REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2017000243

FirstNet Colorado Alternative Public Safety Broadband Network

OIT Procurement and Offeror Services 601 East 18th Avenue, Suite 150 Denver, CO 80203

OIT_purchasing@state.co.us

Disclaimer: This RFP was prepared using funds from the State of Colorado - Governor’s Office of Information Technology. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) or FirstNet.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SIGNATURE PAGE

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

ATTACHMENT A: Statewide Sample Design ATTACHMENT B: Existing Assets and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) ATTACHMENT C: Initial Market Analysis ATTACHMENT D: Cost Proposal Return with Proposal in only Phase II ATTACHMENT F: Resources

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SIGNATURE PAGE

RFP INFORMATION

FirstNet Colorado Alternative Public Safety Broadband Network

SUBMIT INQUIRIES & SEALED PROPOSALS TO:

Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) Procurement and Vendor Services Office 601 East 18th Avenue, Suite 180 Denver, CO 80203

Judy Giovanni, CPPB

303-764-7931

OIT_purchasing@state.co.us

OFFERORS CONTACT INFORMATION

COMPANY NAME:

CONTACT:

STREET ADDRESS:

PHONE:

CITY/STATE/ZIP:

E-MAIL:

FEIN:

OFFEROR’S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE:

PRINTED NAME:

TITLE:

IMPORTANT

The following information must be on the OUTSIDE of the sealed RFP response:

RFP Number and RFP Submission Deadline

RETURN THIS PAGE WITH YOUR RESPONSE

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

(www.colorado.gov/vss)

Prospective Offerors Written Inquiry Deadline (No questions accepted after this date/time; e-mail preferred)

April 11, 2017 10:00am MDT

The resulting contract Initial Contract Term of ten (10) years with the option to extend three (3) five (5) year extensions, (or a combination of agreed upon years) for a total potential contract term of Twenty-Five (25) years.

SECTION 1: ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

1. ISSUING OFFICE

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued by the State of Colorado, Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), Procurement and Offeror Services Office, for the benefit of the State of Colorado (State). The OIT Procurement and Offeror Services Office and Purchasing Agent listed on the RFP Signature Page is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP. All communication must be done through this Office.

0. COLORADO OFFEROR SELF SERVICE AND REGISTRATION

The State now uses the Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE), solicitations for most State Agencies (Agencies) will be posted on the website, Colorado Vendor Self Service (VSS).

Solicitation details for goods and services, as well as construction notices on Colorado VSS are public and do not require registration; however, any updates or modifications to this RFP will be published using Colorado VSS, so it is important to be registered. There is no cost to register on Colorado VSS. It is very important that Offerors check Colorado VSS on a regular basis, as this is the sole means for communicating any clarifications or changes to RFP content and/or requirements.

To become a registered supplier on Colorado VSS: www.colorado.gov/vss

0. MODIFICATION OR ADDENDUM TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of this RFP, a modification/addendum will be published on the Colorado VSS web page. It is incumbent upon Offerors to carefully and regularly monitor Colorado VSS for any such postings.

0. INVITATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS

OIT is posting this RFP on Colorado VSS so that Offerors who have an interest may submit a Proposal in accordance with terms of this RFP. Please read and be aware of the administrative information attached to this RFP.

0. PURPOSE

This RFP provides prospective Offerors with sufficient information to enable them to prepare and submit Proposals for consideration to satisfy the need for expert assistance in the completion of the scope of this RFP.

0. SCOPE

This RFP contains the instructions governing the Proposal to be submitted and the material to be included therein; mandatory requirements must be met to be eligible for consideration.

0. CONSIDERATION OF OFFEROR’S TIME AND EFFORT

OIT understands the current demands of potential Offerors with regards to state alternative plan RFPs. OIT has designed a solicitation in two Phases to encourage submission of an initial qualifying offer while minimizing the resources and time necessary to respond to Phase I. It should be noted that failure to respond to Phase I eliminates the ability for Offerors to qualify for and participate in Phase II proposals.

As the FirstNet state plan for Colorado’s portion of the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) has not been provided yet, Colorado cannot and has not made any decision related to the opt-out provision of the Act.[footnoteRef:1] Rather Colorado believes that given the timeframes outlined in the Act, the process to procure an alternative RAN and a partnership will take significant time and effort. Therefore, the solicitation must begin now in order for the Governor and Colorado’s public safety community to make a fully informed, educated decision regarding this critical effort. This RFP should be considered a critical step in the process of developing two potentially viable solutions for Colorado’s implementation of the NPSBN that can be thoughtfully compared and reviewed. [1: In February 2012, Congress enacted the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (the Spectrum Act or the Act), containing provisions to create an interoperable NPSBN. See Section 2 for more information.

Offerors should undertake a thorough review of the proposed scenarios to advise OIT if any requirements are too broad, or restrictive, and which will inadvertently cause significant deviations in information or cause a respondent to make a decision not to propose any solutions.

1. STRUCTURE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The State of Colorado Solicitation Instructions and Terms and Conditions linked through the Colorado VSS Solicitation Page govern, except as modified or supplemented in these instructions.

2. OFFICIAL MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

During the solicitation process, for this RFP, all official communication will be via notices on the Colorado VSS. Notices may include any modifications to administrative or performance requirements, answers to inquiries received, clarifications to requirements, and the announcement of the Awarded Offeror(s). It is incumbent upon Offeror to carefully and regularly monitor Colorado VSS for any such notices.

3. INQUIRIES

Unless otherwise noted, prospective Offerors may make written or electronic mail inquiries concerning this RFP to obtain clarification of requirements. E-mail is the preferred method for Offerors to submit inquiries. No inquiries will be accepted after the date indicated in the Schedule of Activities section of this RFP.

Inquiries shall be made to the sole point of contact as listed on the RFP Signature Page.

Clearly identify your inquiries by referencing the RFP number and where appropriate include references to RFP section, paragraph and or question numbers; using page numbers as references is problematic because not all printers number the pages consistently.

Response(s) to Offerors' inquiries (if required) will be published as a modification(s) on the Colorado VSS system in a timely manner. Offeror should not rely on any other statements, either written or oral, that alter any specification or other term or condition of this RFP. Offerors are responsible for monitoring Colorado VSS for publication of modifications to this solicitation.

4. ATTACHMENT B MATERIAL AVAILABLE UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT AND PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE Attachment B. This attachment provides a list of known, potentially available infrastructure, as well as GIS files that show the information spatially. NOTE: Final approval for any asset utilization for the project will lie with the asset owner, which may be a state and/or local government, tribal government, quasi-governmental entities and/or private entities. The purpose of this data is to provide additional information on potential assets that exist and could be used as part of the Colorado Radio Access Network (CO-RAN). It makes no assumption about an existing relationship to access the asset.

Access to this information will be provided to the Offeror via a secured file transfer protocol (SFTP) site only once an executed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) has been provided to the sole point of contact as listed on the RFP Signature Page. This information will be available starting on Monday, April 3, 2017 after 9am. Access to download the information from the SFTP site will be available for 48 hours once credentials are provided to the Offeror.

Pre-Proposal Conference. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held as stated in the Schedule of Activities. The purpose of this conference is to provide prospective Offerors with pertinent information regarding this procurement, answer questions, and cover managerial and administrative items as they pertain to this RFP.

The face-to-face and web/conference bridge meeting to discuss Offeror’s questions regarding solicitation will be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at 10:00am at OIT, 601 E 18th Avenue, Suite 250, Denver CO 80203 in the Confluence Conference Room. Representatives may participate in person or via web/conference Bridge:

JOIN FROM PC, MAC, LINUX, IOS OR ANDROID: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/3047764617OR TELEPHONE: +1 646 558 8656 OR +1 408 638 0968 MEETING ID: 304 776 4617

5. OFFEROR REGISTRATION

Offeror registration (Colorado VSS Registration) MUST be current to be awarded a solicitation.

6. OFFEROR IDENTIFICATION

The tax identification number provided must be that of the Offeror responding to the RFP. Offeror must be a legal entity with the legal right to contract in the State of Colorado and shall be the entity that is used to determine Offeror registration status.

7. PARENT COMPANY

If an Offeror is owned or controlled by a parent company, the name, main office address and parent company’s tax identification number also shall be provided in the Proposal.

8. MODIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSALS

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

9. NEWS RELEASES

News releases or contact with media representatives pertaining to this RFP or concerning any Offeror’s Proposal shall NOT be made prior to execution of the contract without prior written approval by the State.

10. CERTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION

1.17.1 By submission of a Proposal each Offeror certifies, and in the case of a joint Proposal each party thereto certifies, as to its own organization, that in connection with this procurement:

a. The prices in the Proposal have been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other Offeror or with any competitor, other than a joint Offeror;

b. Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in the Proposal have not been knowingly disclosed by the Offeror and will not knowingly be disclosed by the Offeror prior to opening, directly or indirectly to any other Offeror or to any competitor; and

c. No attempt has been made or will be made by the Offeror to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a Proposal for the purpose of restricting competition.

1.17.2 Each person signing the RFP Signature Page of the Proposal certifies that:

a. She/he is the person in the Offeror's organization responsible within that organization for the decision as to the prices being offered herein and that she/he has not participated, and will not participate, in any action contrary to (1.17.1)(a) through (1.17.1)(c) above; or

b. She/he is not the person in the Offeror's organization responsible within that organization for the decision as to the prices being offered herein but that she/he has been authorized in writing to act as agent for the person(s) responsible for such decision in certifying that such persons have not participated, and will not participate, in any action contrary to (1.17.1)(a) through (1)(c) above, and as their agent does hereby so certify; and she/he has not participated, and will not participate, in any action contrary to (1.17.1)(a) through (1.17.1)(c) above.

1.17.3 A Proposal will not be considered for award where (1.17.1)(a), (1.17.1)(c), or (1.17.2) above has been deleted or modified. Where (1.17.1)(b) above has been deleted or modified, the Proposal will not be considered for award unless the Offeror furnishes with the Proposal a signed statement which sets forth in detail the circumstances of the disclosure and the head of the agency, or her/his designee, determines that such disclosure was not made for the purpose of restricting competition.

11. PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Due to the nature of a public safety network, OIT recognizes that some elements of a Proposal may be confidential. Any restrictions on the use or inspection of material contained within the Proposal shall be clearly stated in the Proposal itself; written requests for confidentiality shall be submitted by the Offeror with its Proposal. The Offeror must state specifically what elements of the Proposal are to be considered confidential/proprietary.

Confidential/Proprietary information must be readily identified, marked and separated/packaged from the rest of the Proposal. Co-mingling of confidential/proprietary and other information is not acceptable. Neither a Proposal, in its entirety, nor Proposal price and/or rate information will be considered confidential and proprietary. Any information that will be included in any resulting contract cannot be considered confidential.

The OIT Procurement and Offeror Services Director or delegate will make a written determination as to the apparent validity of any written request for confidentiality. In the event OIT does not concur with the Offeror’s request for confidentiality, a written determination will be sent to the Offeror. If the request is denied, the Offeror will have an opportunity to withdraw its entire Proposal, or remove the confidential and or proprietary restrictions. Ref. Section 24-72-200.1 et seq., Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) as amended, the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).

12. RFP RESPONSE MATERIAL OWNERSHIP

All material submitted regarding this RFP becomes the property of the State of Colorado. As such, the State of Colorado may retain or dispose of all copies as is lawfully deemed appropriate. Proposals may be reviewed by any person after the "Notice of Intent to Make an Award" letter has been issued, subject to the terms of C.R.S. Title 24, Article 72, Part 2 as amended. The State of Colorado has the right to use any or all information/material presented in reply to the RFP, subject to limitations outlined in Section 1.18, Proprietary/Confidential Information. Offeror expressly agrees that the State of Colorado may use the materials for all lawful State purposes, including the right to reproduce copies of the material submitted for purposes of evaluation, and to make the information available to the public in accordance with the provisions of CORA.

13. ACCEPTANCE OF RFP TERMS

A Proposal submitted in response to this RFP shall constitute a binding offer. Acknowledgment of this condition shall be indicated by the autographic signature of the Offeror or an officer of the Offeror’s organization, legally authorized to execute contractual obligations. It is assumed by the Offeror's response that it acknowledges all terms and conditions of this invitation for an offer. An Offeror shall identify clearly and thoroughly any variations between its Proposal and the State's RFP. Failure to do so shall be deemed a waiver of any rights to subsequently modify the terms of performance, except as outlined or specified in the RFP.

14. PROPOSAL CONTENT ACCEPTANCE

The contents of the Proposal (including persons specified) of the Awarded Offeror will become contractual obligations of the Offeror if a contract ensues. Failure of the Awarded Offeror to accept these obligations in a resulting contract may result in cancellation of the award and such Offeror may be removed from future solicitations.

15. CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS OF RFP DOCUMENTS

The contents of the Proposal and the terms of this RFP will become contractual obligations of the Awarded Offeror(s). This RFP consists of all documents listed under the Table of Contents and are hereby referenced and incorporated herein. “The State of Colorado Solicitation Instructions and Terms and Conditions” linked to the Colorado VSS Notice on the website govern, except as modified or supplemented within the RFP. The final contract shall provide the order of precedence of all related documents, in the following order: Colorado Special Provisions, contract, exhibits, RFP and Offeror’s response.

In responding to this RFP, Offerors agreeing to abide by the requirements of this RFP are also agreeing to abide by all terms and conditions contained herein, so Offerors should identify or seek to clarify any problems with contract language or any other document contained within this RFP packet through their written inquiries about the RFP or within their Proposal. Any proposed changes or objections to the contract language or other documents must be submitted as a part of the Offeror’s Proposal. Each change or exception shall be presented in the form of proposed alternative or substitute language. General objections, to be negotiated subsequent to the award, will not be accepted. Exceptions to the State of Colorado Special Provisions, attached to the contract, will not be accepted. Failure of the Awarded Offeror(s) to accept these obligations may result in cancellation of the award.

16. CONTRACT

Except as modified herein, the Model Contract included in this RFP shall govern this procurement and will be incorporated by reference in Phase II.

17. CONTRACT CHANGES

The State of Colorado reserves the right to amend the contract in response to legislative budget or policy changes.

18. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between terms of this RFP and the Offeror’s Proposal, such conflict or inconsistency shall be resolved, first, by giving effect in this order to the Colorado Special Provisions, the contract, it’s exhibits, RFP, and Offeror’s response.

19. VENUE

The parties agree that venue for any action related to performance of the contract shall be in the City and County of Denver, Colorado.

20. STATEWIDE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

For all contracts resulting from this solicitation, Contractor agrees to be governed, and to abide, by the provisions of CRS §24-102-205, §24-102-206, §24-103-601, §24-103.5-101 and §24-105-102 concerning the monitoring of Offeror performance on state contracts and inclusion of contract performance information in a statewide contract management system. OIT shall evaluate, review and rate Contractor’s performance for all contracts resulting from this solicitation, for any contracted amount.

21. OFFEROR PROPOSED TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Except as specified in the Offeror’s Proposal, the submission of the Offeror’s Proposal will indicate its acceptance of the terms and conditions of this RFP. Offerors must disclose in their Proposals terms and conditions or required clarifications of terms and conditions consistent with these instructions. The State reserves the right to clarify terms and conditions not having an appreciable effect on quality, price/cost risk or delivery schedule during post-award formalization of the contract.

22. STATE OWNERSHIP OF CONTRACT PRODUCTS

All products produced in response to the contract resulting from this RFP will be the sole property of the State of Colorado. Any exceptions must be outlined in detail. Exceptions may serve as cause for rejection of the Proposal.

23. PROPOSAL PRICING

Estimated Proposal prices are not acceptable. Offers submitted must include all related costs (e.g. surcharges, travel, etc.). Any costs not included as part of the offer will be disallowed. Pricing must be in U.S. funds. Best and final offers may be considered in determining the Awarded Offeror. Proposals shall be firm for a period of not less than one hundred eighty (180) calendar days from date of award.

24. CONTRACT TERM

This RFP may result in a multiple year contract(s); estimated term stated in the Schedule of Activities. The initial contract(s) will be effective upon approval by the State Controller or designee. The contract performance contemplated herein shall commence as upon the effective date of the resulting contract(s) and shall be undertaken and performed in the sequence and manner set forth therein.

25. LATE PROPOSALS

Late Proposals will not be accepted. It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that their Proposal arrives in the designated office prior to the date and time as specified on Colorado VSS.

26. REJECTION OF PROPOSALS

OIT reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to waive informalities and minor irregularities in Proposals received, and to accept any portion of a Proposal or all items proposed if deemed in the best interest of the State.

27. ESTIMATED QUANTITIES

Quantities where provided are estimates only, no volumes can be guaranteed.

28. NUMBER OF AWARDS

The State intends to award one or more awards/contracts as a result of this RFP. The State reserves the right to award Project(s) as it is deemed to be in the best interest of the State.

29. AGREEMENT EXECUTION

An Awarded Offeror shall have no longer than forty-five (45) calendar days to enter into a contract after being notified by the State. If this date is not met, the State may elect to cancel the award and award the selection to the next most Awarded Offeror(s) if the delay is not the fault of the State.

30. PRE PERFORMANCE MEETING

Upon execution of the contract(s), an OIT Contract Administrator shall conduct a review of the contract requirements with key personnel of the State and Awarded Offeror(s). The purpose of the meeting is for all working parties to gain a better knowledge of contract requirements, have questions answered, and conduct a needs assessment so that transition to performance will commence timely and smoothly.

31. INCURRING COSTS

The State of Colorado is not liable for any costs incurred by Offerors prior to issuance of a legally executed contract. No property interest of any nature shall accrue until a contract is awarded and signed by all concerned parties and approved by the State Controller.

32. TAXES

The State of Colorado, as purchaser, is exempt from all federal excise taxes under Chapter 32 of the Internal Revenue Code (Registration No. 84-730123K) and from all state and local government use taxes C.R.S. 39-26-114(a). The State’s Colorado State and Local Sales Tax Exemption Number is 98-02565. Offerors are hereby notified that when materials are purchased in certain political sub-divisions (for example, City and County of Denver) the seller of such materials may be required to pay sales tax even though the ultimate product or service is provided to the State. This sales tax will not be reimbursed by the State.

33. INSURANCE

The Awarded Offeror(s) shall obtain, and maintain at all times during the term of the contract, insurance in the kinds and amounts outlined in the linked Colorado VSS State of Colorado Solicitation Instructions/Terms and Conditions and the Model Contract which will have terms specific to this project and will be available in Phase II.

34. CYBER SECURITY

The Awarded Offeror is required to comply with all laws, regulations, rules, policies, procedures, or other requirements as deemed solely by OIT concerning the confidentiality, use, retention, security, delivery, handling, and protection of and the notification, support, compliance, liability, disposition, remediation, and safeguarding requirements associated with any and all State Information. For purposes of this solicitation, State Information means all information, data, records, and documentary materials belonging to the State of Colorado (State) or OIT regardless of its sensitive or non-sensitive nature, physical form, or characteristics, including but not limited to any public and non-public State records, sensitive and non-sensitive State data, protected and unprotected State data, State personnel records, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Data as defined by CRS §24-72-501(2) and in the OIT Model Contract Template, Federal Tax Information (FTI) data as defined by law and in the OIT Model Contract Template, Payment Card Information (PCI) data as defined by law and in the OIT Model Contract Template, Criminal Justice Information (CJI) data as defined by law and in the OIT Model Contract Template, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) data as defined by law and in the OIT Model Contract Template, and other information or data concerning individuals whether it is deemed confidential or not but nevertheless belongs to the State, which has been communicated, furnished, provided, transferred, delivered, or disclosed by the State to the Awarded Offeror. All responses to this solicitation will be evaluated, in part, based on the Offeror’s willingness to be in compliance with such laws, regulations, rules, policies, procedures, or other State requirements and certification of such compliance will be evidenced by submission of a response to this solicitation.

The Awarded Offeror(s) shall comply with the current State of Colorado Cyber Security Policies:

http://www.oit.state.co.us/ois/policies

In addition, awarded Offeror(s) will be required to meet all the security requirements in the Model Contract to be released in Phase II. Indicate your acceptance of these requirements in section MR2.

1. Cloud & Offeror Hosted Projects

a. Network Security. Contractor agrees at all times to maintain network security that at a minimum includes network firewall provisioning, intrusion detection, and regular (two or more annually) third party vulnerability assessments. Contractor agrees to maintain network security that conforms to generally recognized industry standards and best practices that Contractor then applies to its own network.

b. Application Security. Contractor agrees at all times to provide, maintain, and support the System and subsequent updates, upgrades, and bug fixes such that the System is, and remains, secure from those vulnerabilities as described in: a) The Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) “Top Ten Project” – see http://www.owasp.org; or b) The CWE/SANS Top 25 Programming Errors – see http://cwe.mitre.org/top25/ or http://www.sans.org/top25-programming-errors/; or c) Other generally recognized and comparable industry practices or standards.

c. Data Security. Contractor agrees to preserve the confidentiality; integrity and accessibility of State data with administrative, technical, and physical measures that conform to generally recognized industry standards and best practices that Contractor then applies to its own processing environment. Maintenance of a secure processing environment includes but is not limited to the timely application of patches, fixes, and updates to operating systems and applications as provided by Contractor. All State Confidential Information and State data of any kind shall be stored, processed, accessed from, or transferred only in or to facilities located within the United States unless written permission has been provided by the State in advance. State data and information shall not be communicated to anyone who is not a citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States. The State has the right to designate certain subsets of State data as being subject to additional storage, access, or transmission restrictions in its sole discretion.

35. TELEGRAPHIC/ELECTRONIC RESPONSES

An original hard copy of the proposal, a USB with the complete response and an USB that is redacted and will be used for public open records requests are required. Telegraphic or electronic bids (Fax, Western Union, Telex, e-mail, etc.) cannot be accepted as a sealed Proposal. Offerors are urged to read the solicitation document thoroughly before submitting a Proposal.

36. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW FACTORS PASS/FAIL

Offerors must demonstrate in writing their ability and willingness to comply with the mandatory minimum requirements found in Section 3 – Proposal Phases and Project Requirements and Questions of this RFP, as applicable, to be considered responsive to this RFP. These items are judged on a pass or fail basis and must be satisfied in order for the Offeror’s response to be considered for further review by the Evaluation Committee.

37. COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

In order to address the requirements of and as part of the OIT’s effort to address the requirements of CRS 24-37.5-106(1)(h), this solicitation and the resulting contract(s) shall be a cooperative purchasing agreement, pursuant to CRS 24-110-101 et seq. All Executive Branch state agencies are included in this solicitation and any resulting contract. Legislative and Judicial Branch agencies, institutions of Higher Education, and local governments may participate. OIT will be the primary state party to the contract, pursuant to CRS 24-37.5-105(3)(i).

38. RFP CANCELLATION

The State reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel this entire RFP or individual phases or projects at any time, without penalty.

39. PROTESTED SOLICITATIONS AND AWARDS

Any actual or prospective Offeror who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract may protest to the OIT, Procurement and Offeror Services Director, 601 E 18th Avenue, Suite 150, Denver, CO 80203. The protest must be submitted in writing within seven (7) working days after such aggrieved person knows, or should have known, of the facts giving rise thereto. Reference C.R.S., Title 24, Article 109.

40. AUDIT

The State reserves the right to require that the Awarded Offeror(s) has a process audit conducted of its program at least once every three (3) years. If the Awarded Offeror(s) has not had such an audit prior to awarding of this contract, and the State requires one, then an audit must begin within six months of the award of this contract. The State reserves the right to approve the selected firm. A complete copy of the audit must be provided to the Governor’s Office of Information Technology within five (5) working days of its completion. The Governor’s Office of Information Technology will negotiate directly with the Awarded Offeror(s) regarding any exceptions or findings from the audit.

41. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST – REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SOLICITATION AND SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT Any business entity or person is prohibited from being awarded a contract if the business entity or person has an “Organizational Conflict of Interest” with regard to this solicitation and the resulting contract.

No person or business entity who was engaged by the State to prepare the original RFP or has access prior to the solicitation to sensitive information related to this procurement process (including, but not limited to requirements, statements of work, or evaluation criteria), will be eligible to, directly or indirectly, submit or participate in a Proposal for this solicitation. The State considers such engagement or access to be an Organizational Conflict of Interest, which would cause such business entity or person to have an unfair competitive advantage.

If the State determines that an Organizational Conflict of Interest exists, the State, at its sole discretion, may cancel the contract award. In the event the Awarded Offeror was aware of an Organizational Conflict of Interest prior to the award of the contract and did not disclose the conflict to the procuring agency, the State may terminate the contract for default. The provisions of this clause must be included in all subcontracts for work to be performed by subcontractors in connection with the performance of the contract, with the terms “contract,” “contractor,” and “contracting officer” modified appropriately to preserve the State’s rights.

42. PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE STATE OF COLORADO AND/OR THE UNITED STATES

In compliance with CRS 24-102-206 and after negotiation of a fully executed Contract, if performance occurs outside of the State of Colorado and/or the United States, the Awarded Offeror shall provide written notice to the State, within 20 days of the earlier to occur of Contractor’s decision to perform, or its execution of an agreement with a Subcontractor to perform, Services outside the State of Colorado and. Such notice shall specify the type of Services to be performed outside the State of Colorado and the reason why it is necessary or advantageous to perform such Services at such location or locations. Upon award, knowing failure by successful Contractor to provide notice to the State shall constitute a material breach of any resulting Contract from this solicitation.

0. LOBBYING

The contract is subject to 31 U.S.C § 1352, as implemented at 15 C.F.R. Part 28, “New Restrictions on Lobbying.” Offerors should familiarize themselves with these provisions, including the certification requirement. OIT shall require the Contractor to submit a completed “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities” (Form SF-LLL) regarding the use of non-Federal funds for lobbying. The Form SF-LLL shall be submitted within 15 days following the end of the calendar quarter in which there occurs any event that requires disclosure or that materially affects the accuracy of the information contained in any disclosure form previously filed.

43. PRIME – SUBCONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIPS

Offerors who propose a partnership relationship with another third party individual or entity shall agree to be the Prime Contractor with the State and subcontract with such third party partner(s). Offerors shall identify in the RFP all third party partners that will be subcontracted with under any award. The State will enter a contract with the Prime and the Prime will ensure that all subcontractors will abide with the terms of the RFP and Contract through flow-down agreements. The Prime shall direct the work and deliverables of its subcontractors and shall coordinate the subcontractor activities. Each subcontract shall comply with all applicable federal and state laws and provide that such subcontract shall be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado.

0. EXECUTIVE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE (EGC)

The selected Offeror shall be required to comply with the State’s Executive Governance Committee (EGC) Gate Methodology and plan for all EGC Gate items to be included as part of the overall project plan. As part of the Gate process, Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) will also be required.

1. HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996 (HIPAA)

The Awarded Offeror(s) warrants that it is familiar with the requirements of HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) of 2009, and accompanying regulations and will comply with all applicable HIPAA requirements in the course of this Contract. Awarded Offeror(s)warrants that it will cooperate with the State in the course of performance of the Contract so that both the State and the Awarded Offeror(s) will be in compliance with HIPAA.

If requested, the Awarded Offeror(s) agrees to sign a “HIPAA Business Associate Addendum” and to abide by the statements addressing the creation, use and disclosure of confidential information, including information designated as protected health information and all other confidential or sensitive information as defined in policy.

2. E-VERIFY AND CO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

Effective May 13, 2008, contractors who enter into a public contract for services with Colorado state agencies or political subdivisions must participate in either the federal E-Verify program, or the newly created Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Program (Department Program). The option to enroll in the new Department Program instead of E-Verify was created by Colorado State Senate Bill 08-193, which amended the Public Contracts for Services and Illegal Alien Laws, C.R.S. 8-17.5-101 and 102.

3. DOING BUSINESS WITH THE STATE

An Offeror wanting to do business in the State must register with the Colorado Secretary of State in accordance with C.R.S. 7-90-801. An Offeror must be registered to do business in Colorado within 10 business days of the RFP award notification to the Apparent Successful Offeror. A copy of the business entity’s Articles of Incorporation and/or Bylaws may be requested by the State.

This is the link for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Website: http://www.sos.state.co.us (Recommend going to the “Business Center” section, then opening the “Business Home” page, under the “General Information” section review the FAQs.)

4. FEDERAL EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (FEIN)

For the purpose of verifying the Offeror’s registration to the ColoradoVSS system, the Offeror is required to provide their FEIN in their proposal. Additionally, Offerors are required to submit their FEIN prior to contract, or purchase order issuance, or payment from the State. A W-9, Taxpayer Identification form provided by the State may be required as. Only the Awarded Offeror is required to submit a W-9, to the State upon request.

SECTION 2: BACKGROUND, OVERVIEW and REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Introduction

The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) in consultation with the FirstNet Colorado[footnoteRef:2] Governing Body (FNCGB) makes a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified Offerors including, but not limited to, network service providers and/or operators, infrastructure providers, equipment manufacturers, system integrators, corporate finance organizations, consultants or other consortia to identify a solution that will provide Colorado with an alternative statewide radio access network (CO-RAN) design and implementation as it applies to the development of and integration with the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and its relationship with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).[footnoteRef:3] The complete execution of this RFP and a future contract is dependent on the Governor’s final decision to ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’ of the state plan for Colorado, as it is statutorily defined in Title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (the “Act” or the “Spectrum Act”)[footnoteRef:4]. Colorado is committed to selecting either FirstNet or an alternative partnership to build the best possible broadband network for its public safety and other stakeholders. All options must be identified and thoughtfully assessed before a recommendation can be made to the Governor to support the delivery of mission critical data services in Colorado. [2: http://www.FirstNetColorado.org] [3: http://www.FirstNet.gov] [4: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ96/pdf/PLAW-112publ96.pdf]

The mission of FirstNet is to ensure the building, deployment and operation of the NPSBN across the 56 states and territories. The Act establishing FirstNet set aside 20 MHz of 700 MHz broadband spectrum and $7 Billion in cash for the creation of the NPSBN.

In Colorado, the FNCGB is tasked with strategically guiding the state consultation[footnoteRef:5] process with FirstNet and possible implementation of the FirstNet network or an alternative network. The FNCGB is made up of representatives and elected officials from local, state and tribal public safety and government agencies who also represent the following organizations: the OIT, the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the County Sheriffs of Colorado (CSOC), the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), the Colorado State Fire Chiefs (CSFC), the Emergency Medical Services Association of Colorado (EMSAC), the Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI), the Colorado Municipal League (CML), First Responder Organized Labor, Rural Colorado, the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)/911 Community, the Adams County Communications Center (ADCOM 911), the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Colorado has designated OIT as the coordinating agency for this entire effort, including the office of the FirstNet Single Point of Contact (SPOC). [5: http://firstnet.gov/consultation]

OIT encourages the utilization of local companies and resources when possible for this project.

2.2 Objectives

Colorado seeks to compare the radio access network (RAN) that will be proposed in the FirstNet state plan in an ‘opt-in’ scenario to a best-in-class solution that might emerge through this RFP. Colorado is specifically motivated in several areas:

First Responder Communications. Congress’ primary motivation in allocating funds for the construction of the NPSBN was to meet the needs of first responders for a highly reliable mobile broadband communications infrastructure. In urban areas this means priority access to radio resources given to responders; in rural areas it means coverage.[footnoteRef:6] The network objectives and requirements are described in detail in Sections 2.4, 2.7 and 2.14. [6: While priority access is important to rural responders, network capacity is not anticipated to be a problem in rural areas in the same way it is currently in urban areas; see Attachment C.]

Geographic Coverage. The initial coverage objective proposed by FirstNet in 2015, described in Attachments A and C, is population-focused. It covers only 23.7% of the geographic area of Colorado. This limited geographic footprint stands in contrast to Colorado’s well documented needs of coverage over all but a small geographic area in the previously mentioned attachments.

Attachment A describes a study Colorado completed in 2015, mapping 13 different indicators of communications needs to a geographic footprint. Colorado’s single most important objective is to solicit RFP proposals that would deliver the broad geographic coverage deemed essential by first responders, not necessarily based on the general population statistics.

Network Sustainability and Adoption. The full impact and benefit of the NPSBN will not be achieved by simply building a network, but rather by having widespread adoption and utilization of the CO-RAN by Colorado’s first responders. The factors that will determine Colorado’s adoption and utilization are complex and numerous given the political structure of the state and the existing public safety communications systems. Colorado seeks a definitive solution that will maximize these factors (adoption and sustainability) so the functional and operational benefits (data sharing, information flow, immediate impact to emergency response, etc.) are expanded within Colorado.

Important Public Benefits. While the primary focus of this effort is to meet the requirements of the NPSBN, Colorado has many important initiatives underway that could be synergistic with the construction of the CO-RAN. See Section 2.17 for more information on each. These include:

· Next Generation 9-1-1: The potential synergies between the NPSBN and the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) effort are well documented. Colorado is eager to understand the specifics of how these two efforts could be integrated from an infrastructure perspective to improve emergency communications and response for all Colorado citizens.

· Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): Colorado’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) is a leader in implementing technology to ensure consistent traffic management throughout the state. The systems being testing and planned by CDOT require significant communications abilities and similar coverage to Colorado’s first responders. See

· Telehealth: Colorado is making significant investments in eHealth and other cutting edge healthcare technologies. One of the key enablers of this technology is a robust and consistent communications network throughout the state; connecting all health facilities is a key objective for Colorado.

· Overall Broadband Initiatives. High quality broadband access is critical to economic development within Colorado. Industry, especially knowledge workers[footnoteRef:7], cannot function without high quality broadband connectivity. Consequently, many counties and regions in Colorado have committed resources to constructing the middle-mile and, in some cases, last-mile infrastructure to ensure such connectivity. A broadband network with broad geographic coverage provides mobile communications and the opportunity for fixed broadband connectivity. These efforts are implemented through a multitude of transport technologies including but not limited to wired, fixed-wireless, mobile wireless and microwave to ensure Colorado meets its broadband objectives to cover all households by 2020.[footnoteRef:8] [7: A term first used by Peter Drucker in his 1959 book, Landmarks of Tomorrow, the knowledge worker includes those in the information technology fields, such as programmers, systems analysts, technical writers, academic professionals, researchers, and so forth. The term is also frequently used to include people outside of information technology, such as lawyers, teachers, scientists of all kinds, and also students of all kinds. Source: http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/knowledge-worker.] [8: https://www.colorado.gov/governor/news/gov-hickenlooper-delivers-annual-state-state-address-1]

Leveraging, not Replacing, Existing Commercial Offerings. Colorado is privileged to have many excellent telecommunications providers who have invested heavily in the state, providing important benefits to all. Colorado seeks to leverage those existing assets, honoring the willingness of private parties to put their own capital at risk. The desire is to bring economies of scale where infrastructure exists and to invest in Greenfield infrastructure where no infrastructure exists. The Act explicitly identifies partnering with rural telecommunications providers as an objective. Specific opportunities for the Offeror include:

· Co-Location/Integration of RAN. Where cellular/prepaid cellular service (PCS) coverage exists, there is a strong financial incentive to co-locate and possibly integrate with existing RANs. In many cases existing operators have invested heavily in sites and/or in high quality transmission or backhaul. It makes sense to leverage these existing investments.

· Alignment of Business Models. Colorado seeks to develop business relationships that strengthen telecommunications providers. An influx of public funds has the potential to undercut existing investments, therefore Colorado seeks to invest thoughtfully, supporting rather than undermining existing businesses. By encouraging private sector participation, Colorado may attract capital for future initiatives.

· Leveraging Fiber Investments. Colorado state, regional, local and tribal governments and the private sector have invested heavily in fiber deployments throughout the state. The Offeror has an opportunity to leverage those investments, contributing to the financial viability of local and regional initiatives to ensure access to reliable, cost effective backhaul.

The Economics of Coverage. Colorado and much of the western United States has poor mobile broadband coverage. It is extremely expensive to deploy infrastructure and, if there are relatively few customers, it is a money-losing proposition. Colorado is committed to leveraging resources associated with the CO-RAN (e.g., the purchasing power of public entities, the use of public assets, and possible grants from the federal government) to make rural broadband coverage financially viable, and therefore a reality.

Collaboration with Neighboring States. Colorado’s first responders don’t always have the luxury of respecting borders, and often have to respond into adjacent jurisdictions and states. Likewise, an Offeror’s approach may not fit neatly into the footprint of the state boundary, and that may benefit Colorado, its neighboring states, and the western United States. Colorado remains open to participating with a consortium of states, who may be like-minded in their desire to achieve maximum benefit over a large area because an Offeror views Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA) and other marketing areas as the best means to achieve return on investment (ROI.)

2.3 Additional CO-RAN RFP Background

The CO-RAN must meet a number of FirstNet objectives for Colorado described in Section 2.4.

· Building, Deployment, Operation, and Maintenance of the CO-RAN

· Financial Model and System Sustainability

· First Responder User Adoption Including Marketing and Customer Care

· FirstNet Device and Applications Ecosystems…