Internet Access Services RFP Addendum 1.pdf

INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES 2025 RFP 1

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) RFP

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

800 GOVERNORS DR PIERRE SD 57501

AND

BUREAU OF INFORMATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

700 GOVERNORS DR PIERRE SD 57501

INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES

PROPOSALS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN OCT 28, 2025, 5 PM CDT

RFP #: 25RFP16406 EMAIL: E-RATE@STATE.SD.US

STATE POC: BIT TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

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1 General Information

1.1 Purpose of Request for Proposal (RFP)

Background:

The State communications network (“Network”) carries video, e-mail, data, and many other critical applications. The State provides access to the Internet, Internet 2, Northern Tier, Great Plains Network and other peering networks in the region for the connected organizations that are our clients. The Network carries both unrestricted Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) traffic. This RFP is only for the Internet traffic portion of the above network. School and library organizations that qualify for E-Rate under the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Mechanism (47 C.F.R. § 54.500 et seq.) are among the connected organizations that will utilize the Internet delivered over the Network.

As with all networks, the Network is an evolution with equipment and service providers regularly being evaluated and replaced as technology matures.

The State is allocated two (2) Autonomous System (AS) numbers, one (1) Class B block, four (4) Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR) blocks and a mix of other Class C allocations by American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN). The State also passes on other ARIN assigned AS numbers for some of our clients along with other Class B and CIDR Blocks. ARIN has assigned an IPv6 /32 block for the State sites and another IPv6 /32 block for our Board of Regents (BOR) sites.

The State does not allow transient traffic of any type across the Network except from directly connected customers.

The current State network infrastructure for Internet access is two (2) 100GbE (100 Gigabit Ethernet) links that are leased from commercial service providers.

1) 1 x 100GbE links at Line Rate located at 700 E Broadway Ave, Pierre, SD (Pierre Core)

2) 1 x 100GbE links at Line Rate located at 820 N Washington Ave, Madison, SD (Madison Core)

3) 1GbE virtual local area network (vlan) for Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) sink located at

700 E Broadway Ave, Pierre, SD (Pierre Core)

4) 1GbE vlan for DDOS sink located at 820 N Washington Ave, Madison, SD (Madison Core)

DDOS sink is an independent policed bandwidth vlan that the State can divert unwanted traffic to in the event of a large DDOS attack or other traffic flood. Further details on the DDOS sink can be found in section 3.2.12. The term DDOS is used to cover all Denial of Service (DOS) and Distributed Denial of Service attacks throughout this document.

The amount of bandwidth used is highly seasonal in that most of the traffic is K-12 and Board of Regents schools. This means high utilization of the network during the day and evening during the school year, with very low utilizations during the school vacation periods and summer period. This is shown in the graphs below.

Goals and Objectives:

The State is seeking diverse, reliable and scalable high-speed Internet Access for the Digital Dakota Network (DDN) / Research Education and Economic Development (REED) Network / State Network.

To meet these requirements, an Offeror must be able to meet and support the technical requirements listed in Section 3.

The State administers this wide-area network, referred to as DDN/REED/State Government network.

This network provides services to State and Local Governments, Board of Regents, and Public K-12 Education. The network has two (2) core locations that are also the peering sites to the Internet. The core sites are currently located in Pierre, SD and Madison, SD. The service must connect to all

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specified locations at specified bandwidth speeds with options to increase the subscribed bandwidth during the contract term. The final bandwidth allocations between sites will be established upon the award of the contract. The State’s usage could reach 150 Gbps+ during the term of the contract as demand and needs continue to expand amongst all Vendors awarded. The State reserves the right to increase or decrease the bandwidth needs during the term of this contract as minor contract modifications. The Internet connections procured by the State will be protected by a DDOS mitigation service to protect against DDOS attacks.

The bandwidth purchased for the entire State, including both K-12 and other government entities, for the year ending June 30, 2026, as of September 2025 is 110 Gbps. The bandwidth purchased for K- 12 sites for the year ending June 30, 2026, as of September 2025 is 75.25 Gbps. The actual amount to be purchased for the initial term of the contract may be a different quantity to meet Internet needs as of July 1, 2026.

The current traffic levels of the Internet services are:

Future Bandwidth Requirements and Growth

The State is estimating year-over-year growth of ~10-20% in total Internet traffic based on our historical data. The largest growth each year occurs at the start of the school year in the fall. The State may increase bandwidths for the clients over the summer.

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The State’s network design goals for the Internet are as follows:

• Each core site will have the same amount of Internet capacity as the other core site.

• Each core site’s actual Internet usage should not exceed more than 50% of the total Internet bandwidth. This allows complete core diverse path routing and load balancing in case of core issues for Internet access.

• If usage does exceed more than 50% then Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) load balancing will be used and/or more bandwidth will be added to both Core sites until the usage is under 50% at each core site.

• Internet diverse path routing and load balancing is a primary design goal for the State, either through multiple peerings to multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or to a single ISP.

• Internet reliability is a primary design goal either through multiple peerings and/or multiple ISPs.

• Low latency Internet is a primary design goal.

• Low latency access to Content Distribution Networks (CDN) is a requirement for our users.

To meet these goals, the State and associated networks already have and are planning to expand on multiple other public and private peering connections outside this RFP that will be maintained over the life of this RFP using IPv4, IPv6, and IPv6 multicast.

• We already have multiple 100G connections to Internet 2 (Research & Education Network table and Internet 2 Provider Exchange (I2PX) network table) for many clients. We plan to expand this access to all our clients over the next year.

• The I2PX table is over 500,000+ routes and growing that include major tech companies, Federal and State governments, all cloud providers, etc.

• We have 100G to the following regional network partners: Great Plains Network, Northern Tier Network, Northern Lights GigaPop and all other networks peered to these regional networks.

• We have 100G connections to ESnet (US Department of Energy - Energy Sciences Network, National Backbone) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

• We have 100G connection access to private Netflix caching through the Great Plains Network for some clients, which we may expand in the future.

• We may have other private peering with other ISPs in South Dakota to support and lower latency for VPN connections and state citizens access to K-12, BOR, and state government resources.

• The State does not allow any transient traffic between any of these peering connections that does not originate or is destinated for the State and associated networks.

The Vendor is expected to meet all technical requirements for this service as listed in Section 3 and Service Level Agreement levels defined in Section 3.11.

1.2 Issuing Office and RFP Reference Number

The Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (“Agency”) is the issuing office for this document and all subsequent addenda relating to it, on behalf of the State of South Dakota (“State”). The reference number for this transaction is RFP#25RFP16406. This reference number must be referred to on all proposals, correspondence, and documentation relating to this RFP.

For purposes of this RFP, the State’s centralized Information Technology (IT) agency, the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (“BIT”), must approve all IT related purchases. BIT, therefore, is the lead agency for this procurement.

The South Dakota Department of Education is integral to the RFP process and is working closely with BIT with this procurement. The Department of Education will be the entity responsible for paying the internet charges for the K-12 entities and therefore qualifies as the “Billed Entity” as

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defined by E-Rate program rules. Both BIT and the Department of Education will be signatory agencies to the contract(s) awarded at the conclusion of this procurement.

Throughout this RFP document, interested offerors may be referred to as “Offeror,” “Vendor,” or “Contractor.”

1.3 Schedule of Activities (Subject to Change)

All deadlines in the Schedule of Activities are due by 5:00 PM CDT. The Schedule of Activities for this RFP is as follows:

RFP Publication Sept 10, 2025 Deadline for Letter of Intent to Respond (If required) Sept 16, 2025 Deadline for Submission of Written Inquiries Sept 23, 2025 5 PM CDT Deadline for Responses to offeror Questions Sept 30, 2025 Deadline for Proposal Submission Oct 28, 2025 5 PM CDT Discussions / Technical Review Oct 29 – Nov 7, 2025 Demonstrations and presentations (if required) Nov 10 – 21, 2025 Proposal Revisions (if required) Dec 2, 2025 Best and Final Offers Dec 2, 2025 Anticipated Award Decision/Contract Negotiation Dec 16, 2025

1.4 Letter of Intent

All interested offerors may but are not required to submit a Letter of Intent to respond to this RFP.

The Letter of Intent must be submitted to the Agency via email at E-Rate@state.sd.us by the date and time indicated in Section 1.3 Schedule of Activities. Please place the following in the subject line of your email: “Letter of Intent for RFP#25RFP16406”.

1.5 Submitting a Proposal

All proposals must be completed and received by the Agency by the date and time indicated in Section 1.3 Schedule of Activities. Compliance with the Deadline is a mandatory requirement of this RFP.

Proposals received after the Deadline for Proposal Submission will be late and ineligible for consideration.

All proposals must be signed, in ink or electronically, by a representative of the offeror who is legally authorized to bind the offeror to the proposal. Proposals that are not properly signed may be rejected. The offeror’s proposal must be prepared pursuant to the requirements of Section 6 Proposal Submission Requirements of this RFP.

The State will only accept electronic proposals via email.

Each offeror must provide an electronic version of the proposal. The electronic version must be provided in MS Word or in PDF format to E-Rate@state.sd.us. The email, including attachments, must be limited to 20MB in size.

The title page must be marked with the appropriate RFP Number and Title Proposals must be addressed and labeled as follows:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL # 25RFP16406

INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES 2025 RFP 6

PROPOSAL TITLE Internet Access Services PROPOSAL DUE October 28, 2025 5 PM CDT STATE POC e-rate@state.sd.us ADDRESS: 700 Governors Dr, Pierre, SD 57501

No proposal will be accepted from, or no contract or purchase order will be awarded to, any person, firm, or corporation that is in arrears upon any obligations to the State of South Dakota, or that otherwise may be deemed irresponsible or unreliable by the State of South Dakota.

1.6 Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary

Exclusion – Lower Tier Covered Transactions

By signing and submitting this proposal, the offeror certifies that neither it nor its principals is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation, by any Federal department or agency, from transactions involving the use of Federal funds. Where the offeror is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, the offeror shall attach an explanation to its offer.

1.7 Non-Discrimination Statement

The State of South Dakota requires that all contractors, vendors, and suppliers doing business with any State agency, department, or institution, provide a statement of non-discrimination. By signing and submitting their proposal, the offeror certifies they do not discriminate in their employment practices with regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, ancestry, national origin, or disability.

1.8 Restriction of Boycott of Israel

For contractors, vendors, suppliers, or subcontractors with five (5) or more employees who enter into a contract with the State of South Dakota that involves the expenditure of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more, by submitting a response to this solicitation or agreeing to contract with the State, the bidder or offeror certifies and agrees that the following information is correct:

The bidder or offeror, in preparing its response or offer or in considering proposals submitted from qualified, potential vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors, or in the solicitation, selection, or commercial treatment of any vendor, supplier, or subcontractor, has not refused to transact business activities, has not terminated business activities, and has not taken other similar actions intended to limit its commercial relations, related to the subject matter of the bid or offer, with a person or entity on the basis of Israeli national origin, or residence or incorporation in Israel or its territories, with the specific intent to accomplish a boycott or divestment of Israel in a discriminatory manner. It is understood and agreed that, if this certification is false, such false certification will constitute grounds for the State to reject the bid or response submitted by the bidder or offeror on this project and terminate any contract awarded based on the bid or response. The successful bidder or offeror further agrees to provide immediate written notice to the contracting executive branch agency if during the term of the contract it no longer complies with this certification and agrees such noncompliance may be grounds for contract termination.

1.9 Certification Relating to Prohibited Entity

For contractors, vendors, suppliers, or subcontractors who enter into a contract with the State of South Dakota by submitting a response to this solicitation or agreeing to contract with the State, the bidder or offeror certifies and agrees that the following information is correct:

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The bidder or offeror, in preparing its response or offer or in considering proposals submitted from qualified, potential vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors, or in the solicitation, selection, or commercial treatment of any vendor, supplier, or subcontractor, is not a prohibited entity, regardless of its principal place of business, that is ultimately owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a foreign national, a foreign parent entity, or foreign government from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, or Venezuela, as defined by South Dakota Codified Law § 5-18A. It is understood and agreed that, if this certification is false, such false certification will constitute grounds for the State to reject the bid or response submitted by the bidder or offeror on this project and terminate any contract awarded based on the bid or response. The successful bidder or offeror further agrees to provide immediate written notice to the contracting executive branch agency if during the term of the contract it no longer complies with this certification and agrees such noncompliance may be grounds for contract termination and would be cause to suspend and debar a business under SDCL § 5-18D-12.

1.10 Certification of No State Legislature Interest

The bidder or offeror (i) understands neither a state legislator nor a business in which a state legislator has an ownership interest may be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with the State that was authorized by any law passed during the term for which that legislator was elected, or within one year thereafter, and (ii) has read South Dakota Constitution Article 3, Section 12 and has had the opportunity to seek independent legal advice on the applicability of that provision to any agreement entered into as a result of this RFP. By signing an agreement pursuant to this RFP, the bidder or offeror certifies that the Agreement is not made in violation of the South Dakota Constitution Article 3, Section 12.

1.11 Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals

Proposals may be modified or withdrawn by the offeror prior to the established due date and time.

No oral, telephonic, telegraphic or facsimile responses or modifications to informal, formal bids, or Request for Proposals will be considered.

1.12 Questions Regarding RFP

All written questions must be sent to: E-Rate@state.sd.us, only emailed questions will be accepted. See the schedule in Section 1.3 for the deadline for submission of questions.

Each offeror may submit questions via email concerning this RFP to obtain clarification of requirements. No questions will be accepted after the date and time indicated in the above schedule of activities. Email questions to the email address listed above with the subject line “RFP#25RFP16406”. The questions and their answers will be sent to all offerors that submitted Letters of Intent, submitted questions, or requested the questions and answers via email before the proposal submittal date and will be sent by the date and time indicated in the above calendar of events. Offeror may not rely on any other statements, either of a written or oral nature, that alter any specification or other term or condition of this RFP that have not originated from the SD RFP Project Contact. Offerors will be notified in the same manner as indicated above regarding any modifications to this RFP. Offerors and their agents may not contact any state employee other than the buyer of record regarding any of these matters during the solicitation and evaluation process. Inappropriate contacts are grounds for suspension and exclusion from specific procurements. All questions and answers will also be posted to the E-Rate Form 470 website.

1.13 Proprietary Information

The proposal of the successful offeror(s) becomes public information. Proprietary information can be protected under limited circumstances such as client lists and non-public financial statements.

mailto:@state.sd.us

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An entire proposal may not be marked as proprietary. Offerors must clearly identify in the Executive Summary and mark in the body of the proposal any specific proprietary information they are requesting to be protected. The Executive Summary must contain specific justification explaining why the information is to be protected. Proposals may be reviewed and evaluated by any person at the discretion of the State. All materials submitted become the property of the State of South Dakota and may be returned only at the State's option.

1.14 Length of Contract

The initial term will be two years with up to three years of options to renew that may be exercised in one, two or three-year increments or combinations thereof. The extension(s) will not be automatic.

1.15 Governing Law

This RFP will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of South Dakota. Any lawsuit pertaining to or affecting this RFP will be venued in Circuit Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit, Hughes County, South Dakota.

1.16 Site Visit

If site visits are required, they will be scheduled before the submission of the proposal. Site visits will be made at the offeror’s expense.

1.17 Presentations/Demonstrations

At the State’s discretion, the State may require a presentation or demonstration by an offeror to clarify a proposal. However, the State may award a contract based on the initial proposals received without a presentation or demonstration by the offeror. If presentations or demonstrations are required, they will be scheduled after the submission of proposals.

Presentations and demonstrations will be made at the offeror’s expense.

1.18 Discussions

At the State’s discretion, one or more offerors may or may not be invited to have discussions with the State. The discussions will be after proposals to the RFP have been submitted. Discussions will be made at the offeror’s expense.

1.19 Technical Review

At the State’s discretion, the State may require a technical review of the offeror based on the offeror’s proposal.

1.20 E-Rate Terms and Conditions

The State intends to apply for discounts on the services/equipment listed in this RFP for the K-12 qualifying sites through the federal Universal Service Support Mechanism for Schools and Libraries, commonly known as “E-Rate” Contractors submitting bids under this RFP must agree to meet the following conditions relating to the E-Rate program.

The Contractor must agree to execute a contract on or before February 1, 2026 that reflects terms and conditions that are mutually agreed upon by the State and the Contractor. This requirement may be extended by the State at its sole discretion. The State has defined its Standard Terms and Conditions in Section 2. Others may be applied specific to the services being requested. In addition, INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES 2025 RFP 9 the Contractor must:

1. The Contractor must obtain a valid E-Rate SPIN number (Service Provider Identification

Number) and must provide that SPIN in the Proposal submitted in response to this bid opportunity.

2. The Contractor must agree to timely submit to the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) a completed Form 473, Service Provider Annual Certification Form, which is a program requirement before July 1, 2026 and before July 1 of each year that the contract is in effect including any voluntary extension periods. The Contractor must also agree to provide a copy of the completed Form 473 to the State upon request.

3. The Contractor must agree to invoice for any services, goods and/or equipment requested in this Service Request on or after July 1, 2026. The Contractor may install the services to ensure that the services are tested and functioning properly prior to July 1, 2026, but the Contractor may not issue any invoices for services until on or after July 1, 2026.

4. The Contractor must register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and obtain an FCC registration number and provide the FCC registration number in the Contractor’s proposal. See https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do for more information about this requirement.

5. The Contractor must separately itemize the cost of E-Rate eligible and ineligible products and/or services on its invoices. To determine what items are eligible, visit the E-Rate Eligible Services List at: https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/before-you-begin/eligible-services-list/or call the SLD at 888-203-8100. This requirement applies to services provided to E-Rate eligible entities (K-12 schools) and other state entities that are not eligible for E-rate. The K-12 eligible schools must be billed separately from all other sites based on the list of eligible sites provided by the State for billing purposes. The Contractor must provide unit pricing including all taxes and surcharges to enable the State to compute the bid price of services provided to eligible K-12 schools.

6. The Contractor must be in good standing with the FCC and have no debts outstanding that are owed to the FCC and must not be on Red Light Status, throughout the initial term and any voluntary extension terms of the contract. The Contractor must immediately notify the State in any event that the Contractor is put on Red Light Status by the FCC and must take immediate measures to resolve and remove its Red Light Status. Contractor’s Red Light Status constitutes a material breach of contract, and the State reserves the right to cancel the Agreement of the parties immediately and without incurring any termination charges.

7. If Contractor learns of any federal, state or local investigation conducted by any regulatory authority that could have an impact on the State’s ability to continue to receive the benefit of E-Rate funding, Contractor must notify the State within 30 days of learning of such investigation. The State reserves the right to cancel the agreement without penalty if the investigation impedes the State’s ability in any way to receive the benefit of E-Rate funding subject to any investigation of wrongdoing.

8. The Contractor must cooperate with the State in ensuring that the location names and addresses listed on the Contractor’s bills, especially for E-Rate eligible K-12 schools, are accurate and correct. The Contractor must agree to make any corrections to location names and addresses within 30 days of receiving such requests.

9. The Contractor must cooperate with the State in providing documentation concerning the billing charges and calculations, and answering any questions that may be required during the SLD review of the State’s E-Rate application.

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10. The Contractor must agree to retain copies of all bills and any other records such as service orders, change orders and request for price quotes, issued to the State for all years that the contract is in effect, for a period of 10 years from the end of the last year that this contract is in effect, and to provide copies of these documents to the State upon request. These records may be stored electronically, and paper copies are not required to be retained.

11. Contractors must agree to comply with the FCC's Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) rule and not charge a price above the LCP for E-Rate eligible services. See 47 C.F.R. Section

54.511 and 47 CFR Section 54.500(f). The Contractor is obligated to provide the LCP not just in this bid response, but throughout the course of the contract. The contract is required to have a process for annual LCP compliance. Contractors may refer to Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) guidance at https://www.usac.org/e-rate/service-providers/step-2-responding-to-bids/lowest-corresponding-price/ for additional information.

12. Contractor must obtain the Unique Entity ID (“UEI”), a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov, in its proposal and must timely renew its SAM.gov and UEI registrations.

13. Contractor certify by its agreement with this provision, that in the proposal for providing services to the State under this RFP, Contractor will not use any components produced by any company on the list of prohibited companies covered under Section 2 of The Secured Networks Act, found at this webpage: https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist.

Accordingly, Vendors that do not meet the minimum bidding requirements of Section 1.20 will be disqualified.

2 Standard Contract Terms and Conditions

Any contract or agreement resulting from this RFP will include the State’s standard terms and conditions as listed below and any additional terms and conditions as negotiated by the parties. The offeror must indicate in its response any issues it has with specific contract terms. If the offeror does not indicate that there is an issue with a specific contract term, then the offeror will be deemed to have accepted the contract terms as written.

2.1 The Contractor will perform those services described in the Scope of Work, attached hereto as

Section 3 of the RFP and by this reference incorporated herein.

2.2 The Contractor’s services under this Agreement will start on , and end on , unless terminated sooner pursuant to the terms of the Agreement.

2.3 The Contractor will not use State equipment, supplies, or facilities. The Contractor will provide the

State with its Employer Identification Number, Federal Tax Identification Number, or Social Security Number upon execution of this Agreement.

2.4 The State will make payment for services upon satisfactory completion of the services. The TOTAL

CONTRACT AMOUNT is an amount not to exceed $ . The State will not pay Contractor's expenses as a separate item. Payment will be made pursuant to itemized invoices submitted with a signed state voucher. Payment will be made consistent with SDCL chapter 5-26.

2.5 The Contractor agrees to indemnify the State of South Dakota, its officers, agents, and employees, from and against all claims or proceedings for actions, suits, damages, liabilities, other losses or equitable relief that may arise at least in part as a result of an act or omission in performing services under this Agreement. The Contractor will defend the State of South Dakota, its officers, agents, and employees against any claim, including any claim, action, suit, or other proceeding https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist

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related to the claim. The Contractor’s obligation to indemnify includes the payment of attorney fees and other costs of defense. In defending the State of South Dakota, its officers, agents, and employees, the Contractor will engage other professionals, subject to the written approval of the State which will not be unreasonably withheld. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the State may, in its sole discretion and at the expense of the Contractor, engage attorneys and other professionals to defend the State of South Dakota, its officers, agents, and employees, or to assist the Contractor in the defense. This section does not require the Contractor to be responsible for or defend against claims or proceedings for damages, liabilities, losses, or equitable relief arising solely from errors or omissions of the State, its officers, agents, or employees.

2.6 During the term of this Agreement, the Contractor will obtain and maintain in force insurance coverage of the types and with the limits as follows:

2.6.1 Commercial General Liability Insurance:

The Contractor will maintain occurrence based commercial general liability insurance or equivalent form with a limit of not less than $1 million for each occurrence. If such insurance contains a general aggregate limit, it will apply separately to this Agreement or be no less than two times the occurrence limit. The insurance policy will name the State of South Dakota, its officers and employees, as additional insureds, but liability coverage is limited to claims not barred by sovereign immunity. The State of South Dakota, its officers and employees do not hereby waive sovereign immunity for discretionary conduct as provided by law.

2.6.2 Professional Liability Insurance or Miscellaneous Professional Liability Insurance:

The Contractor will procure and maintain professional liability insurance or miscellaneous professional liability insurance with a limit not less than $1 million.

2.6.3 Business Automobile Liability Insurance:

The Contractor will maintain business automobile liability insurance or equivalent form with a limit of not less than $1 million for each accident. Such insurance will include coverage for owned, hired, and non-owned vehicles.

2.6.4 Workers’ Compensation Insurance:

The Contractor will procure and maintain workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance as required by South Dakota or federal law.

2.6.5 Before beginning work under this Agreement, Contractor will furnish the State with properly executed Certificates of Insurance which will clearly evidence all insurance required in this Agreement. In the event of a substantial change in insurance, issuance of a new policy, cancellation, or nonrenewal of the policy, the Contractor agrees to provide immediate notice to the State and provide a new certificate of insurance showing continuous coverage in the amounts required. Contractor will furnish copies of insurance policies if requested by the State.

2.7 While performing services under this Agreement, the Contractor is an independent contractor and not an officer, agent, or employee of the State of South Dakota.

2.8 The Contractor agrees to report to the State any event encountered in the course of performance of this Agreement which results in injury to the person or property of third parties, or which may otherwise subject Contractor or the State to liability. The Contractor will report any such event to the State immediately upon discovery.

The Contractor's obligation under this section will only be to report the occurrence of any event to the State and to make any other report provided for by their duties or applicable law. The Contractor’s obligation to report will not require disclosure of any information subject to privilege or confidentiality under law (e.g., attorney-client communications). Reporting to the State under

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this section will not excuse or satisfy any obligation of the Contractor to report any event to law enforcement or other entities under the requirements of any applicable law.

2.9 This Agreement may be terminated by either party hereto upon thirty (30) days’ written notice. In the event the Contractor breaches any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement, this Agreement may be terminated by the State at any time with or without notice. If termination for a breach is affected by the State, any payments due to the Contractor at the time of termination may be adjusted to cover any additional costs to the State because of the Contractor's breach. Upon termination the State may take over the work and may award another party an agreement to complete the work under this Agreement. If after the State terminates for a breach by the Contractor it is determined that the Contractor was not at fault, then the Contractor will be paid for eligible services rendered and expenses incurred up to the date of termination.

2.10 This Agreement depends upon the continued availability of appropriated funds and expenditure authority from the Legislature for this purpose. If for any reason the Legislature fails to appropriate funds or grant expenditure authority, or funds become unavailable by operation of law or federal funds reductions, this Agreement will be terminated by the State upon five (5) business days’ written notice. The Contractor agrees that termination for any of these reasons is not a default by the State nor does it give rise to a claim against the State or any officer, agent, or employee of the State, and the Contractor waives any claim against the same.

2.11 This Agreement may not be assigned without the express prior written consent of the State. This

Agreement may not be amended except in writing, which writing will be expressly identified as a part of this Agreement and be signed by an authorized representative of each of the parties to this Agreement.

2.12 This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of

South Dakota, without regard to any conflicts of law principles, decisional law, or statutory provision which would require or permit the application of another jurisdiction’s substantive law.

Venue for any lawsuit pertaining to or affecting this Agreement will be in Circuit Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit, Hughes County, South Dakota.

2.13 The Contractor will comply with all federal, tribal, state, and local laws, regulations, ordinances, guidelines, permits, requirements, and other standards applicable to providing services pursuant to this Agreement and will be solely responsible for obtaining current information on such requirements. Nothing herein will constitute a waiver by the State to any defense to jurisdiction nor will anything under this Agreement constitute an acknowledgement by the State that any tribe has or exercises any jurisdiction over this Agreement or the parties.

2.14 The Contractor may not use subcontractors to perform the services described in this Agreement without the express prior written consent of the State. The Contractor will include provisions in its subcontracts requiring its subcontractors to comply with the applicable provisions of this Agreement, to indemnify the State, and to provide insurance coverage for the benefit of the State in a manner consistent with this Agreement. The Contractor will cause its subcontractors, agents, and employees to comply with applicable federal, tribal, state, and local laws, regulations, ordinances, guidelines, permits, and other standards and will adopt such review and inspection procedures as are necessary to assure such compliance. The State, at its option, may require the vetting of any subcontractors. The Contractor will assist in the vetting process.

2.15 The State reserves the right to reject any person from performing services under this Agreement who the State believes would be detrimental to the services, presents insufficient skills, presents inappropriate behavior, or is considered by the State to be a security risk.

2.16 The Contractor hereby acknowledges and agrees that all reports, plans, specifications, technical data, miscellaneous drawings, software system programs and documentation, procedures, or

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files, operating instructions and procedures, source code(s) and documentation, including those necessary to upgrade and maintain the software program, and all information contained therein provided to the State by the Contractor in connection with its performance of services under this Agreement will belong to and is the property of the State and will not be used in any way by the Contractor without the written consent of the State. Papers, reports, forms, software programs, source code(s), and other material which are a part of the work under this Agreement will not be copyrighted without written approval of the State.

2.17 The Contractor certifies that neither Contractor nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment or suspension, or declared ineligible from participating in transactions by the federal government or any state or local government department or agency.

Contractor further agrees that it will immediately notify the State if during the term of this Agreement Contractor or its principals become subject to debarment, suspension, or ineligibility from participating in transactions by the federal government, or by any state or local government department or agency.

2.18 By signing this Agreement, the Contractor certifies and agrees that is has not refused to transact business activities, have not terminated business activities, and have not taken other similar actions intended to limit its commercial relations, related to the subject matter of this Agreement, with a person or entity that is either the State of Israel, or a company doing business in or with Israel or authorized by, licensed by, or organized under the laws of the State of Israel to do business, or doing business in the State of Israel, with the specific intent to accomplish a boycott or divestment of Israel in a discriminatory manner. It is understood and agreed that, if this certification is false, such false certification will constitute grounds for the State to terminate this Agreement. During the term of this Agreement, if the Contractor no longer complies with this certification, the Contractor agrees to provide immediate written notice to the State and agrees such noncompliance may be grounds for termination of this Agreement.

2.19 Pursuant to South Dakota Codified Law § 5-18A, by entering into this Agreement with the State of

South Dakota, the Contractor certifies and warrants that the Contractor is not a prohibited entity, regardless of its principal place of business, that is ultimately owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a foreign national, a foreign parent entity, or foreign government from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, or Venezuela, as defined by South Dakota Codified Law § 5-18A.

The Contractor agrees that if this certification is false, the State may terminate this Agreement with no further liability to the State. The Contractor further agrees to provide immediate written notice to the State if during the term of the contract it no longer complies with this certification, and the Contractor agrees such noncompliance may be grounds for contract termination and would be cause to suspend and debar a business under SDCL § 5-18D-12.

2.20 The Contractor (i) understands neither a state legislator nor a business in which a state legislator has an ownership interest may be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with the State that was authorized by any law passed during the term for which that legislator was elected, or within one year thereafter, and (ii) has read South Dakota Constitution Article 3, Section 12 and has had the opportunity to seek independent legal advice on the applicability of that provision to this Agreement. By signing this Agreement, the Contractor certifies that this Agreement is not made in violation of the South Dakota Constitution Article 3, Section 12.

2.21 Any notice or other communication required under this Agreement will be in writing and sent to the address set forth above. Notices will be given by and to on behalf of the State, and by and to , on behalf of the Contractor, or such authorized designees as either party may from time to time designate in writing. Notices or communications to or between the parties will be deemed to have been delivered when mailed by first class mail, provided that notice of default or termination will be sent by registered or certified mail, or, if personally delivered, when received by such party.

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2.22 In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction will hold any provision of this Agreement unenforceable or invalid, such holding will not invalidate or render unenforceable any other provision of this Agreement.

2.23 All other prior discussions, communications, and representations concerning the subject matter of this Agreement are superseded by the terms of this Agreement, and except as specifically provided in this Agreement, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement with respect to the subject matter.

2.24 The waiver by either party of a breach or violation of any provisions of this Agreement will not operate as, or be construed to be, a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or other provision of this Agreement.

2.25 Nothing in this Agreement is intended to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity by or on behalf of the State of South Dakota, its agencies, officers, or employees.

2.26 Neither party will disclose the contents of the Agreement except as required by applicable law or as necessary to carry out the terms of the Agreement or to enforce that party’s rights under this Agreement. The Contractor acknowledges that the State of South Dakota and its agencies are public entities and thus are bound by South Dakota open meetings and open records laws. It is therefore not a breach of this Agreement for the State to take any action that the State reasonably believes is necessary to comply with the South Dakota open records or open meetings laws, including, without limitation, posting this Agreement on the website pursuant to SDCL § 1-27-46.

2.27 The Contractor warrants that any hardware or hardware components used to provide the services covered by this Agreement were not manufactured by Huawei Technologies Company, Nuctech, or ZTE Corporation, or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities. This includes hardware going on the State’s network as well as the offeror’s network if the offeror’s network is accessing the State’s network or accessing State data. This includes hardware going on the State’s network as well as the offeror’s network if the offeror’s network is accessing the State’s network or accessing State data.

3 Scope of Work

3.1 Technical Specifications:

3.1.1 Transport Requirements: During the term of this contract the State will support Gigabit Ethernet, either 100GbE or 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400GbE) at all core sites.

The State also requires the support of 802.3ad standard LAG (Link Aggregation Group) groups using Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) active and fast polling for all transport options. The State expects by the end of this contract period to have either multiple 100GbE links in a LAG group or 400GbE to supply bandwidth.

Agree ☐ Disagree ☐ Explanation:

3.1.2 Reliability is paramount; therefore, the State requires layer 1 diverse path routing and load balancing, such as a Synchronous Optical network (SONET) ring configuration or similar diverse routing option that will automatically i.e., without human intervention, restore connectivity in the case of a failure of the connection for the physical transport mechanism.

Vendor agrees to provide, at a minimum, protected circuits at each ordered location matching the state’s bandwidth subscription. These Vendor transport circuits must be fully protected over divergent paths and building entrances to the Vendor handoff

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at the state location. These circuits must be separate, not sharing conduits, paths, repeaters, facilities, and power junctions from the Vendor’s equipment to the Vendor handoff at the state location so that no fiber cut or equipment problem can take down the transport service.

Accordingly, Offerors that do not meet this minimum bidding requirement will be disqualified.

3.1.3 ISPs (Internet Service Provider) must list their Points of Presence (POP), their locations, and whether the premises are owned or leased.

3.1.4 ISPs must identify means of power protection; i.e., battery and/or generator for use in the event of a power failure and must identify length of continued point of presence (POP) operation under power protection.

Accordingly, Vendors that do not meet this minimum bidding requirement will be

3.1.5 In general terms, describe the security system in place to protect against disruption of the network by unauthorized persons.

Accordingly, Vendors that do not meet this minimum bidding requirement will be

3.1.6 Contracted bandwidth must be guaranteed across the Vendor’s network and across their peering partners.

Accordingly, Vendors that do not meet this minimum bidding requirement will be

3.1.7 The Vendor must not interfere with any peerings/connections, Routing

Advertisements, and Traffic Flows listed in section 3.2.

3.1.8 ISP Reliability – History: ISPs must provide information on downtime over the past year, including data reflecting the number and duration of outages. Describe your policy regarding discounts or rebates in the event of an outage and the associated criteria.

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3.1.9 ISP Backbone Requirements

The ISP must either be a Tier 1 or have fully operational, diverse connections connected directly to at least two Tier 1 providers.

A Tier 1 Provider is defined as a backbone provider operating a National Internet network with a capacity of at least 1 Terabits per second (Tbps) carrying traffic that is exchanged at various public National Access Points (NAPs) and through private peering arrangements with other Tier 1 providers and/or public/commercial network exchanges across the United States and maintains global reach. A Tier 1 provider must own and operate their own network and fiber. A Tier 1 provider must also maintain a Network Operations Center (NOC) 24 hours a day, seven days a week to manage its network. A Tier 1 Provider must fully support native IPv4 and IPv6 unicast traffic across all peering points.

3.1.9.1 If the ISP is not a Tier 1 provider, then connections to the Tier 1 provider must be subscribed in such a way that the loss of one Tier 1 connection would not cause any packet loss or latency for the State’s traffic outside of the normal SLA.

3.1.9.2 If the ISP meets the definition above of a Tier 1 then ISPs peering point with the State network must have fully diverse connections to their backbone so that the loss of any one connection would not cause packet loss or latency for the State’s Traffic outside of the normal SLA agreement.

3.1.10 The Vendor must provide detailed information outlining the facilities utilized by the

Vendor. In particular, describe the current backbone network, including bandwidth;

names of principal suppliers (e.g., interexchange carriers, fiber optic transport providers, etc.).

3.1.11 The Vendor must identify peering/connection points to Network Access Points

(NAPs), Metropolitan Area Exchanges (MAE's) and other major ISPs along with bandwidth and network types type of interconnection. Network maps detailing this information are required. Infrastructure preference will be given to providers who can demonstrate, through the use of network diagrams and other material, detail regarding route diversity, bandwidth, and hop counts.

3.1.12 Describe any network diversity in the Vendor backbone network. Describe the Vendor’s method of diverse routing to be provided for the State connection, details

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of the hardware and software used to restore a failure of the primary connection, proof that restoration could be done without human intervention and the amount of time that restoration would take. Internet connectivity must be established in such a way that service does not rely on a single point or path of access to the overall Internet.