vineland SPECIFICATIONS.pdf

CITY OF VINELAND

VINELAND, NEW JERSEY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

FOR

VINELAND NETWORK ENHANCEMENT

(PHASED RFP SPECIFICATION FRAMEWORK)

COV RFP # 2026-41

RFP OPENING: Friday, September 18, 2026

PREVAILING TIME: 1:00 P.M.

PURCHASING DIVISION

640 E WOOD STREET

P.O. BOX 1508

VINELAND, NJ 08362-1508

Miguel A. Mercado, QPA Purchasing Agent

(856) 794-4040 Phone

(856) 405-4605 Facsimile mmercado@vinelandcity.org

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS

Proposal Submission Information

Submission Date and Time:

Friday, September 18, 2026, by 1:00 P.M.

Submission Office:

City of Vineland Purchasing Department 5th Floor City Hall 640 E. Wood Street Vineland, NJ 08360

Respondents shall clearly mark their submittal package with the title of this RFP and the name of the responding firm, addressed to the Purchasing Agent. The original proposal shall be marked to distinguish it from the copies.

Respondents are required to submit their expressions of interest, qualifications and experience. One (1) original and Three (3) copies of the Proposal, INCLUSIVE OF ALL information must be provided to the City’s Purchasing Agent. Proposals are scheduled to be opened 1:00 PM on Friday, September 18, 2026. Any proposals received after said opening whether by mail or otherwise, will be returned unopened. The City assumes no responsibility for delays in any form of carrier, mail, or delivery service causing the proposal to be received after the above-referenced due date and time.

Submission by fax, e-mail or telephone is NOT PERMITTED. Delivery of a proposal to any other City of Vineland Department or office is not acceptable and may result in your bid arriving late in the Purchasing Department. It is the bidder’s responsibility to make sure the proposal is delivered to the proper office as listed above.

Only those RFP responses received prior to or on the submission date & time will be considered.

Responses delivered before the submission date and time specified above may be withdrawn upon written application of the respondent who shall be required to produce evidence showing that the individual is or represents the principal or principals involved in the proposal. After the submission date and time specified above, responses must remain firm for a period of sixty (60) days.

City Representative for this Solicitation

Please direct all questions in writing to:

Miguel A. Mercado, QPA Purchasing Agent Voice: (856) 794-4040 Fax: (856) 794-4327 Email: PurchasingOffice@vinelandcity.org

NOTE: Questions must be submitted in writing no later than noon on Friday, September 4, 2026. Questions received after this day and time will not be accepted.

Interpretations and Addenda

Respondents are expected to examine the RFP with care and observe all its requirements. All questions about the meaning or intent of this RFP, all interpretations and clarifications considered necessary by the owner’s representative in response to such comments and questions will be issued by Addenda mailed or delivered to all parties recorded as having received the RFP package. Only comments and questions responded to by formal written Addenda will be binding. Oral interpretations, statements or clarifications are without legal effect.

Cost Liability and Additional Costs

The owner assumes no responsibility and liability for costs incurred by the respondents prior to the issuance of an agreement. The liability of the owner shall be limited to the terms and conditions of the contract.

Respondents will assume responsibility for all costs not stated in their proposals. All unit rates either stated in the proposal or used as a basis for its pricing are required to be all-inclusive. Additional charges, unless incurred for additional work performed by request of the owner, are not to be billed and will not be paid.

Statutory and Other Requirements

Compliance with Laws

Any contract entered into between the contractor and the owner must be in accordance with and subject to compliance by both parties with the New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law. The contractor must agree to comply with the non-discrimination provisions and all other laws and regulations applicable to the performance of services there under. The respondent shall sign and acknowledge such forms and certificates as may be required by this section.

Mandatory Affirmative Action Compliance

No firm may be issued a contract unless it complies with the Affirmative Action requirements of N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 as identified in the documents attached hereto. The form enclosed herein shall be properly executed.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Discrimination on the basis of disability in contracting for the delivery of services is prohibited.

Respondents are required to read American with Disabilities language that is part of the documents attached hereto and agree that the provisions of Title II of the Act are made part of the contract. The contractor is obligated to comply with the Act and hold the owner harmless.

Stockholder Disclosure

No corporation or partnership shall be awarded any contract for the performance of any work or the furnishing of any goods, unless, with receipt of the proposal of said corporation or partnership, there is submitted a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all stockholders in the corporation or partnership who own ten (10) percent or greater interest therein. Respondents shall complete and submit the form of statement included herein.

N.J. Business Registration Certificate

Pursuant to C57, PL2004, all New Jersey and out of state business organizations must obtain a Business Registration Certificate from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue, prior to conducting business in the State of New Jersey. Respondents shall be required to submit proof of their valid Business Registration prior to contract award. Questions regarding Business Registration may be directed to the Division of Revenue at (609) 292-1730. Online filing is available at www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue/taxreg.htm.

Insurance and Indemnification

If it becomes necessary for the contractor, either as principal or by agent or employee, to enter upon the premises or property of the owner in order to construct, erect, inspect, make delivery or remove property hereunder, the contractor hereby covenants and agrees to take use, provide and make all proper, necessary and sufficient precautions, safeguards, and protection against the occurrence of happenings of any accident, injuries, damages, or hurt to person or property during the course of the work herein covered and his/her sole responsibility.

The contractor further covenants and agrees to indemnify and save harmless the owner from the payment of all sums of money or any other consideration(s) by reason of any, or all, such accidents, injuries, damages, or hurt that may happen or occur upon or about such work and all fines, penalties and loss incurred for or by reason of the violation of any owner regulation, ordinance or the laws of the State, or the United States while said work is in progress.

The contractor shall purchase and maintain during the entire period of this contract, professional liability insurance which shall protect the contractor and the City from any and all claims that may arise out of or result from the contractor’s performance of this contract. A Certificate of Insurance in the amount of one million ($1,000,000.00) dollars per occurrence/three million ($3,000,000.00) annual aggregate shall be provided to the City prior to contract award.

Multiple Proposals Not Accepted

More than one proposal from an individual, a firm or partnership, a corporation or association under the same or different names, shall not be considered.

Failure to Enter Contract

Should the respondent, to whom the contract is awarded, fail to enter into a contract within ten (10) days, Sundays and holidays excepted, the owner may then, at its option, accept the proposal of another respondent.

Termination of Contract

If, through any cause, the contractor shall fail to fulfill in a timely and proper manner obligations under the contract or if the contractor violates any requirements of the contract, the owner shall thereupon have the right to terminate the contract by giving written notice to the contractor of such termination at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed effective date of the termination. Such termination shall relieve the owner of any obligation for the balances to the contractor of any sum or sums set forth in the contract.

The contractor agrees to indemnify and hold the owner harmless from any liability to subcontractors/suppliers concerning payment for work performed or goods supplied arising out of the lawful termination of the contract by the owner under this provision. In case of default by the contractor, the owner may procure the articles or services from other sources and hold the contractor responsible for any excess cost occasioned thereby.

Challenge of Specifications

Any respondent who wishes to challenge a specification shall file such challenge in writing with the Director of Purchasing no less than three (3) business days prior to the opening of the RFP's. Challenges filed after that time shall be considered void and having no impact on the owner or the award of contract.

Payment

Invoices shall specify, in detail, the period for which payment is claimed, the services performed during the prescribed period, the amount claimed and correlation between the services claimed and the Proposal Document.

The City may withhold all or partial payments on account of subsequently discovered evidence including but not limited to the contractor not complying with the terms of the contract.

When the above grounds are removed, payment shall be made for amounts withheld because of them.

Contractors shall be required to sign a City voucher for payment.

Ownership of Material

The owner shall retain all of its rights and interest in any and all documents and property both hard copy and digital furnished by the owner to the contractor for the purpose of assisting the contractor in the performance of this contract. All such items shall be returned immediately to the owner at the expiration or termination of the contract or completion of any related services, pursuant thereto, whichever comes first. None of the documents and/or property shall, without the written consent of the owner, be disclosed to others or used by the contractor or permitted by the contractor to be used by their parties at any time except in the performance of the resulting contract.

Ownership of all data, materials and documentation originated and prepared for the owner pursuant to this contract shall belong exclusively to the owner. All data, reports, computerized information, programs and materials related to this project shall be delivered to and become the property of the owner upon completion of the project. The contractor shall not have the right to use, sell, or disclose the total of the interim or final work products, or make available to third parties, without the prior written consent of the owner. All information supplied to the owner may be required to be supplied on CD-ROM media compatible with the owner’s computer operating system, MS Windows based, Lotus Suite.

Annual Disclosure Statement on Political Contributions

The contractor is hereby advised of the responsibility to file an annual disclosure statement on political contributions with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-

20.13 (P.L. 2005, c. 271, s.3) if the contractor receives contracts in excess of $50,000.00 from public entities in a calendar year. It is the contractor’s responsibility to determine if filing is necessary.

Additional information on this requirement is available from ELEC at (888) 313-3532 or at www.elec.state.nj.us.

Proposal Forms

The following forms are contained in the attachments. All forms are required and shall be completed and made part of the proposal submitted.

Stockholder Disclosure Affirmative Action Statement Acknowledgment of Receipt of Addenda, if any.

Disclosure of Investment Activities in Iran Prohibited Activities in Russia or Belarus

Proposals to Remain Subject to Acceptance

RFP responses shall remain open for a period of sixty (60) calendar days from the stated submittal date.

The owner will either award the Contract within the applicable time period or reject all proposals. The owner may extend the decision to award or reject all proposals beyond the sixty (60) calendar days when the proposals of any respondents who consent thereto may, at the request of the owner, be held for consideration for such longer period as may be agreed.

Rejection of Proposals

The owner reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or to reject any proposals if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of such respondent fails to satisfy the owner that such respondent is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the work contemplated therein. The owner reserves the right to waive any minor informality in the RFP.

Evaluation Process

An evaluation team will review all proposals to determine if they satisfy the Proposal Requirements, determine if a proposal should be rejected and evaluate the proposals based upon the Evaluation Criteria.

The highest-ranking respondent will then be recommended to the governing body for award of contract, based on price and other factors.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria considered in the evaluation of this proposal shall be as follows. The arrangement of the criteria is not meant to imply order of importance in the selection process. All criteria will be used to select the successful respondent or respondents.

Understanding of the Requested Work

The proposals will be evaluated for general compliance with instructions and requests issued in the RFP.

Non-compliance with significant instructions shall be grounds for disqualification of proposals.

Knowledge and Technical Competence

This includes the ability of the respondent to perform all of the tasks and adequately fulfill the requirements specified herein.

Management, Experience and Personnel Qualifications

Expertise of the firm shall be demonstrated by past contract successes providing government agencies with similar services.

The respondent will be evaluated on knowledge, experience, prior collaboration and successful completion of projects/services similar to that requested in this RFP. In addition to relevant experience, respondents shall provide personnel qualifications in the Proposal.

Ability to Complete the Services in a Timely Manner

This is based on the estimated duration of the tasks and the respondent’s ability to accomplish these tasks as stated.

Cost to Provide Services

Provide your costs for the services requested on the Cost Proposal page provided in the RFP.

Notice of Award

The successful respondent will be notified of the award of contract upon a favorable decision by the governing body at which time the respondent shall be required to execute a Vineland City contract.

Choice of Law

The agreement with the successful bidder shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey. In the event of litigation or other legal proceedings commenced to enforce the terms of the agreement, the venue of such litigation shall be the Superior Court of New Jersey, Cumberland County.

Contract Records

As per N.J.A.C. 17:44-2.2 Vendor shall maintain all documentation related to products, transactions or services under this contract for a period of five years from the date of final payment. Such records shall be made available to the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller upon request.

EXHIBIT A

MANDATORY EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY LANGUAGE

N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. (P.L. 1975, c. 127)

N.J.A.C. 17:27 et seq.

GOODS, GENERAL SERVICE AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS

During the performance of this contract, the contractor agrees as follows:

The contractor or subcontractor, where applicable, will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality or sex. Except with respect to affectional or sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, the contractor will ensure that equal employment opportunity is afforded to such applicants in recruitment and employment, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality or sex. Such equal employment opportunity shall include, but not be limited to the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, or transfer; recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship. The contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices to be provided by the Public Agency Compliance Officer setting forth provisions of this nondiscrimination clause.

The contractor or subcontractor, where applicable will, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor, state that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality or sex.

The contractor or subcontractor will send to each labor union, with which it has a collective bargaining agreement, a notice, to be provided by the agency contracting officer, advising the labor union of the contractor's commitments under this chapter and shall post copies of the notice in conspicuous places available to employees and applicants for employment.

The contractor or subcontractor, where applicable, agrees to comply with any regulations promulgated by the Treasurer pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq., as amended and supplemented from time to time and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The contractor or subcontractor agrees to make good faith efforts to meet targeted county employment goals established in accordance with N.J.A.C. 17:27-5.2.

The contractor or subcontractor agrees to inform in writing its appropriate recruitment agencies including, but not limited to, employment agencies, placement bureaus, colleges, universities, and labor unions, that it does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality or sex, and that it will discontinue the use of any recruitment agency which engages in direct or indirect discriminatory practices.

The contractor or subcontractor agrees to revise any of its testing procedures, if necessary, to assure that all personnel testing conforms with the principles of job related testing, as established by the statutes and court decisions of the State of New Jersey and as established by applicable Federal law and applicable Federal court decisions.

In conforming with the targeted employment goals, the contractor or subcontractor agrees to review all procedures relating to transfer, upgrading, downgrading and layoff to ensure that all such actions are taken without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality or sex, consistent with the statutes and court decisions of the State of New Jersey, and applicable Federal law and applicable Federal court decisions.

The contractor shall submit to the public agency, after notification of award but prior to execution of a goods and services contract, one of the following three documents:

Letter of Federal Affirmative Action Plan Approval;

Certificate of Employee Information Report; or

Employee Information Report Form AA302 (electronically provided by the Division and distributed to the public agency through the Division’s website at http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/contract_compliance).

The contractor and its subcontractors shall furnish such reports or other documents to the Division of Purchase an Property, CCAU, EEO Monitoring Program as may be requested by the office from time to time in order to carry out the purposes of these regulations, and public agencies shall furnish such information as may be requested by the Division of Purchase an Property, CCAU, EEO Monitoring Program for conducting a compliance investigation pursuant to N.J.A.C.

17:27-1 et seq.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF

Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disability

The contractor and the City of Vineland, (hereafter “City”) do hereby agree that the provisions of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "Act") (42 U.S.C. SJ 21 01 et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities in all services, programs, and activities provided or made available by public entities, and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant there unto, are made a part of this contract. In providing any aid, benefit, or service on behalf of the City pursuant to this contract, the contractor agrees that the performance shall be in strict compliance with the Act. In the event that the contractor, its agents, servants, employees, or subcontractors violate or are alleged to have violated the Act during the performance of this contract, the contractor shall defend the City in any action or administrative proceeding commenced pursuant to this Act. The contractor shall indemnify, protect, and save harmless the City, its agents, servants , and employees from and against any and all suits, claims , losses , demands, or damages, of whatever kind or nature arising out of or claimed to arise out of the alleged violation. The contractor shall, at its own expense, appear, defend, and pay any and all charges for legal services and any and all costs and other expenses arising from such action or administrative proceeding or incurred in connection therewith. In any and all complaints brought pursuant to the City's grievance procedure, the contractor agrees to abide by any decision of the City which is rendered pursuant to said grievance procedure. If any action or administrative proceeding results in an award of damages against the City, or if the City incurs any expense to cure a violation of the ADA which has been brought pursuant to its grievance procedure, the contractor shall satisfy and discharge the same at its own expense.

The City shall, as soon as practicable after a claim has been made against it, give written notice thereof to the contractor along with full and complete particulars of the claim, if any action or administrative proceeding is brought against the City or any of its agents, servants, and employees, the City shall expeditiously forward or have forwarded to the contractor every demand, complaint, notice, summons, pleading, or other process received by the City or its representatives.

It is expressly agreed and understood that any approval by the City of the services provided by the contractor pursuant to this contract will not relieve the contractor of the obligation to comply with the Act and to defend, indemnify, protect, and save harmless the City pursuant to this paragraph.

It is further agreed and understood that the City assumes no obligation to indemnify or save harmless the contractor, its agents, servants, employees and subcontractors for any claim which may arise out of their performance of this Agreement. Furthermore, the contractor expressly understands and agrees that the provisions of this indemnification clause shall in no way limit the contractor's obligations assumed in this Agreement, nor shall they be construed to relieve the contractor from any liability, nor preclude the City from taking any other actions available to it under any other provisions of the Agreement or otherwise at law.

NEW JERSEY ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS

NJ.S.A.10:2-1 ET SEQ.

Pursuant to NJ.S.A. 10:2-1, if awarded a contract, the contractor agrees that:

A. In the hiring of persons for the performance of work under this contract or any subcontract hereunder, or for the procurement, manufacture, assembling or furnishing of any such materials, equipment, supplies or services to be acquired under this contract, no contractor, nor any person acting on behalf of such contractor or subcontractor, shall, by reason of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation or sex, discriminate against any person who is qualified and available to perform the work to which the employment relates;

B. No contractor, subcontractor, nor any person on his behalf shall, in any manner, discriminate against or intimidate any employee engaged in the performance of work under this contract or any subcontract hereunder, or engaged in the procurement, manufacture, assembling or furnishing of any such materials, equipment, supplies or services to be acquired under such contract, on account of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation or sex;

C. There may be deducted from the amount payable to the contractor by the contracting public agency, under this contract, a penalty of $50.00 for each person for each calendar day during which such person is discriminated against or intimidated in violation of the provisions of the contract; and

D. This contract may be canceled or terminated by the contracting public agency, and all money due or to become due hereunder may be forfeited, for any violation of this section of the contract occurring after notice to the contractor from the contracting public agency of any prior violation of this section of the contract.

City of Vineland

Revised Contract Language for BRC Compliance

Goods and Services Contracts (including Purchase Orders)

*Construction Contracts (including Public Works related Purchase Orders)

N.J.S.A. 52:32-44 imposes the following requirements on contractors and all subcontractors that knowingly provide goods or perform services for a contractor fulfilling this contract:

1. The contractor shall provide written notice to its subcontractors and suppliers to submit proof of business registration to the contractor;

2. Subcontractors through all tiers of a project must provide written notice to their subcontractors and suppliers to submit proof of business registration and subcontractors shall collect such proofs of business registration and maintain them on file;

3. Prior to receipt of final payment from a contracting agency, a contractor must submit to the contracting agency an accurate list of all subcontractors and suppliers or attest that none was used;

4. During the term of this contract, the contractor and its affiliates shall collect and remit and shall notify all subcontractors and their affiliates that they must collect and remit to the Director, New Jersey Division of Taxation, the use tax due pursuant to the Sales and Use Tax Act, (N.J.S.A. 54:32B-1 et seq.) on all sale of tangible personal property delivered into this State.

Pursuant to J.J.S.A. 54:49-4.1, a business organization that fails to provide a copy of a business registration as required, or that provides false business registration information, shall be liable for a penalty of $25 for each day of violation, not to exceed $50,000, for each proof of business registration not properly provided under a contract with a contracting agency. Information on the law and its requirements is available by calling (609) 292-9292.

NEW JERSEY BUSINESS REGISTRATION

Pursuant to P.L. 2004, c.57, all consultants (both in-state and out-of-state) must obtain a Business Registration Certificate (BRC) from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue prior to conducting business with the NJTPA. A consultant or sub-consultant who fails to submit a copy of a valid BRC in accordance with the statue will be held liable for monetary penalties in accordance with N.J.S.A. 54:49-4.1. Questions regarding how to obtain a BRC can be directed to the New Jersey Division of Revenue at (609) 292-1730. The business registration form (Form NJ-REG) can be found online at:

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue/busregcert.shtml or http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue/gettingregistered.shtml

Sample New Jersey Registration Certificates:

Vineland Network Enhancement

Phased RFP Specification Framework

1. Project Overview

The City of Vineland seeks to evaluate and potentially deploy a phased wireless carrier enhancement and managed connectivity platform that can leverage existing municipal network assets, City-controlled fiber infrastructure, customer-premise fiber connections, and potential pole-mounted area-wide coverage.

The desired solution should not be treated as a traditional guest Wi-Fi deployment only. The City is evaluating a broader carrier-enhancement and managed wireless access platform capable of supporting secure segmentation, centralized authentication, Passpoint/ Hotspot 2.0 where supported, RADIUS / RadSec authentication, policy-based authentication routing, centralized management, operational monitoring, usage reporting, dashboard visibility, and future expansion across multiple deployment environments.

The project should be structured in phases to allow the City to validate technical feasibility, security, operational requirements, commercial viability, reporting requirements, and expansion potential before committing to broader deployment.

The City's preference is to use existing City and customer infrastructure where technically feasible, avoid unnecessary rip-and-replace deployments, protect the City's internal network environment, and preserve flexibility for future expansion.

2. Project Goals The proposed solution should help the City evaluate and implement a phased platform that can:

Use existing City-owned Extreme Networks access points, switches, fiber, and network infrastructure where compatible.

Securely segment carrier enhancement/ public wireless traffic from City internal systems.

Support centralized authentication through RADIUS, RadSec / RADIUS-over-TLS, Passpoint/ Hotspot 2.0, or equivalent authentication frameworks where applicable.

Support policy-based authentication routing to one or more carriers, roaming, enterprise, municipal, or partner authentication endpoints.

Create a repeatable deployment model for Vineland fiber-served customers.

Support customer locations using either compatible existing customer access points or a managed gateway/ access point package.

Evaluate future outdoor and area-wide coverage using Vineland-controlled poles, fiber routes, municipal rights-of-way, and public infrastructure.

Provide centralized monitoring, operational reporting, device health reporting, authentication reporting, usage analytics, and secure dashboard / portal access for City-authorized users.

Provide the City with practical visibility into deployment status, service health, coverage areas, incident history, maintenance activity, usage trends, and expansion readiness.

Protect City and customer networks from unauthorized access, lateral movement, or unmanaged traffic.

Allow the City to proceed in stages, with later phases authorized only after technical and operational validation.

Draft for Review

3. Procurement Intent and Flexibility

The City may elect to award an initial assessment, design, and pilot phase before authorizing broader deployment.

The initial phase may include network assessment, design, configuration planning, security review, pilot implementation, performance validation, reporting validation, dashboard configuration, and preparation of an expansion roadmaр.

Subsequent phases may be authorized separately based on technical feasibility, performance, cost, operational impact, reporting value, strategic value, and available funding.

The City is not seeking to prescribe a single hardware manufacturer or force one topology across all environments.

Instead, the City seeks a topology-flexible and asset-leveraged solution that can use existing infrastructure where compatible and provide standardized hardware options where dedicated equipment is required.

Proposals requiring wholesale replacement of existing municipal network infrastructure for Phase 1 should clearly identify why replacement is technically necessary.

4. Phase

Network

1: City-Owned Network Integration Using Existing Extreme

4.1 Objective

Use Vineland's existing Extreme Networks infrastructure, including switches and access points, wherever technically feasible, to validate the carrier enhancement / managed wireless service model without unnecessary new hardware deployment.

This phase should focus on City-owned or City-controlled locations where Vineland already operates network infrastructure and where the City can control configuration, security, change-management procedures, and access to operational reporting.

4.2 Target Environment

This phase applies to City-owned or City-controlled locations that may include:

Existing Extreme Networks access points

Existing Extreme Networks switches

Existing City fiber or WAN connectivity Existing firewall/routing infrastructure

• Existing network management platforms

Existing IT security and change-control procedures

Existing municipal buildings, facilities, public venues, or other City-controlled locations

4.3 Required Capabilities

The proposed solution should support the following.

A. Use of Existing Extreme Access Points Where Compatible

The proposed system should determine whether the City's existing Extreme access points can support the required configuration, including:

Dedicated SSID or broadcast profile Passpoint/Hotspot 2.0, where supported

WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise, where applicable RADIUS authentication

RadSec/ RADIUS-over-TLS support directly or through an intermediary

VLAN tagging

Client isolation

Traffic separation from internal City systems

QoS or traffic shaping, where needed

Authentication logging

Management visibility

• Firmware / software compatibility

The proposer should identify whether existing APs can be used as-is, require configuration changes, require firmware updates, or must be supplemented with additional hardware.

B. Network Segmentation

The solution must keep carrier enhancement / public wireless traffic logically separated from the City's internal network using one or more of the following:

Dedicated VLAN

Firewall policy

Dedicated routing path

Separate WAN handoff

VRF or equivalent segmentation, if available

Tunnel or encrypted authentication path

Dedicated DHCP scope

Client isolation

Network access control policy

The solution must not allow unauthorized access to City internal systems.

C. Authentication and Policy Control

The solution should support centralized authentication and policy handling through:

RADIUS

RadSec/RADIUS-over-TLS

Passpoint/Hotspot 2.0 profile integration, where supported

WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise, where applicable Certificate-based authentication, if applicable

Carrier partner authentication routing, where applicable

Multi-partner or multi-endpoint AAA routing Policy-based access control

• Authentication logging and reporting

The solution should be capable of routing authentication requests based on location, SSID, user class, partner, carrier, or service type, where applicable.

D. Minimal Hardware Addition

The proposer should prioritize use of existing City network infrastructure where technically and operationally appropriate.

Additional hardware should only be proposed where required for:

Compatibility

Security

Segmentation

Performance

Authentication

Management

Monitoring Outdoor or extended coverage

Operational simplicity

E. City IT Control

The City should retain control over its internal network equipment.

The proposer should provide recommended configuration requirements, but City IT may perform or approve final configuration changes.

The proposer should provide:

Configuration checklist

VLAN requirements

Firewall rule requirements

Routing requirements

Authentication endpoint requirements

Rollback procedure

Security review documentation

Change-management support

F. City Dashboard and Portal Visibility

The solution should provide a secure dashboard or portal for City-authorized users that gives practical visibility into the status of the deployment and ongoing service operations.

At a minimum, the portal should support visibility into:

Site and device inventory

Gateway, switch, and AP health, where applicable Online/offline status by location

Authentication activity and trends

Usage activity by site, zone, SSID, partner, or service type, where applicable Incident, alert, and maintenance history

Open support items and resolution status

Configuration status and recent approved changes

Pilot acceptance metrics

Expansion readiness and site assessment status

The portal should use role-based access controls so the City can grant appropriate visibility to IT, leadership, operational, and project stakeholders without exposing unauthorized configuration controls or sensitive partner credentials.

4.4 Phase 1 Bidder Response Requirements

Proposed topology diagram for City-owned locations.

Description of how existing Extreme Networks APs and switches would be evaluated and used.

Required AP, switch, firewall, VLAN, and routing capabilities.

Confirmation of compatibility requirements.

Required SSIDS, VLANs, firewall rules, DHCP scopes, and routing paths.

Authentication flow diagram.

Data flow diagram.

Security and segmentation plan.

Management, dashboard, portal, and monitoring approach.

Hardware required, if any.

Installation assumptions.

Testing and acceptance plan.

Support responsibility matrix between City IT and vendor.

Risk and rollback plan.

Phase 1 pilot site recommendation.

Description of City-facing reports and portal views available during and after the pilot.

5. Phase 1A - Technical Assessment and Design

5.1 Objective

Before full implementation, the City may elect to begin with a limited technical assessment and design engagement. This allows the City to validate the architecture, determine compatibility with existing Extreme infrastructure, identify the appropriate pilot location or locations, and define the reporting and dashboard views required for City oversight.

5.2 Assessment Deliverables

The proposer should provide:

Inventory of applicable Extreme Networks APs and switches.

Compatibility review for SSID, VLAN, RADIUS, RadSec, Passpoint, and management requirements.

Review of available fiber, WAN, and firewall environment.

Proposed authentication and policy-routing architecture.

Security and segmentation design.

Gateway requirement analysis.

Identification of locations where no additional gateway is required.

Identification of locations where a dedicated gateway may be required.

City IT configuration checklist.

Draft topology diagrams..

Risk and rollback plan.

Pilot location recommendation.

Expansion readiness assessment.

Preliminary cost estimate for pilot implementation.

Dashboard and reporting requirements matrix, including the specific operational, executive, and technical views the City will receive.

5.3 Assessment Outcome

At the conclusion of Phase 1A, the City should be able to determine:

Whether existing Extreme APs can support the initial deployment

What configuration changes are needed

Whether supplemental hardware is required

Which pilot location or locations are best suited for validation

What security controls are required

What.dashboard and reporting views will be available to the City

Whether the model is ready for a limited pilot

6. Phase 1B - Limited Pilot Implementation

6.1 Objective

Implement the proposed configuration at one or more limited pilot locations to validate security, authentication, traffic segmentation, network performance, monitoring, reporting, dashboard access, and operational procedures.

6.2 Pilot Requirements

The pilot should validate:

SSID or Passpoint profile configuration VLAN segmentation

Firewall policy

Authentication flow

RadSec/RADIUS connectivity

Traffic separation from City internal systems

Device health monitoring

Usage reporting

Authentication reporting City dashboard/ portal access

Client experience

Operational support process

Rollback procedure

6.3 Pilot Acceptance Criteria

The pilot should be considered successful if:

• Existing City network operations are not disrupted.

Carrier enhancement / public wireless traffic remains segmented from City internal systems.

Authentication operates as designed.

Monitoring, dashboard visibility, and reporting are available to City-authorized users.

City IT can review and approve the configuration.

Performance meets agreed pilot thresholds.

The City receives documentation sufficient to support future expansion decisions.

7. Phase 2 - Vineland Fiber Customer-Premise Overlay

7.1 Objective

Create a repeatable deployment model for Vineland fiber customers where the carrier enhancement / managed wireless platform can be layered onto customer-premise locations as an additional service.

This phase should support two primary models:

Use of the customer's existing compatible access points.

Deployment of a standard managed gateway and access point package where customer equipment is not compatible or where a dedicated managed environment is preferred.

7.2 Target Environment

This phase applies to businesses, institutions, and other customers served by Vineland fiber or related municipal broadband services.

Example customer types may include:

Commercial properties

Retail centers

Hospitals or medical facilities

Schools or campuses

Hotels

Entertainment venues

Municipal service customers

Large public gathering locations

Mixed-use properties

Downtown businesses

Public-private facilities

7.3 Required Capabilities

The proposed solution should support the following.

A. Customer Existing AP Compatibility Review

Where a customer has existing wireless infrastructure, the proposer should determine whether those APs can support:

Required SSID or Passpoint profile

VLAN tagging.

RADIUS or RadSec authentication

Client isolation

Required bandwidth

Secure traffic separation

Remote monitoring or reporting Customer IT approval requirements

Compatible management model

Firmware / software requirements

The proposer should provide a customer AP compatibility checklist that can be reused across multiple customer locations.

B. Standard Managed Gateway / AP Deployment Option

Where customer equipment is not compatible or where a managed service model is preferred, the solution should include a standard customer-premise hardware package.

This package may include:

Fiber-capable gateway

Ethernet WAN gateway, where appropriate

PoE switch, if required

Indoor access points

Outdoor access points, if required

UPS or power backup, if required

Mounting hardware

Structured cabling requirements

Remote management capability Secure management access

Optional dedicated network enclosure

C. Gateway Selection Criteria

The RFP should not hard-code one gateway or device type for every deployment. It should require a gateway selection matrix.

The proposer should identify when each model is appropriate.

A fiber-capable gateway or equivalent should be considered where:

The WAN handoff is fiber or SFP/SFP+

Higher throughput is required

The location may support multiple APs

The location has higher user density

The deployment benefits from direct fiber uplink

The customer location is part of a scalable managed-service model

The service is delivered as part of a Vineland fiber customer package

An Ethernet WAN gateway or equivalent may be acceptable where:

The WAN handoff is standard Ethernet

Bandwidth needs are moderate

The site has fewer APs

Fiber/SFP uplink is not required

Cost or simplicity favors Ethernet gateway.deployment

• Existing upstream equipment provides necessary routing and segmentation

In some locations, no dedicated gateway may be required if the City or customer network can provide the required segmentation, routing, security, and authentication path.

D. Customer Network Protection

The solution must not interfere with customer private network operations.

The proposer should support:

•Physical or logical separation

Dedicated VLANs

Firewall segmentation

Separate DHCP scope, if needed

Client isolation

No unauthorized access to customer LAN resources

Optional dedicated WAN or segmented Vineland fiber service

Customer-approved configuration changes only Written rollback process

Clear demarcation of customer vs. vendor responsibilities

E. Repeatable Deployment Template

The proposer should provide a repeatable site deployment model that can be used across multiple customer locations.

The template should include:

Site survey checklist

Customer IT questionnaire

Gateway selection matrix

AP compatibility checklist

Cabling and power checklist

Installation checklist

Configuration checklist

Testing and acceptance procedure

Support handoff process

Customer-facing documentation

F. Customer and City Reporting Visibility

For customer-premise deployments, the proposer should define what information will be visible to the City, what information may be visible to the customer, and what information remains restricted to the vendor or authentication platform operator.

The City-facing portal should allow Vineland to track customer deployment status, service health, active locations, support issues, usage trends, and operational performance without exposing customer private network data or restricted credentials.

7.4 Phase 2 Bidder Response Requirements

Standard customer-premise topology.

Alternate topology using customer-owned compatible APs.

Gateway selection matrix.

AP selection and compatibility criteria.

Minimum bandwidth requirements.

Power and cabling requirements.

Customer site survey checklist.

Customer IT coordination checklist.

Customer network protection plan.

Security model.

Installation timeline.

Acceptance testing procedure.

Ongoing monitoring, dashboard, and support plan.

Optional managed-service pricing model.

Recommended customer-facing deployment package.

City and customer reporting/portal access model.

8. Phase 3 - Area-Wide Coverage Using City Fiber and Pole Assets

8.1 Objective

Evaluate and design broader area-wide wireless coverage using Vineland-owned or Vineland-controlled fiber routes, utility poles, municipal rights-of-way, and public infrastructure.

This phase should support outdoor carrier enhancement, public corridor coverage, downtown coverage, business district coverage, event coverage, and other municipal connectivity, use cases.

8.2 Target Environment

This phase may include:

City-owned poles

City-controlled utility poles

Fiber-fed pole locations

Public rights-of-way

Downtown corridors

Parks

Public gathering areas

Business districts

Event venues

Transportation corridors

Municipal facilities

High-traffic commercial areas

Public-private development zones

8.3 Required Capabilities

The proposed solution should support the following.

A. Outdoor Access Point Deployment

Weather-rated enclosure

Outdoor operating temperature range

Secùre mounting

Fiber or Ethernet backhaul support

PoE or other approved power method

Surge protection

Remote monitoring

Secure management

Support for required authentication methods

Support for SSID and/or Passpoint profile broadcast

Support for VLAN tagging and segmentation

Appropriate antenna pattern for the coverage objective

B. Backhaul Design

• Direct fiber connection

Fiber-to-gateway deployment

Ethernet from nearby network cabinet

Point-to-point wireless backhaul, where appropriate

Mesh only where technically justified

Redundancy options for high-value coverage zones

Bandwidth sizing by zone

Latency and availability expectations

C. Pole and Power Requirements

Pole attachment requirements

Power availability

Metering requirements, if any

Make-ready requirements

Mounting height recommendations Cabinet.or enclosure needs

Maintenance access requirements

Permitting assumptions

Safety requirements

Grounding and surge protection

Environmental considerations

Utility coordination requirements

D. Coverage Planning

• RF survey

Heat map modeling

AP density recommendations

Úser density assumptions

Interference analysis

Channel planning

Capacity planning

Outdoor-to-indoor limitations

Seasonal or event-based demand assumptions

Coverage objectives by zone

Service-level expectations by zone

E. Carrier Enhancement Use Case

Passpoint/ Hotspot 2.0

RadSec/ RADIUS authentication

Multi-carrier or multi-partner authentication routing

Policy-based partner routing

Reporting by coverage zone, partner, or location

Usage and performance analytics

Authentication logging

Roaming partner support, where applicable

Future expansion to additional carrier or partner relationships

F. Municipal Use Cases

Public connectivity zones

Event connectivity

Public safety support, where appropriate

Smart city applications

Economic development corridors

Business district connectivity

Visitor analytics, subject to privacy requirements

Future loT or sensor backhaul, where appropriate

Municipal service connectivity

Emergency or temporary coverage scenarios

G. Outdoor Coverage Dashboard Visibility

For outdoor or area-wide coverage, the City-facing dashboard should support map-based or zone-based visibility where practical, including coverage zones, device health, outage status, maintenance activity, usage trends, authentication activity, and performance by corridor, district, pole group, or service area.

8.4 Phase 3 Bidder Response Requirements

Outdoor coverage design methodology.

Example pole-mounted topology.

Fiber backhaul assumptions.

Power requirements.

AP spacing assumptions.

RF planning methodology.

Maintenance plan.

Permitting assumptions.

Security model.

Carrier enhancement architecture.

Pilot area recommendation.

Expansion plan.

Capital and operating cost estimates.

Ownership and maintenance responsibility matrix.

Recommended Phase 3 pilot zone.

Outdoor dashboard and zone-based reporting approach.

9. Core Technical Requirements Across All Phases

9.1 Network Security

Segmentatio…