. 3. The same legal representative shall pick up such envelope or box from the Courier's office in Argentina and deliver it to ArSat before the proposed date and time. 4. In the event of Courier delays, the legal representative may submit a copy of the original document and electronic support stating that the envelope or box has been delivered with sufficient time from the Headquarters. 5. The Bid Maintenance bond should be included in envelope VI with the Economic proposal. 6. The Bid Maintenance Bond is the only bond that has to be delivered jointly with the proposal. The rest of the bonds will be requested after the award.
Technical questions 1. Question: We understand that the columns in Annex 2 should say Compliant, Non Compliant and Partially Compliant. Please confirm. Answer: The Compliant, Non Compliant and Not applicable columns are correct. The Brief description on compliance column may contain any comments deemed necessary. 2. There is a discrepancy between the teleport data stated in annex 1 to the technical specifications and the evaluation matrix in the general description document. The first document mentions a 7 m antenna, while the second document refers to a 4.5 m antenna; they also consider different satellite parameters. Question: Please confirm which values should be used for satellite calculations. Answer: Please use the values stated in Annex I to the Technical Specification document. 3. Technical specifications document, section 1.38: The Bidder should make the HUB link calculations and sizing calculations that should be attached to the Proposal for each one of the types of Remote Stations stated in Item 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 with the profile distribution specified in this paragraph. The specifications of ARSAT-1 Satellite and of the Earth Station are attached as Annex 1. a Question: Where are items 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 in the document? There are no such items in the documents received from ArSat. Answer: The phrase "types of Remote Stations stated in Item 6.1.1 and 6.1.2" should read "types of Remote Stations stated in Item 7.1.1 and 7.1.2." 4. Technical specifications document, section 1.38: Calculations shall be made for clear sky conditions and for a minimum 99.7% monthly Availability. Considering the HUB in Benavídez, Province of Buenos Aires, the remote points shall be as follows: Benavidez, Ushuaia, San Salvador de Jujuy, Mendoza, and Santa Rosa. As to traffic IP, 1024 Kbps on OB direction and 1024 Kbps on IB direction shall be taken as reference. b Question: It is not clear whether ArSat expects LB with 800 sites with the profile indications described in section 1.4 and also expects individual calculations of 1024Kbps in both directions for the locations described herein. Please clarify which satellite calculations are expected by ArSat in order to make comparisons between offerors.
Answer: ARSAT expects to receive individual calculations for remote antenna diameters of 1.2 m and 1.8 m, between the central site and all the locations described. Speed values must be in all cases as per the provisions of Annex I (1024/1024 Kbps). Calculations will be submitted considering a Clear Sky condition in one case and 99.7% availability in the other, for all locations. 5. Section 1. Subsection 1.49. Hub should support SCPC connections with some Remote Stations. The proposal should contemplate all Hardware and software necessary for 8 SCPC channels. It should also detail the cost of the addition of an additional SCPC channel Question: Regarding the 8 SCPC stations, are they predefined from the beginning or can they be assigned by ARSAT at any time during the project or can they even be changed at any time for another group of stations? Answer: The HUB equipment must have the ability to absorb up to 8 links in the SCPC mode. No remote equipment is being requested under the current process. 6. Section 1. Subsection 1.51 The IB demodulators should be compatible with the standard DBV-S2 and with ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation). Bidder should indicate the assignment process and the policies of the different modulation schemes for the assignment of traffic from Remote Stations towards the HUB, stating if the different profiles and grouped and fixed or if they may be dynamically managed at individual level by each Remote Station. Question: Please confirm whether ArSat is requesting that the remote station is able to transmit a DVBS2 channel to the HUB (Inbound), as the request leads to confusion. Answer: Please see RFP requirements. 7. 1.58 Bidder should quote the optional functionality called "Carrier in Carrier" through which inbounds are assigned below the Outbound. The proposal should include all Hardware, Software and licenses necessary for its operation, as well as the canceling functionality as optional feature. Should there be any type of scaling in its provisions, the cost limits should be detailed in the proposal. Question: Does the quote need to include the Carrier in Carrier function only on an optional basis? Please confirm. Answer: It should be quoted as optional.
8. 4.18 In all cases the maximum Turnaround time should be inferior to TWO (2) hours. In all cases, the maximum Turnaround time should be interior to SIX (6) clock hours for serious failures and TWENTY-FOUR (24) hours for minor failures, taking into account the sub-clauses of item 5 "Parts, guarantees and EOL". Question: In the event of local equipment failure requiring replacement, and considering that the spare parts are on the site (ArSat Facilities), will ArSat replace the unit or does it have to be replaced by the manufacturer's staff or local channel staff within 2 hours for critical failures? Please clarify if ArSat is requesting 24x7 local support for hardware replacement. Answer: ARSAT may operate on a "remote hand" basis for the replacement of units, provided that the relevant technical procedure has been documented. The supplier shall provide at least 24x7 telephone service with the ability to solve any system failure remotely within the stated timeframes. 1-1.56 The proposal should include the provision and installation of optical laying considering stretched between HUB and antenna of 250 meters each. Question: Is there any optical fiber duct? Are cables run in a tray or a closed duct? Please state if ducts have to be supplied. Answer: Consider a buried duct.