B026-06_FCC_Cyber_Security_Pilot_Program_RFP_MERI_Cyber_2025_.pdf

City of Meriden, Connecticut

Purchasing Department

Invitation to Bid

For

B026-06

FCC Cyber Security Pilot Program

FCC FORM 470 # CBR420250644

(MERI Cyber 2025)

Bids Due: August 20, 2025

@ 11:00 AM EST

Purchasing Department

142 East Main St. Room 210

Meriden, CT 06450

LEGAL NOTICE

INVITATION TO BID

The City of Meriden is accepting sealed electronic bids for:

FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Program

Form 470# CBR420250644 (MERI Cyber 2025)

The City of Meriden, CT, is soliciting sealed electronic bids in response to this request for a Managed Detection and Response

(MDR) solution and an off-site immutable storage system.

Bids shall be submitted as sealed electronic bids per specifications obtained via the City eProcurement Portal:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. and on the State of Connecticut Department of Administrative Services website (https://webprocure.proactiscloud.com) and the Cybersecurity Pilot FCC Form 470 Download Tool

(https://opendata.usac.org/stories/s/Cybersecurity-Pilot-FCC-Form-470-Download-Tool/jsy6-d5cw/).

Bids may be received up to but not later than 11:00 AM local Eastern Standard Time on August 20, 2025, via the City eProcurement Portal located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. The City eProcurement Portal Clock is the official clock for the determination of all deadline dates and times. Without exception, responses will not be accepted after the submission deadline regardless of any technical difficulties such as poor internet connections. The City of Meriden, CT strongly recommends completing your response well ahead of the deadline. Please submit electronic responses via the City eProcurement

Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct by way of the eProcurement Portal, responses will be locked and digitally encrypted until the submission deadline passes.

The right is reserved to reject any or all bids, in whole or in part, to award any item, group of items, or total bid, and to waive informality or technical defects, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Meriden. No bidder may withdraw its bid within sixty (60) days of the date of the bid opening.

The City of Meriden is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Disadvantaged, minority, small, and women business enterprises are encouraged to respond.

Rawle Dummett

Purchasing Officer

City of Meriden, CT 06450-8022

Dated: July 9, 2025 https://webprocure.proactiscloud.com/ https://opendata.usac.org/stories/s/Cybersecurity-Pilot-FCC-Form-470-Download-Tool/jsy6-d5cw/ https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct

CITY OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT

INFORMATION TO BIDDERS

1. BIDDING PROCEDURES

The City will only be accepting electronic submissions of bids and proposals. Please submit electronic responses via the City eProcurement Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. By way of the eProcurement Portal, responses will be locked and digitally encrypted until the submission deadline passes. Bids are due for submission no later than 11:00 AM local, Eastern Standard Time on August 20, 2025.

2. BIDS

Bids are to be submitted as follows:.

a. Bids must be made out and signed in the corporate, or other, name of Bidder, and must be fully and properly executed by an authorized person.

b. The City of Meriden, CT will only be accepting electronic submissions of the enclosed bid sheet via the

City eProcurement portal partner, OpenGov: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct.

c. Bids received later than the time and date specified will not be considered.

d. Amendments to or withdrawal of bids received later than the date and time set forth in the bid opening will not be considered.

3. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

Bidders will be required to fill out, and include as part of its bid, any attached Bidder’s Qualification

Statement via the City eProcurement Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct.

In determining the qualifications of a bidder, the City of Meriden will consider the bidder’s record of performance in any prior contracts for construction work. The City of Meriden expressly reserves the right to reject a bid if the bidder’s historical performance, in the sole opinion of the City of Meriden, has been unsatisfactory in any manner or if the bidder has habitually and without just cause neglected the payment of bills or has otherwise disregarded its obligations to subcontractors, suppliers, or employees.

4. EXAMINATION OF BIDDING DOCUMENTS

Bidders are to examine all documents and visit the site in order to make a thorough examination of the conditions so that the bidder may familiarize itself with all of the existing requirements, conditions, and difficulties that will affect the execution of the work in order to determine the amount of work necessary to carry out the true intent of the specifications and work shown on the drawings.

The City of Meriden and its agents do not have any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or sufficiency of any bid document obtained from any other source other than from the City eProcurement Portal:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. Obtaining documents from any other source(s) may result in obtaining incomplete and inaccurate information. Obtaining documents from any other source may also result in failure to receive any addenda, corrections, or other revisions to the documents that may be issued.

No request shall be honored if such a request is made after 2:00 PM, EST, on July 21, 2025. Any and all such interpretations, and any supplementary instructions, will be in the form of a written addenda to the specifications which, if issued, will be made available via the City eProcurement Portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct for addenda. Failure of any bidder to receive any such addenda shall not relieve any bidder from any obligations under its bid as submitted.

Bidders shall submit all inquiries regarding this bid via the City eProcurement Portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. Please note the deadline for submitting inquiries. All answers to inquiries will be posted on the City eProcurement Portal. Bidders may also click “Follow” on this bid to receive an email notification when answers are posted. It is the responsibility of the bidder to check the website for answers to inquiries.

5. BIDS TO REMAIN OPEN

No bidder may withdraw its bid within sixty (60) days of the date of the bid opening. Should there be reason why the contract cannot be awarded within the specified period, the time may be extended by mutual agreement between the City of Meriden and the successful bidder.

6. AWARD OF CONTRACT

The Purchasing Officer reserves the right to make an award on the bid which, by the Purchasing Officer’s judgment and recommendation from the Board of Education following bid evaluations, best meets the specifications and is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Meriden.

The contract will not be awarded to any corporation, firm, or individual which/who is in arrears to the City of

Meriden by debt or contract, or who is in default as security or otherwise by any obligation to the City of

Meriden.

The right is reserved to reject any or all bids, in whole or in part, to award any item, group of items, or total bid, and to waive informality or technical defects, if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of

Meriden.

7. BID PROTEST PROCEDURE

In the event that any bidder wishes to protest the potential award of a bid, or any procedure of act in the advertising or soliciting of the bids, said bidder must make said protest in writing, which shall state the reason therefore and request a conference with respect thereto. Said protest must be received in the City Purchasing

Office within FIVE (5) business days after the delivery of bid results or decisions. A conference with respect to said protest shall be scheduled by the Purchasing Officer forthwith and shall be attended by him or his designee and such other persons as the Purchasing Officer and the City Manager shall require to attend. The subject matter of said conference shall be limited to the reasons for the protest specified in the written request for said conference. Said conference shall also include a discussion of all possibilities for a resolution of dispute. The City shall make a decision in writing within three (3) business days after said conference and forward the same to the protesting bidder forthwith. In the event that any protesting bidder wishes to take legal action against the City, they must fully comply with all of these instructions to bidders.

8. TIME

Inasmuch as the contract concerns the three-year FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Program, the provisions of the contract relating to the time of performance and completion of the work are of the essence of the contract. To align with the FCC program rules, all services and equipment must be delivered between the first date of the

Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) and three years from that date.

9. TAXES

The City of Meriden is exempt under Connecticut General Statutes from the payment of the excise taxes imposed by the federal government and the Sales and Use Tax of the State of Connecticut; such taxes should not be included in the bid price. Upon request, exemption certificates will be furnished to the successful bidder.

10. FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

The Contractor shall agree that neither it or its subcontractors, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness or status as a veteran. The aforementioned terms are obtained from Connecticut General Statutes Section 46a-60, et seq., entitled “Discriminatory employment practices prohibited,” as amended.

11. FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF MERIDEN AND CONTRACTOR

The Agreement for the work will be via Purchase Order.

12. LOCAL SUBCONTRACTORS, SUPPLIERS, etc.

Local subcontractors, material suppliers, and labor in the City of Meriden should be considered and sought out insofar as it is practical in the performance of this project.

13. CITY OF MERIDEN CODE OF ETHICS

The City of Meriden has adopted a Code of Ethics located in Chapter 21 of the Code of the City of Meriden, sections 21-1 through 21-15, inclusive, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. The terms of the Code of Ethics shall constitute a part of any contract or agreement entered into by the City of Meriden as a result of this bid as if those terms were fully set forth in such contract or agreement.

Bidders are specifically advised that the Code of Ethics prohibits public officers and employees, as well as their immediate families and businesses, with which they are associated from participating in any transaction which is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or responsibilities. Bidders are also advised that the Code of Ethics contain provisions with respect to paid contractors and former employees and officials.

BIDDERS SHOULD NOTE THAT BIDS, CONTRACTS, AND AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO OR

AWARDED IN VIOLATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS ARE VOIDABLE BY RESOLUTION OF THE

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MERIDEN.

Copies of the Code of Ethics may be obtained from the office of the City Clerk or may be found online on the

City of Meriden’s website.

14. NON-COLLUSION BID STATEMENT

Each bidder submitting a bid to the City of Meriden for any portion of the work contemplated by the documents on which bidding is based shall execute and attach thereto the sworn Non-Collusive Bid Statement, to the effect that the bidder has not colluded with any other person, firm, or corporation in the submission of the bid.

15. AWARD IN CASE OF A TIE

In the event there are two or more responsive bidders, the decision to award will be based by the following criteria and in the following order:

a. The incumbent will be awarded the bid over that of another bidder.

b. In the case of a multi-item bid, if one bidder has been awarded other items from the same bid and the other bidder has not, the bidder with the multiple awards will be awarded the bid over that of another bidder.

c. The bidder located in the State of Connecticut will be awarded the bid over that of another bidder.

d. The winner of a coin toss will be awarded the bid over that of another bidder.

The above-referenced provisions do not apply to those situations in which more than one City-based business responsible bidder has submitted bids not more than ten (10) percent higher than the lowest bid and has agreed to accept the award of the bid at the amount of the lowest bid. Under such circumstances, the provisions of the Code of the City of Meriden, section 3-14, are controlling, as set forth under Section

8 of this ‘Information to Bidders.’

16. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT

No contract may be assigned without the written consent of the Purchasing Officer or designee.

17. PERMITS

The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining any and all necessary permits required by the City of

Meriden prior to the commencement of work. The Contractor may contact the City of Meriden Building

Department for permit information at (203) 630-4091. For all other required permits, contact the City of

Meriden Engineering Department at (203) 630-4018.

18. BID PRICE AND PAYMENT

The City of Meriden is exempt from the payment of the excise taxes imposed by the Federal government and the Sales and Use Tax of the State of Connecticut under Connecticut General Statutes; accordingly, such taxes shall not be included in the bid price.

The City of Meriden, unless stated otherwise in the bidding documents or Contract, will make payment to the

Contractor not less than thirty (30) days following completion of services.

19. QUALITY

All materials, equipment, supplies, and services shall be subject to rigid inspection. If defective material, equipment, supplies, or services are discovered, the Contractor shall remove or make good such material, equipment, or supplies without extra compensation. It is expressly understood and agreed that any inspection by the City of Meriden will in no way lessen the responsibility of the Contractor or release Contractor from the obligation to perform and deliver to the City sound and satisfactory materials, equipment, supplies, or allow the cost to be deducted from any monies due it from the City of Meriden. All services will be performed in a workmanlike manner.

20. INSURANCE

The successful bidder shall be required to provide a Certificate of Insurance denoting general liability, automobile liability, workers compensation liability, and other coverage required by the City’s Risk Manager.

21. CITY HALL CLOSING

If Meriden City Hall is closed due to inclement weather, or any other unforeseen event, bids will be due at the same time on the next business day that City Hall is open.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS TO ALL BIDDERS FOR B026-06

All delivered prices shall be valid, through September 30, 2026. The district reserves the right to extend the intent to purchase for additional annual terms through September 30, 2028, or three years from the date of the

FCDL as stated in the Special Instructions and Requirements to All Bidders pages. All items may be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. All quantities are estimates only and the City reserves the right to increase or decrease quantities.

Bidders shall submit all inquiries regarding this bid via the City eProcurement Portal, located at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/meridenct. Please note the deadline for submitting inquiries. All answers to inquiries will be posted on the City eProcurement Portal. Bidders may also click “Follow” on this bid to receive an email notification when answers are posted. It is the responsibility of the bidder to check the website for answers to inquiries.

INVOICING:

The City of Meriden requires Purchase order numbers on all correspondence. Failure to include the Purchase

Order number on invoices may delay payment. All invoices must be mailed to:

Meriden Public Schools

Attn: Accounts Payable

22 Liberty Street

Meriden, CT 06450 invoices@meridenk12.org

Evaluation Criteria

Applicants will select the most cost-effective proposals with price of the E-Rate eligible products and services being the primary factor (most heavily weighted).

Factor Possible

Points

Description

Price-Cybersecurity eligible items

30 Price of Cybersecurity eligible products & services (primary factor)

Price-Other Costs 5 Other costs (items not eligible for Cybersecurity discount)

Prior Experience 20 -Experience with similar projects and references (10 points)

-Experience with this applicant (10 Points)

Personnel

Qualifications

-Qualifications of management (5 points)

-Qualifications of staff (5 points)

Responsiveness 15 -Responsiveness of the offeror-replied promptly to emails, attended optional on-site walk through if applicable (5 points)

-Proximity of sales and service offices (5 points)

-Assigned representative is available locally (5 points)

Technical Merit 20 -Quality / technical merit of the proposed solution to meet needs of the applicant. Service level agreement if applicable

(10 points)

-Compliance with listed requirements of the project scope and proposal requirements, whether or not the proposal includes all information requested; timelines met, services will commence as requested by applicant (10 points)

In order for applicants to properly evaluate your proposal, please provide details specific to the evaluation criteria areas along with your proposal.

1. Cybersecurity Compliance. Service providers (offerors) must comply with FCC Cybersecurity Pilot program rules as set forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and administered by the Universal Service

Administrative Company (USAC).1

Disqualification – FCC Form 498 ID Status. If the offeror is under FCC red light status or does not have an FCC Form

498 ID (service provider identification number), the offeror may be disqualified by the applicant school or library. If at any time during the contract period the service provider is red lighted, debarred, or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in the Cybersecurity program, the applicant reserves the right to terminate the contract.

2. Kellogg & Sovereign® Consulting (K&S) authorized.

The applicant has engaged the services of K&S to assist with the Cybersecurity filings for the applicant. The applicant has authorized K&S to act on its behalf regarding this procurement. K&S may request information directly from Proposer(s)

3. Equivalent products and services. Proposals are requested for the specified manufacturer, part, model number OR

EQUIVALENT.

4. Proposal Acceptance. The applicant school or library reserves the right to accept some, all or none of the items included in the proposal. Notification of proposal acceptance or proposal rejection will be provided at the discretion of the applicant school or library.

5. Clarifying Questions – The applicant may choose to ask clarifying questions or request additional information from the offerors. All communications within the proposal and evaluation stage will be within the bidding portal.

6. Late Proposals. Responses submitted after the due date and time noted in this RFP shall not be considered and will be disqualified. Responses must be submitted through the bidding portal. Proposal submitted by fax or email will not be accepted.

7. Financial Responsibility. Offeror shall pay all costs related to the preparation and submission of its Proposal.

8. All Costs. Pricing proposed by the offeror must include all costs associated with the requested products/services to the applicant but not limited to taxes, shipping, etc. Offerors must provide unit pricing for each item. Incomplete/partial proposals will not be considered. Price increases will not be allowed during the term quoted. Prices may be lowered based on market conditions.

9. Cost Allocation. Offerors must clearly separate E-Rate eligible costs from ineligible costs that is not eligible under Cybersecurity Pilot Program.

10. Contracts. Offerors for services other than tariff or month-to-month arrangements must include a contract or legally binding agreement in response to this RFP with signature block for both service provider and applicant. The agreement should be provided in form only and will not be completed and executed until after proposals are awarded by applicant and negotiations completed as applicable. Quotes are not considered a legally binding agreement.

11. Contract Terms. Offerors must clearly define contract terms for all pricing submitted. The applicant school or library may consider multi-year contracts featuring voluntary renewals. The applicant will reserve the right to extend or abbreviate the contract period if such extension or abbreviation is necessary to make the Contract term coincide with a Cybersecurity

Pilot Program “program year”. The contract expiration for non-recurring services and software/license purchases that may be classified as recurring by USAC shall be automatically extended to align with SLD authorized extensions due to late funding and changes in products and/or services approved on or after March 1st or upon certification of a FCC Form

500 Service Delivery Deadline Extension Request as those terms are defined by the Federal Communications Commission

(FCC) and/or the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Pricing remains firm through September 30, 2026.

1 https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf

12. Description of Proposal. Offerors will provide a description of their proposal for all services and solutions. Description will include an overview of the proposal, any deviations from the requested architecture, design or requirements, assumptions made, and any other details that may be useful or necessary for proper evaluation of the proposal.

13. Authorized Signatures – Proposals must be signed by an individual or officer of the firm authorized to legally bind

Vendor when submitting the proposal. Unsigned proposals will not be accepted.

14. Addenda – In the event revisions to this document become necessary, addendum will be provided by upload to the relevant Form 470 and the bidding portal.

15. Required Notice to Proceed and Funding Availability. The applicant will follow the purchasing policies of their governing board and requirements and procedures of the FCC’s E-Rate program as administered by USAC to be eligible for all available funding. The implementation of any associated contracts resulting from this competitive proposal process will be dependent on the applicant’s issuance of a written Notice to Proceed. E-Rate funding notification alone will not signify Notice to Proceed. The applicant will have the right to allow the contract to expire without implementation if appropriate funding does not become available.

16. Proposals for Cybersecurity Pilot Program products and services.

● Proposals for equipment should clearly list the location where the equipment will be installed if that has been specified in the proposal.

● Proposals should meet industry standards and comply with applicable local, state and federal codes and regulations. For example, network wiring/cabling should meet or exceed EIA/TIA standards and national

Electrical code standards.

● Equipment should be properly configured, installed and tested.

● Include all items necessary for equipment to be fully operational including necessary cabling, connectors, components, installation, configuration, travel, per diem, and any other applicable fees.

● All installed equipment and cabling should be labeled.

● In addition to standard labeling (i.e. patch panels labeled with cable number), equipment should be labeled with E-Rate information as follows:

Funding Request Number (FRN)

Form 471 Application Number

Purchase Order Number

Installation Date

● Offerors must include a statement of work (SOW)

● Proposals for new equipment should include a standard manufacturer’s warranty (up to three years)

● The value of any free products and/or services must be deducted from the cost of the proposal.

● Proposals should include installation and configuration unless otherwise noted

● Proposals should clearly describe all costs including installation, configuration, shipping and handling charges on a per site basis unless otherwise noted.

17. Site and Service Substitution (Contract Modification).

The applicant hereby provides notice to all interested vendors that site and/or service substitutions may be necessary during the term of the contract. Any agreement signed as a result of this RFP should contemplate the possibility of the applicant changing products or services within the guidelines set forth by the FCC. All vendors are also hereby provided notice that the applicant may add new locations to its network during the life of the contract, and existing sites may move or close. The contract(s) entered into as a result of this RFP should allow for said site/service substitutions. Vendors are to describe their process for amending the contract to accommodate site/service substitutions during the contract term.

18. Cybersecurity Budget Requirements.

During the Cybersecurity application process and prior to issuance of Cybersecurity funding, the applicant may need to make changes to the quantities and items selected in order to stay within their cybersecurity pilot program budget approved by the FCC.2 The applicant may contact the awarded offeror to adjust quantities in order to meet the

Cybersecurity budget allocated to the district. The selected service provider is expected to respond timely with revised proposals and contracts for the applicant to ensure that the selected products and services are at or below the applicant’s budget cap. The selected service provider will need to provide all the information necessary regarding reduction in quantities and associated installation, configuration, shipping and handling charges.

19. Documentation and Audit Compliance.

● The service provider shall provide all warranty and product documentation related to products or services sold to the applicant.

● The service provider shall retain all documentation related to the purchase and payment, including Forms 474 and receipt of payment from USAC, for all products and services provided to the applicant. Related documentation must be retained for a period of TEN years from the last date of service.

● If the applicant is audited by the Administrator of the program, the service provider shall fully cooperate with the applicant to provide any documentation related to the provision of discounted products and services as requested.

● The service provider and/or applicant is solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of information submitted to

Kellogg & Sovereign® Consulting (K&S). K&S disclaims and makes no warranty, express or implied, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the validity, accuracy, correctness, or completeness of any information that is provided by the service provider or applicant to K&S.

● By submitting proposals for K&S client schools & libraries, the service provider agrees and understands that K&S will forward the information to USAC, and the service provider is responsible for verifying the accuracy of information submitted to K&S.

● Kellogg & Sovereign® Consulting shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, data or other intangible losses (even if K&S has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from the service provider's non-response or incomplete response and/or the service provider's inaccurate, invalid, incorrect, or incomplete provision of information.

20. Service Provider Responsibilities

● The agreement herein is contingent upon the approval of funding from the Universal Service Fund’s Schools and

Library Program.

● The applicant requires that Service Providers make themselves thoroughly familiar with any rules or regulations regarding the FCC Cybersecurity Pilot program.3

● Service Providers are required to be in full compliance with all current requirements and future requirements issued by the SLD throughout the contractual period of any contract entered into as a result of this RFP.

● Service Providers are responsible for providing a valid Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) at the time the

RFP is submitted.4

● Service Providers are responsible for providing a valid Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) Registration

Number at the time the RFP is submitted.5

2 https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408937A1.pdf

3 https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf 4 https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-1-obtain-a-spin/

5 https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/publicHome.do https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408937A1.pdf https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-1-obtain-a-spin/ https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/publicHome.do

● Service Providers are responsible for providing evidence of FCC Green Light Status at the time the proposal is submitted. Any potential offeror found to be in Red Light Status must provide an explanation of the steps it is undertaking to be removed to Red Light Status and the expected timeframe for resolution. A Service Provider’s sustained Red-Light Status may be grounds for contract termination as it could prohibit the Service Provider from providing E‐Rate discounts in a timely manner which would cause harm to the Applicant.6

● Products and services must be delivered before billing can commence. At no time shall the Service Provider invoice before July 1, 2025.

● Prices must be held firm for the duration of the associated Cybersecurity Funding Year(s) or until all work associated with the project is complete (including any contracts and USAC-approved extensions)

● The default method of invoicing for all Funding Requests (FRN) created as a result of this RFP will be the Form 474

Service Provider invoice (SPI) unless the applicant explicitly requests Form 472 Billed Entity Applicant

Reimbursement method.

• The Service Provider agrees to bill and receive a portion of the payment for the provisions of goods and services described herein directly from USAC via the Form 474 Service Provider invoice (SPI).

The maximum percentage the applicant will be liable for is the pre‐discount amount minus the funded amount as shown on the FCC Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) and any identified ineligible costs. Upon the successful receipt or posting of a Funding Commitment

Decision letter from the SLD and submission, certification and USAC approval of Form 486, the applicant shall pay only the discounted amount beginning with the billing cycle immediately following said approval.

• All Service Provider invoicing to USAC must be completed within 90 days from the last day of service in accordance with § 54.2001. Should the Service Provider fail to invoice USAC in a timely manner, the Applicant will only be responsible for paying its non‐discounted share. Service Providers shall retain all documentation related to the purchase, payment, delivery and/or installation, including

Forms 474 and receipt of payment from USAC, for all products and services provided to the applicant. Related documentation must be retained for a period of 10 years from the last date of service.7

• Within one (1) week of award, the awarded Service Provider will provide the Applicant with a bill of materials suitable for the Form 471 item 21 attachment. Approval for any deviation from the item 21 attachment must be obtained from the Applicant. Subsequent schedules of values and invoices for each site must match Item 21 attachment or subsequent service substitutions.

• In the event of questions during a Cybersecurity pre‐commitment review, post-commitment review, and/or audit inquiry, the awarded Service Provider is expected to reply within three (3) days to questions associated with its proposal.

• No change in the products and/or services specified in this document orders will be allowed without prior written approval from the Applicant and a USAC service substitution approval with the exception of a Global Service

Substitution.

• The Service Provider acknowledges that all pricing and technology infrastructure information in its proposal shall be considered as public and non‐confidential pursuant to 47 CFR §54.504 (2) (i) (ii)

• The Service Provider acknowledges that its offer is considered to be the lowest corresponding price pursuant to

§54.511 (b). Should it not be the lowest corresponding price, the Service Provider must disclose the conditions leading to the applicant being charged more than the lowest corresponding price.

6 https://www.fcc.gov/general/red-light-frequently-asked-questions 7 https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf https://www.fcc.gov/general/red-light-frequently-asked-questions https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-24-63A1.pdf

• This offer is in full compliance with USAC’s Free Services Advisory. There are no free services that would predict an artificial discount and preclude the applicant from paying its proportionate non‐ discounted share of costs. The

Service Provider agrees to provide substantiating documentation to support this assertion should the applicant, USAC, or the FCC request it. The service providers are prohibited from offering gifts or anything of value to Pilot participants

(schools, libraries, or consortia). This includes free cybersecurity services or equipment offered outside of the competitive bidding process. Any free item or discounted service must be clearly disclosed in the procurement or invoicing process.

• The awarded Service Provider is required to send copies of all forms and invoices to the Applicant prior to invoicing

USAC for pre‐approval. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the Applicant placing the vendor on an “Invoice Check” with the USAC.

• The contract must provide for cancellation of services without financial penalties if a school is closed. Applicant may cancel services to a school without penalties after a 30‐day notice to Service Provider.

• Goods and services provided shall be clearly designated as “Cybersecurity Eligible”. Non‐eligible goods and services shall be clearly called out as 100% non‐eligible or shall be “cost allocated” to show the percentage of eligible costs per FCC/USAC guidelines.

END OF SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

CITY OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT

NON-COLLUSIVE BID STATEMENT/AFFIDAVIT

BID FOR: B026-06

The undersigned bidder, having been duly sworn, does hereby depose and says:

1. The bid has been arrived at by the bidder independently and has been submitted without collusion and without any agreement, understanding, or planned common course of action with any other vendor of materials, supplies, equipment, or services described in the Invitation to Bid.

2. The contents of the bid have not been communicated by the bidder or its employees or agents to any person not an employee or agent of the bidder or its surety on any bond furnished with the bid, and will not be communicated to any such person prior to the official opening of the bid.

3. The undersigned bidder is duly authorized to bind the business entity identified below.

The undersigned bidder further certifies, under oath, that this statement is executed for the purposes of inducing the City of Meriden to consider the bid and make an award in accordance therewith.

Signature of Bidder

Print Legal Name of Bidder

Relationship to Business Entity Below

Business Entity Name, Address, Telephone Number, and Email Address

STATE OF __________________ )

) ss:

COUNTY OF )

Duly sworn and subscribed to before me this day of , 2025.

Notary Public

My Commission Expires:

Commissioner of the Superior Court

BIDDER’S QUALIFICATION STATEMENT

This Statement of Bidder’s Qualifications is to be submitted by the bidder at the time of the bid opening. All questions must be answered and the data given must be clear and comprehensive. If necessary, questions must be answered on attached sheets. The bidder may submit any additional information they desire. It is understood that when the City has executed an Agreement, to which these General Conditions are a part, it is, in part, done upon the reliance of the answers provided herein by the bidder or the agent of the bidder.

Firm Name

Address

Telephone Fax

Officers: President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Bank References:

Bond surety Company:

If a partnership, give names of partners. If a sole proprietorship, give name and title of a least one responsible employee.

Experience: The Bidder shall be qualified by experience to perform work of this nature and shall list five (5) examples of similar projects completed within the past five (5) years, with the names of responsible parties as references.

TELEPHONE NUMBER

PROJECT OWNER CONTACT NAME COST

1. Minority owned business? yes no

2. Years organized.

3. Is your company a corporation yes no

If yes where incorporated?

4. How many years have you been engaged in business under your present firm name?

5. Former Firm Name (if any)

6. List total number of Personnel

7. Is any principal of your firm an employee or public official of the City of Meriden, or an immediate family member of an employee or public official of the City of Meriden? (Definition of immediate family includes: an individual’s spouse, fiancé or fiancée; the parent, brother or sister of such individual or spouse; and the child of such individual or the spouse of such child.)

yes no

8. List Vehicles and Equipment that you will use to perform this work: (show age of vehicles and equipment, sizes, capacities, etc.

9. List the work to be performed by Subcontractors and summarize the dollar value of each subcontract.

10. List the name and address of the more important contracts recently completed by you, starting the approximate gross cost for each, and the month and year completed:

11. General character of work performed by you

12. Have you ever failed to complete any contract awarded to you? If so, where and why?

13. Have you ever defaulted on a contract? If so where and why?

14. Have you ever filed bankruptcy: Please explain:

15. Will you, upon request, furnish any information that may be required by the City of Meriden?

16. The undersigned hereby authorizes and request any person, firm or cooperation to furnish any information requested by the City of Meriden, in verification of the recitals comprising this Statement of

Bidder’s Qualifications.

Dated this day of , 2025 day month

Name of Bidder

Title

State of

County of being duly sworn deposes and says that they are

Name of title name of organization and that the answers to the forgoing question and all statement therein contained are true and correct

Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of 2025 day month

Notary Public signature

My commission expires

B026-06 FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Program Form 470# CBR420250644 (MERI Cyber 2025)

Insurance Requirements

a. The Consultant shall procure and maintain for the life of the contract $1,000,000.00 occurrence/$2,000,000.00 aggregate limit COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY

COVERAGE, written on an occurrence basis and minimally arranged to include the following coverage:

I. Premises/Operations

II. Products - Completed operations

III. Underground, explosion, and collapse hazard

IV. Contractual liability

V. Independent contractors

b. The Consultant shall procure and maintain for the life of the contract $1,000,000.00 BI/PD combined single limit BUSINESS AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY COVERAGE, written on an occurrence basis and minimally arranged to include the following coverage:

I. Non-owned automobile

II. Liability and Physical damage

III. All owned (private passenger and other than private passenger)

IV. Any automobile

V. All scheduled automobiles

c. The Consultant shall procure and maintain for the life of the contract, State of Connecticut

Statutory WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY COVERAGE, designed to indemnify all the Engineer's employees in the event of occupational injury and/or disease.

$500,000.00 each accident

$500,000.00 disease policy limit

$500,000.00 each employee disease

d. The Consultant shall procure and maintain for the life of the contract PROFESSIONAL

LIABILITY, MALPRACTICE, OR ERRORS AND OMISSION COVERAGE protecting the

Consultant against wrongful acts and liability arising from professional services. A $2,000,000.00 single limit per claim and a $2,000,000.00 aggregate per policy period shall be afforded by this coverage. The coverage shall be written on an occurrence form or may be written on a claims made basis.

B026-06 FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Program Form 470# CBR420250644 (MERI Cyber 2025) for Meriden Public Schools

Project Scope and Requirements

Meriden Public Schools (MPS) is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit competitive bids from qualified vendors for a comprehensive Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution, along with an off-site immutable storage system to enhance our cybersecurity posture and disaster recovery capabilities.

MPS is an urban district serving approximately 8,600 students and 1,500 staff members. As a 1:1 technology-enabled district, we manage over 11,000 devices and rely heavily on digital infrastructure to support instruction and operations. The district’s IT Department is committed to maintaining a secure, resilient, and responsive technology environment that ensures uninterrupted access to educational resources.

Currently, MPS employs endpoint protection and next-generation firewalls. However, these tools operate independently and do not provide unified visibility into network-wide threats. This gap has resulted in increased manual workload for IT staff, who must review hundreds of alerts daily to assess potential threats, including ransomware, malware, spyware, and third-party exposures. These threats have, at times, disrupted instruction and compromised operational continuity.

To address these challenges, MPS seeks a vendor-provided MDR solution that offers:

• 24/7 monitoring and response by cybersecurity experts

• Advanced threat detection using AI, machine learning, and real-time threat intelligence

• Integration across endpoints and network infrastructure

• Actionable insights and automated response capabilities

In addition, we require an off-site immutable storage solution to ensure data integrity and rapid recovery in the event of a ransomware attack or other catastrophic event.

The selected vendor(s) will demonstrate a proven track record in delivering scalable, education-focused cybersecurity solutions. Proposals should clearly outline technical capabilities, implementation timelines, support models, and cost structures.

MPS is committed to a transparent and competitive procurement process and looks forward to partnering with a vendor that can deliver robust, future-ready cybersecurity services to protect our students, staff, and digital assets.

Item 1) Monitoring, Detection, and Response

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Meriden Public Schools seeks proposals to upgrade our current EDR with a Next-Gen MDR. Preferences will be given to Leaders in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms. The proposed solutions must accommodate at least 2,400 desktops and 100 Windows servers and provide for network growth.

The MDR we are seeking must have the following capabilities:

● Cloud-based system with a lightweight agent

● Agent support for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems

● Agent runs in kernel mode on Windows and Linux devices

● Provides next-generation antivirus

● Provides real-time AI-powered endpoint protection, detection, and remediation

● Automatic network containment as needed. Manual network containment as desired.

● Threat hunting capability, both manual as needed and managed 24/7.

● Integrated Security, Information, and Event Management, Security Orchestration, Automation, Response, and Threat

Intelligence

● Automatic sandboxing of threats.

● Ability to interface with our Palo Alto next-gen firewall

● Provides vulnerability scanning and asset inventory

● Has the ability to create custom workflows for containment and remediation of threats.

● Ability to run remote virus scans.

● Ability to connect to a compromised device remotely for investigation, remediation, and collection of forensic data.

● Provides real-time threat level score for the organization via cloud cloud-based interface.

● Has the ability to alert technical support representatives regarding immediate threats.

● Lightweight agent updates automatically

● Support team that assists with installation and operational concerns

● Product add-ons and bundle upgrades should be available.

Item 2) Identity Protection and Authentication

Off-Site Immutable Cloud Storage.

The district currently uses Veeam for network backups, leveraging a Dell Data Domain for local retention. We understand that off-site immutable backup storage is no longer a nice-to-have, but a critical necessity for any organization looking for protection from ransomware and disaster recovery. We are seeking a partner to provide private cloud storage, leveraging our current backup systems. We are entertaining options for either processing data from the Dell Data Domain or directly from the Veeam server or equivalent. We anticipate a need for 45TB of storage.

The solution we are seeking should have the following capabilities:

● Encryption: In-flight & At-rest: data must be encrypted both during transfer (in-flight, e.g., TLS/SSL) and when stored (at-rest, e.g., AES-256).

● Compliance Certifications: The provider should hold relevant certifications (e.g., SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR readiness).

● Preferred vendor will charge no ingress and egress fees.

● A managed service where the provider handles the cloud infrastructure.

● Regional Availability: The data center is located geographically close to our primary site, preferably connected to the CEN network, to leverage our 10GB WAN connection

● A guaranteed uptime for the storage service of 99.99% minimum.

● A dedicated Account Manager

● Preferably a Veeam Gold Cloud & Service Provider

Recipients of Service

Entity Name Entity Number Address

Benjamin Franklin Elementary School 5740 426 W Main St., Meriden, CT 06451

Casimir Pulaski Elementary School 5733 100 Clearview Ave., Meriden, CT 06450

Hanover Elementary School 5743 208 Main St., Meriden, CT 06451

Israel Putnam Elementary School 5732 133 Parker Ave., Meriden, CT 06450

John Barry Elementary School 5737 124 Columbia St., Meriden, CT 06451

Nathan Hale Elementary School 5727 277 Atkins Street Ext., Meriden, CT 06450

Roger Sherman Elementary School 5728 64 N Pearl St., Meriden, CT 06450

Thomas Hooker Elementary School 5734 70 Overlook Dr., Meriden, CT 06450

Lincoln Middle School 5738 164 Centennial Ave., Meriden, CT 06451

Thomas Edison Middle School 209604 1355 North Broad St., Meriden, CT 06450

Washington Middle School 5725 1225 N Broad St., Meriden, CT 06450

Francis T Maloney High School 5729 121 Gravel St., Meriden, CT 06450

Orville H Platt High School 5741 220 Coe Ave., Meriden, CT 06451

Meriden Board Of Education 17002447 22 Liberty Street, Meriden, CT 06450

Meriden Maintenance Facility 17002395 998 N. Colony Road, Meriden, CT 06450

Success Academy -Maloney 191 Pratt St., Meriden, CT 06450

Venture 883 Paddock Ave., Meriden, CT 06450