NPSBN_Amendment_No._0012_-_QAs.pdf

Solicitation No. D15PS00295 – Amendment 012 Questions and Answers

Question #: 403

RFP Section Reference: Section L.3.1.5.1, Financial Resources

Question:

Section L.3.1.5.1, titled Financial Resources, requires the offeror to provide certain financial information.

The first sentence of this Clause states, “The Offeror shall provide, at a minimum, copies of the following financial information.” We assume the word “copies” implies printed copies of financial information.

Then, under the sub-bullet heading titled “Financial Statements”, this Section states, “If the entity for which financial statements are submitted files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC), the Offeror shall provide electronic links to the most recently filed SEC Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and

Form 8-K for all such reporting entities.”

If access to SEC-filed information is available via electronic links, the offeror requests that electronic links be allowed in lieu of providing printed copies of the same information.

Answer:

If access to SEC-filed information is available via electronic links, they will be allowed in lieu of providing printed copies of the same information as stated in Section L.3.1.5.1, Financial Resources.

RFP Change (Yes/No):

Yes

RFP Change Description:

Section L.3.1.5.1, Financial Resources, first sentence is being revised in this Amendment 012 to read, “The Offeror shall provide, at a minimum, copies of the following financial information, with the exception of the financial statements identified below. If the entity for which financial statements are submitted files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Offeror may provide electronic links to the most recently filed SEC Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and Form 8-K for all such reporting entities in lieu of hard copy submissions.”

Also, Section L.3.1, Proposal Format and Submission Instructions, is being revised in this Amendment

012 to read, “… by volume as indicated below. Each volume shall include an Executive Summary that shall not exceed 4 pages in length (2 sheets of paper, double-sided print); each Executive Summary must clearly identify what portions of the volume are provided in soft-copy format (as allowed in accordance with Section L) for verification and validation purposes …”

Question #: 404

RFP Section Reference: Section L.3.1.5.1, Financial Resources

Section L.3.1.5.1, titled Financial Resources, requires the offeror shall provide certain financial information. For this offeror, we routinely submit bids to federal government customers in the name of a particular corporate entity which does not have publicly filed financial statements. As part of those bids, we routinely submit the publicly filed financial statements of the parent of that corporate entity.

We are seeking confirmation that this standard federal government practice is compliant in response to

FirstNet.?

Answer:

Parent corporation financial statements can be provided to the extent that the parent corporation guarantees the commitments of the contract resulting from the RFP. Also, see Section J, Attachment J-27, Parental Guarantee Agreement, which is incorporated as a result of this Amendment 012.

Section L.3.1, Volume I – Business Management, is being revised in this Amendment 012 to read, “This page count excludes … all items identified in Section L.3.1.5, Section Five – Offeror Financial

Sustainability; and the executed Parental Guarantee Agreement identified in Section J, Attachment J-27.”

Also, Section L.3.1.5.3, Parent Company Guarantees, is being revised in this Amendment 012 to read, “The Offeror shall provide details (including terms and conditions) of a guarantee (or equivalent security) from an entity of sufficient financial standing to meet the Offeror’s obligations, including disincentive payments, throughout the life of the contract, in the form of a Parental Guarantee Agreement. The Offeror shall submit a fully executed Parental Guarantee Agreement (see Section J, Attachment J-27, Parental

Guarantee Agreement) signed by an official authorized to bind the Offeror and the proposed Parental

Guarantor. This executed Agreement shall be submitted in Volume I – Business Management, as identified in Section L.3.1.”

Question #: 405

RFP Section Reference: Section H.16.1, Contractor Provisions

Question:

In Section H.16.1, FirstNet stated it can take various steps in the event that, among other things, “the

Contractor’s credit rating is reduced by 2 or more steps in any six-month period by any one of the major credit rating agencies, including Moody’s Investors Services, Standard & Poors, Fitch or Dun &

Bradstreet….” In reviewing this language, we are concerned that Dun & Bradstreet was inadvertently included in the list of rating agencies as it is fundamentally different than the other named institutions and does not qualify as a ‘major credit rating agency’ when compared to the other three named institutions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in particular, the SEC’s Office of Credit Ratings

(OCR) recognizes Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations

(NRSROs); Dun & Bradstreet is not so recognized. In particular, the OCR monitors the activities and conducts examinations of the NRSROs. Dun & Bradstreet does not operate under the same oversight.

Moreover, Dun & Bradstreet does not access the same type of in-depth financial information from Vendor as do the NRSROs. In short, Dun & Bradstreet’s ratings cannot be used in the same manner as those issued by a NRSRO – to do so may create anomalous results if FirstNet were to rely solely on some type of ratings issued by Dun & Bradstreet.

We recognize the interest in FirstNet retaining the right to take certain steps should there be the noted reduction in credit rating. However, such a trigger should be from the three named NRSROs and we therefore respectfully request that Dun & Bradstreet should be removed from this list?

Answer:

Dun and Bradstreet will be removed from the list of major credit rating agencies specified in Section

H.16.1, Contractor Provisions.

Section H.16.1, Contractor Provisions, is being revised in this Amendment 012 to read, “Notwithstanding the provisions of Section I, … by the Contractor to provide FirstNet … (i) the Contractor’s credit rating is reduced by 2 or more steps in any six-month period by any one of the major credit rating agencies, including Moody’s investors Services, Standard & Poors, or Fitch, or, …”

Question #: 406

RFP Section Reference: Section J, Attachment J-17, Coverage and Capacity Template

Question:

We understand that FirstNet has revised the obligation to submit the Site Summary Tab of Attachment J-

17. With regards to the rest of the tabs in Attachment J-17, the volume of responsive material remains voluminous. Can FirstNet please waive hardcopy submission requirement and allow softcopy submission only?

Answer:

Yes, soft-copy submissions are acceptable.

Section L.3.2, Volume II – Technical, is being changed in this Amendment 012 to read, “… and Section

J, Attachment J-17, Coverage and Capacity Template. Section J, Attachment J-17, Coverage and Capacity

Template, may be submitted in a soft copy format only as stated herein (flash drive).”

Question #: 407

RFP Section Reference:

Section L.3.2.1, Coverage and Capacity, Table 2, Coverage Maps Required for Coverage and Capacity

Section L.3.2.1.3.1, IOC Coverage Maps and Network Statistics, Table 4, Coverage Maps Required for

Coverage and Capacity

Question:

In Section L, Tables 2 and 4 offerors are instructed to provide the required maps (at a minimum resolution of 30 x 30 meters) in both MapInfo (.grd/.tab) files (which are a raster format) and Ersi (.shp) files (which are a vector format). Providing a single nationwide map in either of these formats will be too large for the respective software programs to create. MapInfo (.grd/.tab) files have a size limit of 2GBs and Ersi

(.shp) files have a limit of less than 3 billion rows. A single nationwide map at the 30 x 30 meter resolution will far exceed the limits of either format.

May offerors provide multiple MapInfo (.grd/.tab) files for each required map so that no one file would exceed the 2GB limit? Would the submission of regional map files be acceptable in this scenario?

May offerors submit Ersi (.img) files (as opposed to .shp files)? The Esri (.img) files are in vector format and are more space efficient than the raster format Esri (.shp) files.

Answer:

It is acceptable for an offeror to provide multiple Mapinfo (e.g. regional) files. Similarly the Esri (.shp) files may be provided in a regional form to fit within the Esri application space/size limit. However, Offerors may not submit Ersi (.img) file format as it will not provide FirstNet the necessary granularity for our evaluation purposes.

Sections L.3.2.1, Coverage and Capacity, Table 2, Coverage Maps Required for Coverage and Capacity, and Section L.3.2.1.3.1, IOC Coverage Maps and Network Statistics, Table 4, Coverage Maps Required for Coverage and Capacity. are being revised in this Amendment 012 to include further clarification regarding the format of coverage maps. The clarification reads, “* Note: If needed, the Offeror may provide multiple regional MapInfo & Esri (.shp) files that display coverage for smaller areas versus for the entire nation to fit within application and file size limitations. If regional maps are provided, they shall collectively represent nationwide coverage.”

Question #: 408

RFP Section Reference: Section L.3.2, Volume II – Technical

The instructions provided in Section L.3.2 for Volume II include approximately 38 pages of requirements.

The current 300-page limitation for Volume II significantly limits the amount of detail that can be provided for these requirements, and restricts discussion of Innovative approaches and associated benefits to public safety.

Will FirstNet consider increasing the page limit for Volume II to 380 pages (10 proposal pages per page of requirements) to allow for discussion of innovative approaches?

Answer:

No, as stated in RFP Section L.3.2, Volume II – Technical, the technical proposal shall not exceed 300 pages in length (150 sheets of paper, double-sided print) which excludes coverage maps and Section J attachments: Section J, Attachment J-11, Device Specifications Template; Section J, Attachment J-12, Test Strategy Template; and Section J, Attachment J-17, Coverage and Capacity Template.

No

N/A