4-RFP-27-003, Network Switches and Related Components.pdf

INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

RFP-27-003

Request for Proposals For:

Network Switches and Related Components

Proposal Due Date and Time:

November 12, 2026 @ 11:00 AM ET

Nicole Kenney, Procurement Specialist cont917nk@myips.org

317.509.7483 Indianapolis Public Schools Procurement Department

120 E Walnut Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 mailto:cont917nk@myips.org

Section One - RFP Overview I. Introduction

Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is soliciting competitive proposals through this Request for Proposals (RFP) in accordance with applicable Indiana Code, IPS policies, and IPS administrative guidelines. IPS is upgrading and/or adding wireless capacity at locations throughout the district and is inviting competitive proposals from qualified providers for a contract to provide network electronics equipment.

This solicitation package is being posted for potential respondents on https://indigo.bonfirehub.com as well as publicly advertised in accordance with Indiana Code. Only electronic proposal submissions will be accepted through the Indigo Procurement Portal (https://indigo.bonfirehub.com).

II. Summary of Key Dates & Milestones

The following timeline is only an illustration of the RFP process. Some dates are binding as described within this document and others are subject to change. At the conclusion of the evaluation process, all respondents will be informed of the award.

Activity Date

Issue of RFP, Post 470 Newspaper 9/18, 9/25

September 17, 2026

Deadline to Submit Written Questions October 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM ET

Target Response to Written Questions October 15, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET

Deadline to Submit Proposal November 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET

Target Board Approval December 2026

Installation & Testing Completion Deadline June 15, 2027

Contract & Billing Effective Start Date July 1, 2027

III. Background & Scope of Services

● The contract period is anticipated to be April 1, 2027 through September 30, 2028. Subject to the agreement of both parties, the contract may be extended for additional one (1) year periods at the terms and conditions and at pricing not to exceed original contract pricing. The contract may be renewed through September 30, 2029.

● The contract start date is expected to begin with E-Rate funding approval.

● Reimbursement for eligible services and eligible entities may be sought by IPS from the Universal

Services Administration Company (USAC) under E-Rate funding, or the Contractor may be required to bill the Universal Services Administration Company directly for the E-Rate portion of eligible services and charges. All respondents must have a current SPIN number to respond to https://indigo.bonfirehub.com this solicitation. Because E-Rate reimbursement may be made only for eligible services, all prices must be itemized, and respondents must indicate for each price proposed if the charge is eligible for E-Rate reimbursement. Respondents must also identify any partial reimbursement eligibility.

● IPS intends to make one or more awards for equipment and services to responsive and responsible Contractors.

● All products proposed should be Commscope Ruckus or equivalent products (identified in bundle options under the technical specifications) and have design such to integrate seamlessly with existing head-end and downstream equipment. IPS currently operates Commscope Ruckus and Cisco equipment at the head-end office so interoperability and cross functionality is required.

● All quantities shown are estimated and may be more or less.

● All products purchased will be delivered to one or more IPS designated receiving sites. IPS reserves the right to add or subtract locations, school locations, and/or increase or decrease quantities of product purchased. This shall apply to either a permanent or temporary change.

● It is anticipated that the equipment will be purchased via multiple purchase orders with multiple delivery dates throughout the duration of the contract. Release of purchase orders will begin shortly after execution of the contract. Equipment ordered will be delivered after April 1, 2027 unless USAC/E-Rate allows earlier delivery. Additional orders may be placed in smaller quantities during the term of the contract, or renewals thereof.

● Successful Respondent must agree that prices will not exceed the proposed pricing through the full length of the contract. Failure to hold pricing firm will be sufficient cause for IPS to cancel this contract.

● It is anticipated that this contract will begin on April 1, 2027 to be consistent with the E-Rate funding year. All pricing must assume that the payment for equipment will begin no sooner than

July 1, 2027 (or earlier as approved by USAC/E-Rate) and proposed pricing must remain firm through this date and the term of any contract awarded under this BID.

● All respondents shall understand and agree that this is a non-exclusive contract, and that other providers may be retained or selected to provide similar services and products to IPS.

Universal Service Funding (E-Rate) & Billing Requirements

This solicitation requests proposals for a contract partially funded by the Schools and Libraries

Universal Service Fund (USF / E-Rate). Service providers must comply with all rules and regulations set forth by USAC and the FCC:

● SPIN Requirement: Respondents must have and maintain a valid Service Provider Identification

Number (SPIN).

● Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP): Providers must offer services based on LCP, defined as the lowest price charged to non-residential customers similarly situated for similar services.

● Invoicing Options: While IPS has historically filed BEAR forms, the vendor must be capable of directly billing USAC via SPIF form for the discounted portion if requested. Service Provider

Invoices (SPI) sent to IPS must be directed to accounting@myips.org on a monthly basis in arrears.

● Documentation & Audit Support: Vendors must provide service records, invoices, and compliance documentation within 48 hours of an IPS request at vendor expense.

● Performance Surety Separation: Charges for performance bonds (10% requirement for 5-year term) are ineligible for E-Rate reimbursement and must be listed separately.

IV. Contact & Communication Protocol

All communication, unless stated otherwise in this document, should be directed to the Procurement Specialist on the title page of this RFP. If communication is had with any other district employee, including district board members, the respondent may disqualify themselves from further consideration. No Respondent shall rely upon, take any action, or make any decision based upon any verbal communication with any other district employee, representative, or school board member.

V. Questions & Answer Period

All questions must be submitted through the Messages section of the RFP posting on the Indigo Procurement Portal by the deadline listed in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. If the public Q&A feature is enabled, all responses will be posted directly within the portal for all potential respondents to view. Only written responses posted in the system are considered official and binding.

Respondents may not rely on verbal communications, informal conversations with district personnel, or information obtained from media or social media sources.

If any revisions or clarifications to this RFP are required, an Addendum will be issued through the Bonfire portal. IPS may extend the proposal deadline if necessary to accommodate the release of new information.

VI. Proposal Due Date & Time

Respondents must submit a response before the proposal due date and time outlined in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Indigo Procurement Portal. Proposals not submitted by the deadline cannot be considered; nor will sending it via email or hand delivery be viable alternatives. The district accepts no obligations for costs incurred by respondents in anticipation of being awarded.

Section Two - RFP Preparation & Submission

I. Proposal Submission Requirements – Requested Information

Vendors must submit a complete proposal through the Indigo Procurement Portal by the deadline listed in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. Late submissions will not be considered. Any confidential information must be clearly marked and submitted only through the designated “Confidential Information” upload field. IPS is not responsible for protecting information that is improperly labeled or submitted outside of this field.

● Specification Agreement & Contract forms A-E (includes diversity business designation form)

● Total Cost of Ownership – Pricing Proposal

● Quality & Technical Architecture

● Technical Service & Support

● Vendor Capability & 2-3 References with Contact Information

● Contractual Terms

● Implementation Plan

Components: Switches and SFPs

Module Name Description Estimated Qty.

Ruckus ICX 7850-48FS Aggregation Router

-Hot Swap Dual Power Supplies/ Power

Redundancy

-1G/10G ports x 48

-OSPF Capable

Ruckus ICX 8200-24XP2

-Hot Swap Dual Power Supplies/ Power

Redundancy

-802.3bt (PoE++ / Class 5)

-2.5G/5G/10G Speeds

Ruckus ICX 8200-48NP2

-Hot Swap Dual Power Supplies/ Power

Redundancy

-802.3bt (PoE++ / Class 5)

-2.5G/5G/10G Speeds

-OSPF Capable

Ruckus R770

(Gyms/Cafeterias/Media

Centers)

Ruckus R670 (Classrooms)

Indoor

-1G/2.5G/5G/10G Uplink Port

-Wi-fi 7

-Tri-band

Ruckus T670 (Ethernet)

Ruckus T750 (Fiber) -Intended for Stadiums

Outdoor

-5G/10G Uplink Port

-Wi-fi 6e or 7

-Tri-band preferable

10G-SFPP-SR-S8 -Operates on OM3/OM4 cabling 100

-10G

10G-SFPP-LR-S8-10 -Operates on OM3/OM4 cabling

-10G

40G-QSFP-C-00501 Stacking Cables (1.5 ft) 250

40G-QSFP-QSFP-P-0301 Stacking Cables (3 meters) 50

-Ruckus CX7650-4X10GF 4 x 1/10GB Network Module

-May be required depending on switch models quoted

Respondents should add additional line items as necessary, such as:

● Power supplies must be denoted as included or added as separate line item to make the bid whole. If multiple sizes of power supplies are available, include as optional line items.

● Management platform – Vendor will need to make the best recommendation for on-premises and cloud base. Switches/APs must be centrally managed. Please include requisite licensing in quote.

● Wireless Controller– Need vendor to make the best recommendation for on-premises and cloud base.

● Vendor should provide document describing differencing in licensing (features and cost)

● We want the vendor to come up with the best 3 year warranty and software assurance.

Components for: Firewall Cluster/High Availability

● Support up to 40K+ concurrently active devices

● Use a /16 Public Network and a /8 Private Network

● 40GB or Greater Internet Throughput with more than one ISP supported

● Connections of 10GB/25GB/40GB/100GB

● Processing 1,000,000+ current sessions without degradation of speed

● Logging locally and cloud-based

● Dashboard for main firewall cluster and SD-WAN links

● Offloading SSL Certificates and using District Wildcard Certification

● BGP Supported: Indicate Number of IPs supported

● URL & MAC Address Filtering

● Firewall Virtual Cluster/High Availability

● SD-WAN Support and the model that is supported for this firewall product.

● Event Correlation and Reporting

II. Access to Public Records Act (APRA)

Respondents are advised that materials contained in proposals are subject to the Access to Public Records Act (APRA), IC 5-14-3 et seq., and, after the contract award, the solicitation file may be posted on the Indigo Bonfirehub website and may be viewed and copied by any member of the public, including news agencies and competitors. The responses are deemed to be “public records” unless a specific provision of IC 5-14-3 protects it from disclosure. Respondents claiming a statutory exception to the APRA must indicate which specific provision applies to which specific part of the response.

Please note citing “Confidential” on an entire section or within the body of a written response is not sufficient or acceptable. Confidential information should ONLY be uploaded in the Confidential Information Section of RFP on the Indigo Bonfirehub website. If the Respondent does not identify the statutory exception, the district will not consider the submission confidential. Furthermore, the district takes no responsibility for disclosing confidential information that is improperly submitted by a Respondent.

Section Three - Proposal Evaluation & Award

I. Proposal Evaluation Overview

Proposals will be evaluated based on the established criteria listed below. IPS reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive any informalities or irregularities. The district may defer awarding a contract for up to 90 days from the due date, during which time the offer must remain firm. This RFP does not constitute a binding offer. The district may request written clarifications from any respondent at its discretion and will ensure that all requests are handled fairly and consistently.

Any clarifications provided will become part of the respondent’s official proposal.

II. Evaluation Process & Criteria

A complete review of all information submitted in the RFP package will be utilized by the district evaluation team to determine if the respondent meets the minimum requirements and is considered a responsive and responsible respondent. All respondents who meet the minimum requirements will then be evaluated based on the contents of the proposal based on the criteria below. All proposals will be ranked based on their combined scores.

Evaluation Category Weight Key Elements Assessed

Specification Agreement & Forms

Pass / Fail Compliance with RFP terms and completion of mandatory Attachment A forms.

Total Cost of Ownership (Price)

35 Inclusive cost of all services, products, taxes, fees, and surcharges.

Quality & Technical Architecture

30 Capacity, upgradability, security, scalability, adaptability, reliability, and SLA uptime.

Technical Service & Support

15 Local service presence within 50 miles of downtown Indianapolis, response times, and SLA rebates.

Vendor Capability & References

10 Minimum 5 years experience, local staff, financial strength, and regional reputation.

Disaster Recovery & Contractual Terms

10 Agreement with standard IPS contract provisions, back-up infrastructure, and redundancy.

Implementation Plan 5 Feasibility of turnkey delivery, testing, and operational cutover by June 15, 2027.

Diversity Business Prime Bonus

Bonus 5 Diversity business prime respondent credit (bringing total possible to 105%).

III. RFP Award & Contracting Overview

Respondents will receive notice of the district’s intent to award the RFP through the website. All RFP award recommendations are subject to approval by the IPS Board of School Commissioners. Upon board approval, the respondent(s) awarded will complete necessary documentation to finalize and electronically sign the complete contract prior to commencement.

It is necessary for all awarded respondents to complete the following information upon award:

● Provide any proposed changes to the district’s standard contract terms and conditions.

● Provide a Certificate of Insurance per district contract terms and conditions.

● Confirm IPS Vendor ID or Register a New Profile in Finance System:

https://myipsinvendors.munisselfservice.com/Vendors/default.aspx o Completed W9 o Banking information and valid bank document

Respondents not awarded have up to three business days (from the date of the award) to submit, in writing, a formal protest of the award. The district will only consider protests from prime respondents. All RFP protests should be sent via email to the attention of the IPS Procurement Manager via purchasing@myips.org by 4:00 PM EST on the third business day to be considered.

https://myipsinvendors.munisselfservice.com/Vendors/default.aspx mailto:purchasing@myips.org