LOI_OFN250746_Operations_Support_System_and_Business_Support_System_OSS_BSS_for_Fiber_Network_Services_Updated_-_Addendum_1.pdf

Addendum # 1

Date: July 18, 2025

To: All bidders

From: Eileen Marquez, Senior Buyer

Solicitation Number: LOI# OFN/250746

Solicitation Title: Operations Support System and Business Support System (OSS/BSS) for Fiber Network Services

SECTION 1. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. What is the current subscriber count for broadband services?

ANSWER: 1500.

2. How many internal users will require access to the platform?

ANSWER: 25 currently with expansion capability.

3. How many field technicians will need access via mobile or tablet-based tools?

ANSWER: 12 current with expansion capability.

4. Can you confirm the specific version and platform of your Adtran, Alcatel-Lucent, and Juniper FTTP equipment currently in use? Are there any additional electronics vendors under consideration?

ANSWER: We currently have Adtran OLTs deployed and will be expanding. Our layer 2 transport network is Alcatel-Lucent and core network is Juniper. For security reasons we will not disclose specific models.

5. Do you currently offer VoIP services? If so, which vendors are you currently partnered with and do you have any other vendors under consideration?

ANSWER: We do not sell VoIP services.

6. Does the City offer video services? If so which vendors are currently used or under consideration?

ANSWER: The City does not offer video services.

7. Does the City have a GIS/Mapping vendor(s)? If so which vendors are currently used or under consideration?

ANSWER: We currently use ArcGIS and ArcFm. Under consideration is CrescentLink and 3-GIS.

8. Will the legacy vendor be expected to cooperate with conversion and data migration efforts?

ANSWER: We have access to our current SQL database and should be able to provide data for the conversion process.

9. Is the City currently working with Momentum, Alianza, both, or is the request focused on general integration capability?

ANSWER: We are not currently working with Momentum or Alianza.

10. Should the core BSS platform operate natively on smartphones and tablets, or is thatrequirement limited to field technicians and subscriber portals?

11. ANSWER: The platform should be accessible from PC for office personnel and have the ability to for field technicians to operate from smartphone/table.

12. Which payment processor(s) does the City currently utilize for broadband-related billing?

ANSWER: We currently accept payments from many different third-party vendors.

We don’t have a direct payment processor, nor do we store any credit card info in our CSM software. Third-party vendors such as Invoice Cloud and Exceleron to handle the payment processing agreements and report payments to us. Currently, Invoice Cloud is the only vendor with a near real-time API integration for payment reporting. The other 11 vendors are all handled via flat file imports. The flat files we receive are transformed and imported into Cogsdale, daily.

13. Does the City currently use a third-party network management system (NMS), and if so, which platform?

ANSWER: Alcatel Omnivista and Adtran Advanced Operational Environment (AOE).

14. Can you clarify your expected implementation timeline, specifically how many days are allocated post-award for go-live?

ANSWER: The City expects the selected company to provide implementation assistance and support of the platform. It is expected that the platform will be fully implemented and ready for testing/training by the 4th quarter of 2025.

15. Beyond Cogsdale, are there any other data sources or legacy systems that need to be considered for migration?

ANSWER: No.

16. For pricing elements that don’t clearly align with the format in Exhibit A, how would you prefer we propose or append those details?

ANSWER: Please complete Exhibit A. Attach other supplemental documents to your proposal.

17. Regarding Section 1.6 MINORITY/DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

PARTICIPATION

A. Does the required participation need to be recognized at the state or federal level?

B. Additionally, what weight or role does this factor play in the proposal evaluation?

ANSWER A: No.

DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) GOAL. The City of Ocala adopts FDOT’s goal of 10.65% as a race-neutral DBE goal. This means the City's goal is to spend at least 10.65% of expenditures with certified DBE's as prime firms, or as subcontractors/sub-consultants. Race-neutrality means the City hopes the overall goal can be achieved through the normal competitive procurement process without using DBE required goals. FDOT funded projects have an overall DBE goal of 10.65%. For projects specifically for the Ocala International Airport, the DBE goal is 12%. Although not a requirement, the City believes this DBE percentage can realistically be achieved on projects through use of DBE prime and DBE subcontractors performing services anticipated on projects. Prime contractors or consultants may be requested to submit a DBE Utilization form indicating their firm's proposed use of DBE subcontractors. Prime construction contractors for FDOT-funded projects are required to visit http://www.fdot.gov/equalopportunity/eoc.shtm to register and submit their DBE commitments online.

ANSWER B: 0 weight

18. Clarification Regarding Cogsdale Migration (Ref: Section 3.3.d.2.c) To properly scope the data migration and integration effort, please clarify the following regarding the City’s current use of Cogsdale:

A. Which specific modules or functions of Cogsdale are currently in use?

(e.g., utility billing, customer service, general ledger, work orders, etc.)

ANSWER: At a high level, the majority of the CSM functionality includes, utility billing, customer service and service orders. We do not use the Dynamic GP ledger

– we do require a financial export to be imported into our Financial system. This includes any refund checks that would need to be processed. This is called out in a separate area of the RFP.

B. Is the intent for the selected OSS/BSS platform to fully replace Cogsdale, or will Cogsdale remain in use for certain functions, requiring integration?

ANSWER: Cogsdale will remain in use for other city departments. Ocala Fiber Network will migrate to the new OSS/BSS platform

C. What data extraction methods are available from the current Cogsdale system?

(e.g., SQL access, API, flat file export, report-based extraction) ANSWER: We have access to provide a backup of the SQL database or we can provide flat files or reports.

D. Is the current Cogsdale implementation hosted on-premises or within a Dynamics 365 online/cloud environment?

ANSWER: On Premise.

E. Does the City currently maintain an active support contract with Cogsdale or its parent company, and will that vendor be available to support the migration effort?

ANSWER: Yes, we currently have an active support contract in place. However, if assistance from Cogsdale is required, that will be an additional cost that Ocala Fiber Network would incur.

F. Will the city be responsible for verifying, correcting, and preparing the Cogsdale data for migration?

ANSWER: Yes.

19. Clarification Regarding Network Size and Subscriber Scaling (Ref: Sections 2.4 & 2.5) To accurately estimate licensing and support requirements, clarification regarding the scale and composition of Ocala Fiber Network’s subscriber base would be beneficial.

A. Can the City confirm the current number of active service connections across the network, including:

Residential broadband subscribers

ANSWER: 1505.

Small and Medium Business broadband subscribers

ANSWER: 1944 Commercial customers.

Business/institutional customers beyond the 140 MAN circuits: (e.g., Transit services, VoIP, dark fiber, colocation)

ANSWER: 10 Colocation customers.

Internal municipal service endpoints? (e.g., City-owned facilities, public safety sites, or administrative offices)

ANSWER: 44.

B. Does the City maintain an estimate of total serviceable premises (homes/businesses passed) for network expansion, and if so, can you share the forecasted subscriber growth over the next five years?

This information will help us align our OSS/BSS pricing model and implementation support with the network’s scale and service mix.

ANSWER: Within the next 5 years we plan to have approximately 39,700 serviceable premises

20. Clarification Regarding Exhibit A – Price Proposal and Licensing Structure Our OSS/BSS software licensing model is typically based on a per-subscriber, per-month fee. The current structure of Exhibit A (Price Proposal) does not include fields to express usage-based or scaled pricing over time.

A. Is it acceptable to convert usage-based pricing into estimated annual totals for the “Annual Support” and “Annual Maintenance” line items using clearly stated assumptions?

ANSWER:

Please submit your proposal using Exhibit A. You may submit supplemental information as well.

B. Alternatively, may we submit a supplemental pricing schedule alongside Exhibit A that:

Explains our licensing model;

information as well

Includes projected subscriber-based pricing over time;

ANSWER:

information as well.

Ties back to the Exhibit A extended cost fields?

We are happy to align with the City’s preferred format while ensuring transparency in pricing logic.

ANSWER: Please submit your proposal using Exhibit A. You may submit supplemental information as well.

21. Clarification Regarding Service Integration and Auto-Ticketing (Ref: Section 2.5.f.4) A. Can the City identify the current Network Management System (NMS) or OSS tools in use for trap/event monitoring and automatic ticket generation?

Understanding the existing system architecture will help us align our integration approach and support requirements for automatic trouble ticket creation and event correlation.

ANSWER: Paessler Router Traffic Grapher(PRTG), Alcatel-Lucent Omnivista, Adtran Advanced Operational Enviroment(AOE).

22. Clarification Regarding Integration Expectations with Wholesale Voice Providers (Ref:

Sections 3.3.b.5–6) The LOI requests information regarding vendor interoperability with wholesale voice providers such as Momentum or Alianza. Can the City clarify whether the OSS/BSS platform is expected to:

A. Perform full voice billing and taxation, or B. Simply support provisioning coordination, customer linkage, and invoice summarization for voice services delivered by third parties?

This clarification will help us accurately scope functional coverage and system integration requirements.

ANSWER: We don’t currently offer wholesale VoIP services. This question is informational only to see what wholesale VoIP providers you currently integrate with.

23. Clarification Regarding MDU Billing Models (Ref: Section 2.5.c.2) Can the City clarify whether bulk billing is used for MDUs or commercial properties today, and if so, how is that currently structured (e.g., per unit, consolidated statement, landlord portal access)?

This clarification will help us accurately scope functional coverage and product configuration requirements.

ANSWER: We are looking for the option to support bulk billing on a per unit or per property basis.

24. Clarification Regarding Options Specifications (Ref: Attachment 2) Regarding the Optional Specifications Form (Attachment 2), does the City have any prioritized use cases (e.g., Customer Messaging, CRM, BI Dashboards, ) that should be highlighted or priced as discrete modules?

This clarification will help us propose other products and modules that may be beneficial to the operation of the OFN.

ANSWER: No priorities for optional products, please include all options in the price proposal.

25. Clarification Regarding Parallel Operation (Ref: 3.3.d.2.l) Can the City clarify whether the six-month concurrent operations requirement refers to running both systems in parallel for all customers, or only for specific functions or phases?

Understanding the existing system architecture will help us align our integration approach and support requirements.

ANSWER: Ocala Fiber Network will be migrating from Cogsdale to the new OSS/BSS platform. Cogsdale will remain in place for other city departments and will be accessible.

26. Clarification Regarding Training Requirements (Ref: 2.5.l) Can the City clarify the expected number of trainees for administrator and end-user training, and whether multiple departments or external stakeholders (e.g., utility billing, customer support) will require custom sessions?

This information will help us scope and align our implementation support resources, including external/third-party coordination.

ANSWER: 4 – Administrator Training; 10 – End User Training.

27. Clarification Regarding Software Integrations (Ref: 2.5.f) Regarding Interoperability & Integration, can the city provide a list of current software in use that would be ideal for integration (Construction Management, Fiber Asset Management, etc.)?

This clarification will help us accurately scope functional coverage and product configuration requirements.

ANSWER: Schnieder ArcFM, Adtran Mosaic Platform(AOE), Alcatel-Lucent Omnivista.

28. Clarification Regarding Submittal Requirements (Ref: 3.3) This section instructs Proposers to “organize submittals... with tabs separating each section.” Can you please clarify the meaning of “tabs” in the electronic submission process? Should these be separate documents and/or attachments?

ANSWER: Before beginning each TAB section of your proposal, please use the word "TAB", followed by the corresponding TAB number. Include all information required for that specific TAB number.

SECTION 1. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS