Bid Invitation _ Requirements.pdf

RFP-2606BM

Internet Services

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is soliciting competitive sealed bids from qualified suppliers for District Internet Services. GCPS is the largest school system in Georgia with over 140 schools and enrollment of over 182,000 students.

Communication Individuals, firms, and businesses seeking an award of a Gwinnett County Public Schools contract may not initiate or continue any verbal or written communications regarding a solicitation. Bid submissions will be received digitally until February 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST, through Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) located at https://gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org. A list of submitting firms will be available the following business day on our website. All communications concerning the Bid must be submitted in writing to the Gwinnett County Public School’s Purchasing Department via Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) under the “Message Center” section of the bid. No response other than written communication by the Purchasing Department will be binding upon Gwinnett County Public Schools. Violations will be reviewed by the Purchasing Director. If determined that such communication has compromised the competitive process, the offer submitted by the individual, firm, or business may be disqualified from consideration for award. The Purchasing Department, in its discretion, may call upon user departments for clarification in their area of expertise. All questions or commentary must be received in Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) under the “Message Center” section no later than February 6, 2026 10:00 AM EST to allow for appropriate and timely responses.

Term The term of this contract is effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031 or upon award.

GCPS reserves the right to renew this contract for a maximum of three (3) additional one-year periods for a total potential term length of eight (8) years with the approval of the Gwinnett County Board of Education. Renewals will be approved in one-year increments.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section 50-5-64, this contract shall not be deemed to create a debt

Gwinnett County Public Schools http://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/24587 of The Board for the payment of any sum beyond the fiscal year of execution or, in the event of a renewal, beyond the fiscal year of such renewal.

Award will be made to the supplier(s) submitting the lowest responsive and responsible bid. GCPS reserves the right to reject any or all bids to waive technicalities, and to make an award deemed in its best interest. Bids may be split or awarded in entirety. GCPS reserves the option to negotiate terms, conditions, and pricing with the lowest responsive, responsible bidder(s) at its discretion. All companies submitting a bid will be notified in writing of award.

Approximate Quantities

• This is a demand usage contract. Anticipated annual quantities are estimated for bid purposes only and not to be construed as a commitment to order a specific quantity. Items will be ordered as needed. Purchases under this contract are contingent upon e-Rate approval.

Cost It is GCPS’s expectation that your firm submits its best pricing at the time of the solicitation. The District understands that external factors may impact your firm’s ability to hold pricing for the term of the contract. GCPS reserves the right to review and accept or deny requests for price changes due to extenuating circumstances in the economy, marketplace, or acts of God. This option will only be exercised if it is deemed in the District's best interest.

o The supplier may request an adjustment in the unit prices/total cost in the event of a cost escalation of the unit price/total cost if such items/materials are subject to circumstances in the economy, marketplace, or acts of God or materially impacted by a tariff that arises after the supplier’s response was submitted to GCPS. The existence and timing of such unit prices/total cost escalation must be fully documented by the supplier and shall be subject to the following conditions:

o The supplier must provide written notice to GCPS of any anticipated cost escalation within ten (10) days of becoming aware of such escalation;

o The supplier must submit detailed documentation, including supplier quotes or other evidence reasonably acceptable to GCPS, to substantiate the increased costs;

o GCPS shall have the right to verify the cost escalation through independent means;

o Any adjustment to unit prices/total cost shall be limited to the actual increase in costs incurred by the supplier and shall not include any additional overhead, profit or fee; and o The supplier shall undertake all reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact of price/cost escalations, including, without limitation, seeking and/or proposing alternative suppliers or materials where feasible and ordering materials in advance.

o In such case, GCPS and the supplier shall negotiate in good faith to agree on the appropriate adjustment to the unit prices/total cost. If after execution of the price/cost Amendment a tariff or other market condition is subsequently reduced or removed or prices of impacted materials are reduced, supplier must provide written notice to GCPS within ten (10) days of supplier becoming aware of such removal or reduction. GCPS and the supplier shall then negotiate in good faith to agree on the appropriate reduction to the prices/cost, which shall be formalized through a revised award letter in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

Addenda & Opening of Proposals/Bids It is the ultimate responsibility of the supplier to ensure that they have all applicable addenda prior to submitting a response. Addenda will be posted on Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire): www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities.

The opening of solicitations will be conducted electronically through Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire). Only the names of the submitting companies will be made publicly available by the close of business the following business day on our website. To view the list of respondents, suppliers must log-into Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) located at www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities.

NOTE: Gwinnett County Public Schools requires pricing to remain firm for the duration of the initial term of the contract. Failure to hold firm pricing for the initial term of the contract may be sufficient cause for Gwinnett County Public Schools to declare bid non-responsive.

http://www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com/ https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities http://www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com/ https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities

Bid Requirements:

Schedule of Activities

Activity Date

Issue RFP January 21, 2026 11:00AM EST Questions Due February 6, 2026 10:00AM EST Proposals Due February 20, 2026 10:00AM EST Effective Date of Contract July 1, 2026

Introduction / Background In order to accomplish its technology plan, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS or The District) is soliciting a response for New Internet Service. The District intends to establish a high-capacity, reliable Internet service linking all of its schools and District office locations to a high-speed Internet connection. Service must be capable of peering with other networks, including, but not limited to, universities, school districts, and other telecommunication providers.

Contract Duration

1. Service will begin on July 1, 2026.

2. All locations must have service installed by June 30, 2026, following a project plan timeline agreed to by The District.

3. The District prefers that the service have a five (5) year initial term with three (3) optional one (1) year renewals.

Solution Objectives The Internet service will form the foundation for future network services that are not part of this RFP. These future services over the Internet may include, but are not limited to, web-based applications, IP telephony, IP video streaming and conferencing, centralized application services, centralized storage services, and distance learning applications.

The District will entertain any communications design topology that accomplishes the desired connectivity and reliability at each Data Center. However, the strategic network design topology presented in this RFP suggests a preferred solution and offers the flexibility and service delivery The District believes best meets its Internet access requirements. Of primary concern to The District is the proposed network’s ability to meet current needs and have the capacity and flexibility to be upgraded to provide increased bandwidth as it is required as future applications are phased in. In addition, the ancillary opportunities offered through the service delivery are of strategic importance.

The District is asking for proposals for the turnkey installation, operation, and maintenance of Internet access and data transport services. The Internet access service must be provided by a single supplier and be delivered to The District’s two Data Centers.

The successful Service Provider will provide a scalable Internet access solution to Gwinnett County Public Schools. Service should be capable of the following:

1. Provide scalable Internet access with initial provision throughput starting at 20 Gbps and burstable up to 100 Gpbs at each Data Center.

2. Meet District bandwidth requirements.

3. Be highly reliable and available.

4. Internet access delivered from a major Internet Exchange Point location, with access to hardware in order to set up and manage future network connections to other network exchange points, consortiums, and university networks.

5. Provide both Data Centers with a dedicated 100G circuit to facilitate connectivity to multiple cloud providers, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud.

6. Provide co-location service and transport delivered from a major Internet Exchange Point location to of both of The District’s Data Centers. Co-location service must provide access to hardware in order to facilitate future network connections to other Internet exchange points, consortiums, and university networks.

7. Provide data transport service between The District’s Data Centers to ensure that schools connected to either Data Center may access all provisioned Internet access.

8. All hardware, equipment, and software necessary to provide the service must be protected by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

9. Provide turnkey installation and integration with The District’s existing Internet architecture, including complete managed cutover from The District’s existing Internet service, routing integration with The District’s other Internet service Providers (ISP), and integration with The District’s existing hardware and software (as required).

10. Provide Internet access delivered without filtering, including public IP assignment, full Internet routing table, and Domain Name Service (DNS).

Solution Qualifications The evaluation process will award the highest point levels to responses that most definitively and completely describe the following aspects of the proposed service delivery.

1. For each service, Vendors are required to provide detailed responses that include:

• The specifications associated with each service category

• The manageability of each service proposed

• The full functionality of each service proposed

2. Describe the service manageability including:

• Service order processing timeframes

• Service installation timeframes

3. Describe the scalability of each service proposed.

4. Provide a narrative and a graphic that illustrates the Vendor’s understanding of The

District’s requirements for both service and equipment.

5. Provide a narrative that illustrates how the Vendor will complete the scope of services, accomplish required objectives, and meet The District’s schedule for the service start date.

6. Specify any concerns or areas of risk and state what you would like The District to do in regard to minimizing these risks to ensure a smooth and successful migration and implementation of the Internet services infrastructure.

7. Indicate any issues or concerns that may affect the overall ability of the Vendor to provide for a successful, e-rate-compliant, bundled Internet service offering and specify a proposed solution for overcoming the issues or concerns.

8. Provide a statement of Vendor’s understanding that it will provide the toll-free in-state number for remote telephone-based technical support.

9. Provide a narrative of the Vendor’s network management system and where the demarcation point of responsibility will be located.

10. Provide a narrative of the Vendor’s network management service problem severity definition and how these are monitored, managed, and escalated.

11. Provide a narrative of the Vendor’s ability to identify and respond to problems with the Internet service.

12. Provide a narrative of how the Vendor will support the hardware provided as part of this service, i.e. Vendor maintains stock, Vendor equipment support contract, etc.

13. Describe the Vendor’s overall change management process and how this process will interact with District staff.

14. Provide a narrative of how the Vendor will provide network security and what effects this may have on data traversing the Internet service infrastructure. This should include a detailed description of the Vendor’s DDoS mitigation strategy.

15. Describe how the Vendor’s solution will facilitate BGP peering relationships based in the co-location site.

Data Center Locations The following locations are the GCPS Data Centers. These locations provide centralized IT resources as well as serve as Internet points of presence for The District.

Instructional Support Center (ISC) 437 Old Peachtree Road, NW Suwanee, GA 30024

Lawrenceville West 495 Maltbie Street Lawrenceville, GA 30045

Internet Exchange Point Digital Reality

56 Marietta Street Atlanta, GA 30303

Current Environment

Service Requirements Internet service shall include:

1. Transport circuit from each of the two District Data Centers over which the Internet service is provisioned utilizing 100 Gbps Ethernet circuits or greater.

• Each transport circuit must provide total throughput equal to or greater than the subscribed Internet service.

2. Internet access initially provisioned for 20 Gbps, scalable up to 100 Gbps, delivered in a balanced fashion between the two District Data Centers.

3. Transport circuit from each of the two District Data Centers to an Internet Exchange Point to facilitate peering and Internet services best accessed from the co-location space. The co-location facility should provide for a minimum of:

• Dedicated and secured ½ rack in co-location space to support the installation of district-owned equipment

• Two 30 amp independent electrical feeds services A/B power fed from a diverse UPS/generator backed-up service panels

• Badged 24x7 facility access for a minimum of two GCPS assigned personnel

• Provision of necessary physical, virtual, and configuration services to facilitate connectivity between the co-location space and The District’s internal network

• Provision of necessary physical, virtual, and configuration services to facilitate connectivity between the GCPS and peering networks

• Transport circuit initially provisioned to 20 Gbps and scalable to 100 Gbps

4. Point-to-point data transport service between the two District Data Centers initially providing no less than 40 Gbps bandwidth.

5. Provision, implementation, and support of network routers at each of the two

District Data Centers. Each router must have the capability to fully support Internet peering and dynamic routing protocols (BGP and other protocols as necessary) to deliver a complete, fully dynamic Internet service to The District.

6. The ability to quickly increase or decrease the capacity of the Internet access service with pre-established cost and lead-time.

7. Public IP addresses for management use by The District.

8. Provide both Data Centers with a dedicated 100G circuit to facilitate connectivity to multiple cloud providers, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud.

Service Level Agreement Vendor will provide a description of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for all services in their proposal. This should include, but not be limited to:

1. Service delivery guarantee of 99.9% uptime (monthly).

2. Continuous monitoring of link status, latency, errors, and packet loss.

3. 24x7x365 response to disruptions and outages with ready access to necessary technical staff and materials.

4. Incident Estimated Time to Respond.

5. Incident Estimated Time to Arrive.

6. Incident Estimated Time to Restore.

7. Vendor penalties / District credits when Vendor fails to meet SLA requirements.

Delivery Requirements The Vendor must provide the necessary services to provision the complete Internet access service.

1. Configure and install all equipment.

2. Provision all transport services. The District prefers diverse routing of transport circuits to aid in reliability.

3. Set up and test all routing necessary, including BGP throughout the Internet access service to The District for a complete Internet solution.

4. Integration with the State of Georgia DOE Internet service, including establishing

BGP routing / peering with them.

5. Integration support for The District’s local and cloud-based DDoS protection services.

6. Support and service necessary to establish peering with other networks, including provision of necessary cross-connects, end-to-end connectivity, patch cables, port/interface configuration, routing establishment, and ongoing service and support of peering connections.

7. Proactive monitoring and response to service delivery.

8. Quarterly usage reports of Internet access service performance and capacity.

9. Make consultation service available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week through email and a toll-free or local access phone line. This service will provide same-day response to questions about support.

10. Maintain a 24x7x365 Network Operations Center (NOC). The NOC will have a toll-free telephone answered by a live person.

11. Provide The District with a single point of contact for all connectivity-related issues between The District and the Internet.

12. Provide The District with a single point of contact for all account management and billing inquiries.

13. There will be no additional charges for technical support, troubleshooting, or problem resolution.

14. The District must be notified no less than one (1) week prior to any planned maintenance activity that will affect service. This lead-time is necessary in order to notify the downstream users of pending maintenance and to take any mitigating actions required on The District’s part.

15. There can be no maintenance outages before 12:00 AM (midnight) or after 6:00 AM unless of an emergency nature. The District must be notified no less than four (4) hours prior to emergency maintenance shutdowns.

16. Ability to manage route advertisement via BGP interaction.

Support Requirements Vendor will provide continuous, active service monitoring and immediate issue and problem resolution 24x7x365. Describe procedures for trouble reporting and escalation.

Outline a process for notification and update on the progress of the repairs.

Vendor will provide timely account management support for items including, but not limited to, service changes, billing inquiries, billing disputes, and e-rate inquiries. Describe procedures for engaging account support and how ongoing account maintenance will be handled.

SELECTION PROCEDURES- The proposal package will be evaluated based on the responsiveness to the criteria described below with those criteria’s values weighted as follows: (MAXIMUM 100 POINTS):

Scoring Matrix for New Internet Service Maximum Score Technical-

• Solution design, equipment & service

• Meets all RFP technical requirements

• Solution resilience and scalability

• Compatibility with existing GCPS infrastructure

• Consistency of equipment and configuration

• Physical and digital security

25 Points

Vendor Qualifications-

• Local presence

• Experience servicing K-12 organizations of similar size and scope

• Staff experience

• Past vendor performance

• E-rate participation and qualification

20 Points

Project & Account Management-

• Service Level Agreement (SLA)

• Account management plan

• Project management

• Continuity of service

10 Points

References: The selection committee will contact references’ provided by the firm and evaluate 5 Points

Proposal Merit-

• Adheres to terms and conditions of the RFP

• Organization and clarity

• Thoroughness

10 Points

Cost: Cost of eligible goods and/or services 30 points TOTAL 100 points

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

The submitted proposal package should be responsive to the specific range of scope elaborated in this request. Submission of excessive “boiler plate” information is discouraged. In an effort to ensure our ability to evaluate and choose a successful processor for this contract, respondents are encouraged to organize their proposal as follows:

Section 1 – Introduction and Executive Summary Section 2 –Experience and Past Performance Section 3 – Project Approach Section 4 – References Section 5 – Fee Structure/Cost Proposals Section 6 – Additional Information Proposals should include the following:

Section 1 – Introduction and Executive Summary An executive summary should be prepared describing the major facts or features of the proposal, including any conclusions, assumptions, and your approach to reach the objectives for Internet Services Contract. The provider should include a Company profile detailing financials, the number of employees, and indicate how long it has been in business. List the person(s) who are authorized to make representations for your firm. Include their titles, addresses, and phone numbers.

Section 2 – Experience and Past Performance The Respondent will provide a brief description of the company, its history, and how it relates to the purchase of Internet Services. The Respondent will provide examples of documentation from at least one (1) previous client that had a successfully implemented contract within the last three years, as well as a list of past contracts that qualifies them to undertake the purchase of Internet Services.

Section 3 – Project Approach

Provide a description of how your firm proposes to meet the needs as described in this RFP.

Section 4 – References The respondent should provide GCPS, in their proposal, a total of three (3) references from your largest K-12 clients. All information provided should be current and verifiable and should be completed on the form that is provided. Please include the following valid information for each referenced project:

Company Name:

Contact Name:

Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Telephone Number:

E-mail Address:

Provide a description of any special experience, capabilities, and technical resources that can be attributed to this contract by the respondent. Please verify contact information prior to submission (especially the phone number and E-mail). Failure to verify contact information may result in a significant reduction in your firm’s reference scoring if we are unable to contact the reference firm.

Section 5 – Fee Structure/Cost Proposal GCPS requests that respondents include in their proposals a recommended fee structure, including the proposed allocation of fees between the cooperative administrator and the lead agency. Proposals should clearly identify:

• Any minimum fee requirements.

• Any additional fees that may be charged to school members and/or the cooperative.

GCPS reserves the right to review, adjust, and negotiate the final fee structure to ensure it aligns with program objectives, services provided, and vendor performance.

Pricing should be submitted under the “Bid Table” section in Euna (formerly Bonfire).

Scoring for Fee Structure will be calculated using the formula below:

Highest Proposed Allocation of Fees = % Factor X Maximum =Points Price of Offer being Evaluated Available Points Assigned

Section 6 – Additional Information Note additional information here. If there is no additional information, please note: “There is no additional information to present”.

Miscellaneous Requirements & Information The Respondent will provide a clear and complete description of the proposed items in direct response to the requirements set forth in this RFP. The description will be enough to enable the evaluation committee to determine that the proposal satisfies the RFP requirements and meets the needs of GCPS and prospective Program Participants.

Proposals submitted are not publicly available until after the award by Gwinnett County Board of Education. All proposals and supporting materials as well as correspondence relating to this RFP become property of Gwinnett County Public Schools when received.

Any proprietary information contained in the proposal should be so indicated. However, a general indication that the entire contents, or a major portion, of the proposal is proprietary will not be honored.

Proposals must be signed in ink by a company official that has authorization to commit company resources and shall contain the firm’s full business address.

Award It is the intent to award one or more contracts to responsive and responsible Proposer(s) offering the best overall quality, selection of equipment, products, and services, and price that meet the commonly requested specifications. The award(s) will be limited to the number of Proposers that are determined necessary to meet the needs of the contract.

Factors to be considered in determining the number of contracts to be awarded in any category may include the following:

• The number of and geographic location of: o Proposers necessary to offer a comprehensive selection of equipment, products, or services for Program Participants’ use.

o A Proposer’s sales and service network to assure availability of product supply and coverage to meet Program Participants’ anticipated needs.

• Total evaluation scores.

• Information submitted as part of a proposal should be as specific as possible when responding to the RFP. Do not assume GCPS’s knowledge about a specific vendor or product.

The GCPS may make such investigations as it deems necessary to determine the ability of the proposer to perform, and the proposer shall furnish to GCPS all such information and data for this purpose as the GCPS may request. GCPS reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such proposer fails to satisfy GCPS that such proposer is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract.

GCPS reserves the right to reject or accept any or all proposals and to waive technicalities, informalities and minor irregularities in the proposals received.

GCPS reserves the right to make an award as deemed in its best interest and the interest of program participants, which may include awarding a proposal to a single proposer or multiple proposers; or to award the whole proposal, only part of the proposal, or none of the proposal to single or multiple proposers, based on its sole discretion of its best interest.

In the event scores rounded to the nearest whole number result in a tie score, the award will be based on lowest cost.

Proposal Award Dispute Any dispute resulting from an award of this contract must be submitted to the Director of Purchasing in writing no later than 10 days after notice of award has been issued.

Rejection of Proposals All proposals will be reviewed for completeness of the submission requirements. If a proposal fails to meet a material requirement in the RFP, or is incomplete or contains irregularities, the proposal may be rejected. A deviation is material to the extent that a response is not in substantial accord with the requirements in the RFP.

Immaterial deviations may cause a proposal to be rejected. District may or may not waive an immaterial deviation or defect in a proposal. District's waiver of an immaterial deviation or defect shall in no way modify the RFP or excuse Service provider from full compliance with solicitation document specifications.

District reserves the right to reject all proposals or proposals when the proposed costs are not considered reasonable. District reserves the right to eliminate any individual service contained in the proposal.

Request for Clarification or Additional Information GCPS’s reserves the right to request clarification of information provided and to request additional information required to assist in the evaluation process. GCPS’s reserves the right to reject all proposals, to negotiate changes in the scope of work or services to be provided, and to otherwise waive any technicalities.

Right to Re-Solicit Gwinnett County Board of Education reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. The school system may waive any informalities or minor technicalities.

Termination For Cause GCPS may terminate this agreement for cause upon ten days prior written notice to the contractor of the contractor’s default in the performance of any term of this agreement.

Such termination shall be without prejudice to any of GCPS’s rights or remedies by law.

Termination For Convenience GCPS may terminate this agreement for its convenience at any time upon 30 days written notice to the contractor. In the event of GCPS’s termination of this agreement for convenience, the contractor will be paid for those services actually performed. Partially completed performance of the agreement will be compensated based upon a signed statement of completion to be submitted by the contractor, which shall itemize each element of performance.