IDAHO RFI 516.docx

State of Idaho | Division of Purchasing Request For Information RFI516 For Statewide Telecommunication Services

Section 1: Overview & Instructions

1.1 Purpose

The State of Idaho Division of Purchasing (DOP), on behalf of the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), is seeking to schedule online/virtual strategy discussions from interested Suppliers with experience providing telecommunication services to the State of Idaho (State). The intent of these discussions is to obtain feedback from Suppliers to assist the State in developing a more accurate Scope of Work and overall approach for an upcoming solicitation for Statewide telecommunications services including broadband (site network connectivity), internet, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks and sessions, dark fiber and long-distance services. This is not a solicitation for quotations, bids or proposals. No contract award will result from this RFI; the purpose is to help the State develop a solicitation that is clear and can be administered efficiently and effectively. Participation in these discussions is completely optional (they are NOT mandatory in order to participate in the future solicitation). Suppliers will not receive any individual advantage in the upcoming solicitation because of their participation; however, participation is expected to benefit all suppliers through the development of a better solicitation.

1.2 Format of Virtual Discussion

The format of these informal discussions can be performed virtually online via video conferencing tools (i.e., Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc.). The content and topics of the strategy discussions are shown in Section 3. The State is NOT requesting a formal written response to these questions or topics (as is common in most traditional RFIs). All information will be collected via the conference call/video call, which will be performed on a “1-on-1” basis between each Supplier and the State (not as a group meeting). The State anticipates spending about 1-hour on each call.

The State intends to use information gathered from these discussions to help ensure that the future solicitation is fair and open and provides the information necessary for suppliers to be able to provide accurate proposals. The State plans to schedule discussions with the first five (5) Suppliers to submit a request but reserves the right to hold additional discussions in order to capture diverse Supplier perspectives. The State shall not reimburse the Supplier for any expenses incurred responding to this RFI.

The State does not have any requirements of who can attend the meeting, or their role/position. The Supplier can select the best person(s) to attend. The meetings will be led by the Point of Contact identified in Section 4. Suppliers will be permitted 5-10 minutes to introduce their company for context. The remainder of the time will be spent discussing the Supplier’s answers to the questions provided in Section 3. Other than general procurement questions, the state will not answer any questions about the project or upcoming solicitation; however, the state will be taking note of questions to ensure that they are answered proactively in the solicitation document.

1.3 Key Dates

The RFI timetable is shown below, but the State may adjust/modify this schedule as needed.

1.4 Point of Contact

All questions, inquires, or communications regarding this RFI or the Statewide Telecommunication Services must be directed to the Point of Contact listed below (via email). Suppliers shall not contact any other State employee.

Bob Morlan Purchasing Supervisor State of Idaho – Division of Purchasing Email: bob.morlan@adm.idaho.gov

Section 2: Background Information

2.1 Background Information

ITS currently has multiple statewide contracts for carrier-based telecommunication services expiring in 2024. The current contracts include layer- two and layer three MPLS for last mile services to remote sites and applicable aggregation services, Internet, dark fiber, private SIP sessions and trunks, as well as SIP and switched PSTN inbound (toll-free) and outbound domestic and international long-distance. ITS manages the current contracts, placing orders and invoicing agencies for the services provided.

ITS has provided GIS mapped data for the current ITS managed network/internet sites statewide:

https://gisportal-its.idaho.gov/portal/apps/dashboards/f93253590a464217b1b272ff8d4f7ae8

The data is the current MPLS, internet, dark fiber and satellite connected sites managed by ITS and is current as of December 2023. Many of these sites are also hosted on ITS VOIP infrastructure and are served with SIP (DID – direct inward dial) services. Note that ongoing changes (moves, upgrades, disconnects etc.) as well as additional data sets are occurring regularly and the map is not intended to represent all the sites or service, service type and bandwidth that will be included or required in the upcoming solicitation. The data does not currently include the 4G/5G connected sites managed by ITS.

2.2 Unique / Challenging Conditions

Below are identified challenges or conditions impacting successful solicitations and award of services.

· Agency appropriations/budget: ITS is the centralized IT service provider for the state and invoices state agencies for services provided by or contracted through ITS. Any increase in the cost of service and/or any hardware replacements required for change in service or service providers will likely be passed on to agencies and must be coordinated with the budget cycles.

· Diverse geography and business needs: The State has a wide variety of telecommunications needs throughout the State. The contracts resulting from the future solicitation must address the following diverse needs:

· Technical support to all locations – historically, this has been difficult in remote locations.

· Service to geographically remote locations with limited available service options (Parks, Wildlife Management Areas, Hatchery’s etc.).

· Many sites with <5 assigned personnel (sand/maintenance sheds, Vocational Rehab counselor offices, Veteran Advocacy offices, and many sites that do not house full-time staff occupation etc.).

Nontraditional facility-based sites (Road Weather Sensors, Automatic Traffic Records, Air Quality Monitors, camera sites etc.).

· Quantity of sites – more than 500 sites served by current contract(s).

· Time to deliver services to a site.

· Completing the installation of any necessary foundational or dependent services such as but not limited to installation of aggregation circuits if applicable, or SIP trunk installation, registration, and testing necessary in order to port DID’s and deliver VOIP services to supported agencies.

· Installation of last mile services to agency sites where construction, right of entry (for leased space) obtaining city, county, or State permitting as required, weather conditions that may impact delivery of services.

· Maintaining/delivering service levels to agencies.

· Supporting a growing demand for internet bandwidth.

· Ensuring new technology can support latency and jitter sensitive applications (such as Teams, Webex and VOIP) where needed.

2.3 Future Goals & Outcomes

ITS intends for the future solicitation to invite a wide variety of proposals that will allow the State to identify the best possible solutions for statewide telecommunications services. ITS anticipates that the possibility of significant changes in the way telecommunications services are provided and would like to be able to consider options including but not limited to full-service solutions (where appropriate, based on security requirements), alternate technologies (e.g., satellite), and infrastructure as a service.

Below are the State’s key objectives for the project:

· Cost

· Reduce cost (cost per megabit) statewide.

· Service

· Improve the time to deliver and maintain the quality of services provided to supported agencies.

· Improve time to deliver (quoting, ordering, delivery to site and coordination of test and turn up of new service).

· Improve ability to provide statewide support and maximize service uptime and reliability.

· Improve real-time circuit status and visibility over network congestion.

· Allow ITS to prioritize service requests.

· Technology

· Diversify technology options to meet agency business needs and ensure that technology is future-looking and flexible.

· Eliminate old obsolete technology such as (i.e. copper based/delivered last mile) DS1/Frame Relay, ADSL etc.

2.4 Upcoming Solicitation

· The State anticipates issuing an RFP solicitation within 90 days of completing RFI discussions and evaluating collected data.

· The State anticipates awarding multiple contracts to meet the scope of services included in the solicitation and to reach all the State connected sites. The State prefers to award to one provider; however, it is understood this may not be possible due to the size and diversity of the geographical area. While current contracts expire in 2024, contract terms for some remote site services will have a term date that outlives the expiring contract. This and other internal resource factors will drive a phased approach to orders and implementation. The State will determine the order and priority of installations and will submit orders to service provider(s) accordingly.

· The State has estimated that the total spend for the Statewide Telecommunications Services contracts will be approximately $5M annually.

Section 3: Script for Strategy Discussions A written response to these questions is NOT required. The State will conduct virtual discussions with interested Suppliers to address these items. The supplier can prepare a presentation to assist with the discussion if they would like (but they are not required to do so).

1. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the RFP stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Current Conditions (what critical things do you need to know about our current environment)?

2. To enable your firm to prepare an accurate proposal at the RFP stage, what is the most critical information for the State to provide about our Future State Requirements (are there any goals, objectives, or desired items that we haven’t thought of, or should consider)?

3. In general, who are the most critical 3-5 personnel (from the Supplier side) that are essential to the overall success of this program?

4. What would be the ‘best’ way for the State to collect and fairly compare costing information from suppliers, to allow the State to compare proposals ‘apples-to-apples’. Could you provide us with an example(s) of a costing templates that you would recommend using?

5. What are your thoughts about our scheduled timelines? Are we being realistic?

6. Are there any other factors/issues/items the State should be considering at this time? Is there anything that might keep your company from submitting a proposal or that might impede the State’s efforts to maximize cost savings, service levels, and quality technology?

Strategy Discussions for Statewide Telecommunication Services Response Form

Suppliers that would like to participate in the virtual discussions should complete this form to reserve a time slot. Please identify a point of contact that the State can contact to setup the virtual meeting.

Company Name

Point of Contact name

Phone number

Email Address

Please identify the preferred dates/times for the virtual call (as shown in the table below). Due to the number of Suppliers that may RSVP, please identify at least 2-3 dates/times that will work for your team (so we can try to accommodate everyone). Please RSVP as soon as possible, but not later than 5pm (Mountain Time) on May 29, 2024. Timeslots will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once your timeslot is confirmed, the State will provide a link to the conference-call or video-call.

June 3, 2024 – 1:00 pm

June 4, 2024 – 1:00 pm

June 5, 2024 – 9:00 am

June 5, 2024 – 1:00 pm

June 6, 2024 – 9:00 am

Please complete and send this form via email to bob.morlan@adm.idaho.gov

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