SAP

State of South Carolina

Request for Proposal Amendment #2 Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400018755 November 7, 2019 Michael Thomas, CPPO

(803) 896-0752 Michael.Thomas@admin.sc.gov 4430 Broad River Road Columbia SC 29210

DESCRIPTION: Statewide Satellite Internet Services

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: SC Department of Administration, Division of Technology Operations-Statewide Contract

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 11/6/2019 11/25/2019 11:00:00 AM, EST (See "Deadline For Submission Of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 10/22/2019 (See "Questions From Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: Refer to page 3 Initial here if NO redacted copy is necessary _______

CONFERENCE TYPE: Not applicable

DATE & TIME:

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions) LOCATION: Not applicable

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, You agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of one-hundred twenty (120) calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov )

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

SAP

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

_________________________________________________ E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one) ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009): On June 16, 2009, the South Carolina General Assembly rewrote the law governing preferences available to in-state vendors, vendors using in-state subcontractors, and vendors selling in-state or US end products. This law appears in Section 11-35-1524 of the South Carolina Code of Laws. A summary of the new preferences is available at www.procurement.sc.gov/preferences . ALL THE PREFERENCES MUST BE CLAIMED AND ARE APPLIED BY LINE ITEM, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER AWARD IS MADE BY ITEM OR LOT. VENDORS ARE CAUTIONED TO CAREFULLY REVIEW THE STATUTE BEFORE CLAIMING ANY PREFERENCES. THE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY HAVE CHANGED. IF YOU REQUEST A PREFERENCE, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOUR OFFER QUALIFIES FOR THE PREFERENCE YOU'VE CLAIMED. IMPROPERLY REQUESTING A PREFERENCE CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. [11-35-1524(E)(4)&(6)]

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE: Please provide the address and phone number for your in-state office in the space provided below. An in-state office is necessary to claim either the Resident Vendor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(i)&(ii)) or the Resident Contractor Preference (11-35-1524(C)(1)(iii)). Accordingly, you must provide this information to qualify for the preference. An in-state office is not required, but can be beneficial, if you are claiming the Resident Subcontractor Preference (11-35-1524(D)).

____In-State Office Address same as Home Office Address ____In-State Office Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

PAGE TWO (SEP 2009)

End of PAGE TWO

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

(a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1]

Questions and Answers

Question 1) Page 22, paragraph 4 states “…a single vendor will be selected to provide the requested services for LOT 2, K-12 public schools and public libraries. “. This statement is not consistent with Page 24 (3rd section) where Lot 2 is described, here it states “LOT 2 shall be awarded to multiple Contractor to serve as providers…” The two statements conflict with one another, how will Lot 2 actually be awarded? Will the award be to multiple vendors, or a single vendor for lot 2?

Answer 1) As a clarification, the State intends to select multiple vendors to support k-12 needs. As such, the relevant language on Page 22 paragraph 4 now reads “multiple vendors will be selected to provide the requested services for LOT 2, K-12 public schools and public libraries.”

Question 2) Page 22, paragraph 7 states “…the State will consider, and in fact encourages, novel and imaginative recommendations, including new technology, new service, and unique application of pricing methodologies”. Broadband internet services, including Satellite internet Services, is an unmanaged best effort form of access and neither meets the traditional characteristics of wireline service nor the SLAs found within this RFP. As a result will the state consider an unmanaged best effort satellite internet service that supports continuity of operations, disaster recovery, and can provide remote access where traditional wireline services are unavailable?

Answer 2) Yes.

Question 3) Page 23 “EXCLUSION FROM THIS SOLICITATION” states “Internet Access is excluded from this procurement.”. The service that you are requesting with this solicitation is “Internet Services”. Please provide clarification on the exclusion.

Answer 3) The exclusion listed is for wired access to internet services. The State still wishes to acquire satellite internet access thru this solicitation.

Question 4) Page 26, item 6.2 states “The State shall NOT incur any installation, special construction, or one-time costs.” This is not consistent with the excel worksheets that shows “Installation, Equipment, and Activation costs, which are considered one time cost, and is standard for the industry. Please clarify or remove item 6.2 Answer 4) Noted. The State has revised the associated pricing template to remove the columns that refer to installation, equipment, and activation costs. Please see the attached revised pricing template.

Question 5) Page 26, item 6.4 states “The State requires all-inclusive pricing for any and all services.” Will the state permit a different price for the initial 12 months of service than the following periods of service?

Answer 5) No. The state requires flat rate pricing, for services, thru the term of this contract. Any special construction, installation or onetime costs, shall be quoted to the Using Governmental Unit and handled independent of this contract.

Question 6) Can you confirm that the satellite internet service needs identified in this solicitation are for official State government employees use only (not patrons)?

Answer 6): This contract will authorize state government agencies, political subdivisions, and schools (using government units) to acquire the services described in this contract. As long as the provision and use of services complies with the requirements of this contract, how those services are used by each respective using governmental unit is beyond the scope of the Department of Administration can control. If a contractor has specific questions about how its services might be used, the contractor is encouraged to discuss such matters with the using government unit prior to the issuance of a purchase order.

Question 7) LOT 1 is outlined in the pricing templates and spreadsheets attached with the RFP document. Is the bandwidth column a throughput/data rate requirement on the download portion only?

Answer 7) The proposed pricing template includes both download and upload speeds. Please see a snap shot below.

Question 8) Is this solicitation for LOT 1 pricing exclusive to Internet access for the State Parks & Welcome Centers at this time?

Answer 8) No. This State term contract will be available to any agency and political subdivision to use.

Question 9) Will one vendor be selected to provide satellite access to all 57 sites listed with the SC IT-Parks and State Sites spreadsheet?

Answer 9) This will be up to each using agency. The State intends to issue multiple awards for lots 1 and 2 Question 10) Should pricing be all inclusive to include airtime, maintenance, equipment and installation? The spreadsheet itemizes those items out but in the RFP it talks about an inclusive description.

Answer 10) Yes.

Question 11) If a vendor does not participate in e-Rate or have a current SPIN, does that disqualify a vendor from this RFP?

Answer 11) No. An offeror can still provide a response to Lot 1 only.

Question 12) Section 1.1 states: “The State shall NOT incur any installation, special construction, or one-time costs.” Can you clarify this requirement? Is the State requesting that all services provided under this award would be pay per use?

Answer 12) Please refer to the answer provided in question # 5 above.

Question 13) Section 1.2 “The State requires no cancellation or termination fees be applied for disconnected services.” Likewise, please clarify.

Answer 13) The States standard clause within the solicitation, Section VII-Terms and Conditions- A. General- TERMINATION DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF FUNDS (JAN 2006), or SECTION VII TERMS AND CONDITIONS-B. SPECIAL- TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE, would pertain to any cancellations or terminations.

Question 14) Section 5 of the Specific Requirements by Lot requires end to end QoS. Will the State reconsider this requirement?

Answer 14) Yes.

DELETE ITEM #4 FROM LOT 1, SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS BY LOT.

Question 15) The SLA requirements in Attachment 2 are built for terrestrial private networks not satellite. As list now, we would not be able meet these for satellite circuits. Will the State please reconsider that this the requirement they are expecting for this work?

Answer 15) Yes, see answer to question 16 below.

Question 16) Based on the SLA requirements, the penalties would not be feasible of non-terrestrial circuits. Will the State reconsider these penalties?

Answer 16) Yes. Section 3 – Sub-Section 23. Service Level Agreement - Item 23.7 is revised as follows:

Question 17) Under the General Requirements for all Lots Section 1 the RFP states: Core/backbone with a drawing including any aggregation services; Capacity of Backbone within the Contractor's network; and Redundancy and Resiliency in the form of multiple paths and fast convergence within the Contractor's core network. This information is proprietary. If we provided it as such and redacted the information in our redacted version would it still be made available to the public?

Answer 17) No. If it is in the redacted version, it will not be made available to the public.

Question 18) There are conflicting statements regarding whether Lot 1 and Lot 2 are multi-award or single award. Can clarification on how many awards will be granted for both Lot 1 and Lot 2?

Answer 18) The state intends to have multiple awards for each lot.

Question 19) Is the contract award a base year and four one year options or an initial term of 3 years and four one year options? Both are stated in the solicitation.

Answer 19) The period of performance for this contract is corrected to 3 base years, with four optional years.

Question 20) Does the State of South Carolina intend to purchase all the data rates listed in the pricing template?

Answer 20) The purchase of the needed service and rates will be up to each individual using governmental entity to determine at the time it issues a purchase order.

Question 21) If a prospective bidder doesn’t provide pricing for each option listed in the pricing template, will that disqualify the bid? Or preclude that bid the ability to be fairly evaluated and or awarded?

Answer 21) No. The bidder is encouraged to provide pricing for each option it can provide in a manner consistent with the other requirements of the contract.

Question 22) There is no reference to Limitation of Liability. Request to include the following language, or some similar language, or the opportunity to negotiate a reasonable limitation of liability clause upon award:

Limitation of Liability:

(1) Contractor’s liability for damages to the State and any Using Governmental Unit for any cause whatsoever, and regardless of the form of action, shall not exceed, on a per claim or aggregate basis, an amount equal to three times the aggregate of the total amounts paid to Contractor, less any credits, under all the agreements concerning this Solicitation between Contractor and the governmental entity making the claim.

(2) The parties waive claims against each other for exemplary or punitive damages and for the following damages, costs or expenses: lost profit or income; lost savings; financing costs; losses resulting from injury to business reputation or goodwill; any interest, except to the extent allowed by the clause entitled Payment & Interest; and principal office expenses and overhead, including, but not limited to, the compensation of personnel, rent, utilities and office equipment.

(3) The foregoing limitations shall not apply (a) to liability for infringement of a third party’s intellectual property rights, (b) to claims regarding personal injury or damage to tangible property caused by the negligence of Contractor or an employee or agent of Contractor, (c) to claims arising from gross negligence or from willful or intentional misconduct of Contractor or an employee or agent of Contractor, (d) to amounts due or obligations under a clause (regardless of how named) providing for liquidated damages, or if such a clause is ruled unenforceable as a penalty, or (e) to amounts due or obligations under the clauses entitled “Indemnification – Third Party Claims – General”.

(4) A governmental entity’s liability for damages, if any, for any cause whatsoever, and regardless of the form of action, shall not exceed an amount equal to triple the cumulative price paid by that governmental entity to Contractor for the goods and services acquired pursuant to this Contract. Nothing herein shall be construed to waive any clause regarding the availability or appropriation of funds, sovereign immunity, or any other immunity, restriction, or limitation on recovery provided by law. The absence in any subcontract of a similar clause limiting liability shall not increase the obligation of a Using Governmental Unit beyond what it would have been had the subcontract contained such a clause.

5) For purposes of clarification, the waiver of certain damages, costs and expenses in section 2 above does not include a waiver of any damages awarded to a third party for which indemnification is provided by the terms of this contract.

Answer 22) The State may elect to negotiate with responsive and responsible Offeror(s) on certain issues, so long as the changes are within the general scope of the request for proposals.

Question 23) Section VII. Terms and Conditions A. General - ASSIGNMENT, NOVATION, AND CHANGE OF NAME, IDENTITY, OR STRUCTURE on page 47

Vendor requests that the State amend this section to indicate that the vendor may, without customer’s consent, assign in whole or relevant part, its rights and obligations under any resulting Contract between the parties to an Affiliate, or subcontract to an Affiliate or a third-party work to be performed under said resulting Contract, but vendor will in each such case remain financially responsible for the performance of such obligations.

Answer 23) As presented, it is not clear to the State what “remain financially responsible” means. In the scenario(s) described in the question, the Contract would still need to comply with the Subcontractors Clause. Additionally, the State may elect to negotiate with responsive and responsible Offeror(s) on certain issues, so long as the changes are within the general scope of the request for proposals.

Question 24) Terms and Conditions B. Special – Contractor’s Liability Insurance – General p. 52

Most vendors have comprehensive insurance coverage already in place. The certificates may not match verbatim the requirements contained in this section; however, the coverage is materially compliant.

Will the State accept substantial compliance with insurance requirements?

Answer 24) The State will make a determination of compliance with this provision on a case-by-case basis. If the Offeror is responsive, the State may elect to negotiate with responsive and responsible Offeror(s) on certain issues, so long as the changes are within the general scope of the request for proposals.

Question 25) Terms and Conditions B. Special – Contractor’s Liability Insurance - Information Security and Privacy – Page 53

Most vendors have comprehensive insurance coverage already in place. The certificates may not match verbatim the requirements contained in this section; however, the coverage is materially compliant.

Will the State accept substantial compliance with insurance requirements?

Answer 25) The State will make a determination of compliance with this provision on a case-by-case basis. If the offeror is responsive, The State may elect to negotiate with responsive and responsible Offeror(s) on certain issues, so long as the changes are within the general scope of the request for proposals.

Question 26) Terms and Conditions – B. Special - INFORMATION USE AND DISCLOSURE (FEB 2015) item (h), Actions Following Disclosure p. 58

The State asks for unlimited reimbursement to the State without any limitation. Would the State consider a negotiated limitation that would provide the needed protection for the State while also protecting the need of the vendor to place reasonable caps on liability?

Answer 26) The State may elect to negotiate with responsive and responsible Offeror(s) on certain issues, so long as the changes are within the general scope of the request for proposals.

Question 27) Scope Description – p. 10 Through this Solicitation, the State is seeking to establish a statewide multi-vendor contract.

Will vendors be allowed to join this multi-vendor contract after the initial award and during the term of the contract if they agree to the terms and conditions?

Answer 27) No.

Question 28) Section III Scope - EXCLUSION FROM THIS SOLICITATION Internet Access is excluded from this procurement. The State awarded statewide Internet Access contracts 4400016068, 4400016070, 4400016019 and 4400014665 in 2017.

DTO intends to solicit proposals from qualified Offerors to provide Satellite Internet Service. How does this not conflict with the current state Internet contract? Please clarify.

Answer 28) The State does not see any conflict between the traditional internet wirelines service and the services requested in this RFP. If a bidder perceives such a conflict, kindly please address a letter detailing this perspective to the procurement officer, Michael Thomas, by no later than close of business on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

Question 29) Scope Description – p. 22 Through this Solicitation, the State is seeking to establish a statewide multi-vendor contract.

In other sections there are statements that the State is seeking a single vendor. Please clarify.

Answer 29) Please see response to Question 1.

NOTE : THE STATE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOLLOWING THIS AMENDMENT.

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