INTERNET SERVICE FOR OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR E-RATE 17 (2014-2015) 1.0 OVERIVEW The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is seeking managed broadband Internet services for its district as described in this Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFP is being released in conjunction with the filing of USAC Form 470, which was posted on January 18, 2014. The Managed Internet Service will provide Internet access services that combine a highspeed, dedicated connection with consolidated application management. The Managed Internet Service (MIS) will includes proactive, 24x7 network monitoring, enhanced network security features, and maintenance of the communications link between the district and the proposers network. It is expected that the proposer will provide the required equipment, configure and install the equipment at the OUSD s location, and maintain the Districts Internet access service end to end. 2.0 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Throughout this RFP, and unless otherwise stated, the terms proposer and vendor are used synonymously. Any proposal that does not demonstrate that the vendor meets these minimum requirements will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered. Premier Tier One ISP Requirements The vendor must be a Tier One Internet Service Provider (ISP). OUSD defines a Tier One ISP as an ISP that meets the following requirements: Direct peering connections to all NSF (National Science Foundation) approved NAPs (Network Access Points). Bilateral private peering agreements with, or purchase transit bandwidth directly from, Sprint, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon/MCI/UUnet, or Level3/Genuity. The minimum aggregate bandwidth on each bi-lateral private peering agreement or direct transit bandwidth shall not be less than OC12 (622Mb/s). Measured round-trip time on the US continental backbone from the customer s premises to the most distant node on the provider backbone that does not exceed 85ms with less than 1% packet loss. Continental United States IP backbone based on OC48 (2.488 GB/s) or larger circuits. The following performance characteristics are required: 99.95% service availability Less than 60 ms U.S. delay (Latency): Network-wide monthly average delay Less than 0.7% packet loss
A Call Center/Support Center/Help Desk as the initial escalation point. In addition, the OUSD must be able to contact the NOC directly for network emergencies, if it chooses to do so. A web-based reporting and monitoring system available to OUSD. A written escalation policy with contact names, phone numbers, coverage hours, procedures, and automatic escalation based on duration of issue. The OUSD requires notification in writing five business days prior to any changes to the contact information. A specific maintenance window as part of the Service Level Agreement. The vendor must agree to make any scheduled maintenance that could affect the OUSD s Internet connectivity during the specified maintenance window. In addition, the vendor must notify the OUSD s designated contact at least one week prior to any actual scheduled maintenance. The notification must be made during normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. The notification can be done via e-mail but it must arrive at least one week prior to the actual scheduled maintenance. 3.0 PROPOSAL FORM AND CONTENT Vendor shall provide their response to the RFP in the following manner and with the information as described below. Request RFP from mharken@csmcentral.com and become a registered proposer. Due Date and Location Responses shall be submitted by not later than February 17, 2014 at 2 pm PST to: John Krull, IT Officer OUSD Technology Services 1011 Union St Oakland, CA 94607 Inquiries Questions regarding the RFP shall be directed to: mharken@csmcentral.com. Answers to all questions will be sent to all registered proposers. Vendors are hereby explicitly directed not to contact Oakland Unified School District personnel for any reason other than pertaining to existing services. Resulting Agreement OUSD s Request for Proposals, and the Proposer's response, will be incorporated into the Agreement as Exhibits. An individual authorized to legally bind Proposer must sign the response. Evaluation Proposals will be evaluated based on the following categories:
a. Cost b. The proposer s performance based on references c. Products Proposed d. Proven ability adjust network services in a timely manner e. Ability to meet schedule Network Infrastructure Vendor shall provide diagrams and/or descriptions, including upstream providers when applicable. Vendor should be able to demonstrate redundancy within its core infrastructure as well as redundancy options for OUSD s last mile, specifically. Financial Stability Vendor shall supply current annual report and/or other supporting documentation to substantiate financial solvency. References Vendor shall include the organization name, contact, contact title, and phone number of at least three customers with similar applications that have had vendor s services for a period of at least one year. Customer Support Vendor shall provide the following: Contact information and background of technical support team. Trouble ticket procedures and escalation intervals Billing dispute resolution process Description of web-based interface for billing, trouble reporting, etc., if available. 4.0 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS General A minimum of 10 GBps of fixed, dedicated synchronous Internet access with the ability to upgrade or downgrade as demands change. Service to be delivered to OUSD via a 10 GBps full duplex fiber Ethernet ports on OUSD s equipment located at: 1011 Union St., Oakland, CA 94607. On-premise Equipment OUSD will allow vendors to include customer premise equipment as part of the service they provide. Additional Services The following services shall be provided by the vendor: Vendor shall provide 2 Class C licenses for IP addressing (512 external IPs) DNS Service
5.0 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS Each vendor shall meet all of the specifications and proposal terms and conditions as set forth in this Request for Proposal. By virtue of the proposal submission, the vendor acknowledges agreement with and acceptance of all provisions of the specifications except as expressly qualified in the proposal. Non-substantial deviations may be considered provided that the vendor submits a full description and explanation of and justification for the proposed deviations. Whether any proposed deviation is nonsubstantial will be determined by OUSD in its sole discretion. These terms and conditions shall be adhered to relative to any project for which the selected Vendor provides services. OUSD reserves the right to delete or alter these terms and conditions or to add additional terms and conditions at its discretion. Insurance Supplier shall maintain Commercial General Liability insurance with per occurrence limits of at least $1,000,000 and general aggregate limits of at least $2,000,000. Supplier shall also maintain, if applicable to Supplier's operations or performance of this contract, Business Automobile Liability insurance covering Supplier's owned, non-owned, and hired motor vehicles and/or Professional Liability (errors and omissions) insurance with liability limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. Such insurance policies shall be endorsed to be primary and not contributing to any other insurance maintained by the OUSD. The Supplier shall maintain all employee related insurances, in the statutory amounts, such as unemployment compensation, worker's compensation and employer's liability, for its employees or volunteers involved in performing services pursuant to this Contract. Supplier shall also maintain "all risk" property insurance at replacement cost applicable to Supplier's property or its equipment. The Supplier's insurance carriers and policy provisions must be acceptable to the OUSD's Risk and Insurance Manager and remain in effect for the duration of the Contract. The OUSD shall be named as an additional insured on the Commercial General Liability insurance policy. Supplier will cause any of its subcontractors, who provide materials or perform services relative to this contract, to also maintain the insurance coverage and provisions listed above. The Supplier shall submit certificates of insurance as evidence of the above required coverage to the OUSD prior to the commencement of this Contract. Such certificates shall provide OUSD with thirty (30) calendar days written notice prior to the cancellation or material change of the applicable coverage, as evidenced by return receipt or certified mail, sent to the above address. Additional Bandwidth During the life of the contract, the OUSD reserves the option to increase/decrease the bandwidth of its Internet connection above the initial amount of bandwidth. Such an change would not extend the term of the contract. Relationship of the Parties In assuming and performing the obligations of any Contract, the OUSD and any supplier shall each be acting as independent parties and neither shall be considered or represent itself as a joint venture, partner, or employee of the other.
Compliance with all Law The selected vendor shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, executive orders and regulations of the federal, state, and local government, as well as all applicable Equal Opportunity No supplier of goods and/or services under this RFP or any Contract shall discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, or recipient of services on the basis of veteran status, race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or national origin. Taxes - Supplier's Responsibility Suppliers shall be responsible for and pay all taxes which may be levied or incurred against the supplier in connection with the performance of any services under a Contract, including taxes levied or incurred against supplier's income, inventory, property, sales, or other taxes. Non-Appropriation of State and or Government Funds Carrier agrees that if funds are not appropriated or are otherwise not available to Customer for all or a portion of the Services due to regulatory changes or program cancellation ("Non-Appropriation"), Customer may, upon thirty (30) days written Notice to Carrier, terminate this Agreement or specific Service(s) under this Agreement. Customer may so terminate without any liability (including any liability for cancellation or termination or Underutilization charges that might otherwise apply). E-rate Requirements Prices must be held firm for the duration of the E-Rate Year 17 fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 or until all work associated with the project(s) are complete (including any SLD approved extensions) These services depend on partial funding from the E-rate program. Applicant expects each Service Provider to make themselves thoroughly familiar with any rules or regulations regarding the E-rate program. All contracts entered into as a result of this RFP will be contingent upon the specific funding of the FRN at the percentage rate submitted for. The maximum percentage the Applicant will be liable for is the pre-discount amount minus the funded amount as shown on the form 471 Block 5. The Service Provider will be responsible for invoicing the Schools and Libraries Division for the funded amount. NO E-rate billing or E-rate eligible work can take place before July 1, 2014. In the event of questions during the E-Rate audit process, the successful vendor is expected to reply within 3 days to questions associated with their proposal.
All work is subject to the 100% approval of the project or purchase by the FCC under the E-rate discount program of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Service Provider will be required to send copies of all forms and invoices submitted to SLD prior to invoicing the SLD to the District for our records. All Service Providers will be responsible for procuring the discounted amount from the SLD. Applicant will not provide the form 472 (BEAR form reimbursement process). The Applicant reserves the right to deny any or all proposals associated with this RFP, even with SLD funding approval. OUSD reserves the right to accept the pricing proposal solely dependent upon SLD approval. In addition, the district reserves the right to fund, (proceed with project or purchase) or not to fund regardless of E-rate approval. Only applicants holding a valid Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) are eligible to respond to this RFP. Entities holding Red-Light Status with the FCC are not eligible for funding under this RFP and no proposals submitted by such entities will be considered. 6.0 SCOPE OF WORK The Scope of Work is a general guide and is not intended to be a complete list of all work necessary to complete the project. The following work tasks are assumed to be necessary to establish the Internet connection from the vendor s site to the OUSD. Proposers may suggest a modified scope as part of their proposal. 1. Initiate required circuit and coordinate installation with OUSD s technical staff. 2. Provide vendor s IP Address space. 3. Set up CPE, connect to new circuit, and test communications. 4. Working with OUSD, verify throughput/egress. 5. Provide OUSD with the vendor s NOC (Network Operations Center) contact information and procedures including escalation policies. Service Level Agreement If network trouble occurs, the provider will deliver swift, state-of-the-art problem detection, diagnosis, and resolution. Vendor shall describe commitments and compensation for non-performance.
7.0 PRICING & TERM Vendor shall provide the following pricing information for 1, 3, and 5 years. Non-recurring Costs One-time cost for installation and setup Monthly Recurring Costs Monthly Local Loop Charges Monthly ISP Charges Please provide any optional pricing that the proposer feels pertinent. Optional Service Quality of Service (QoS) Network Redundancy Network Time Protocol (NTP) Services Monthly Cost