Y28GA_LibertyCountySchoolSystem_IAandWAN_E_RA.pdf

LIBERTY COUNTY

SCHOOL SYSTEM

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE BID

FOR PROPOSALS FOR

INTERNET ACCESS and WIDE

AREA NETWORK DIGITAL

TRANSMISSION

with a MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

Direct all inquiries concerning this bid to:

Liberty County School System

Attention: Currie A. Sutton

All questions must be submitted via email no later than 12:00 P.M. EST, February 13, 2025

Please return one (1) hard copy and one (1) digital copy of your response to Ms. Currie

A. Sutton, contact for Liberty County

School System, 31225 Bainbridge Road, Suite H, Solon, OH 44139.

All responses are due by 2:00 P.M. EST, February 28, 2025.

All responses must be signed and have

“LIBERTY COUNTY SCHOOLS IA and

WAN RFP Response” notated on the outside of the sealed package.

Email: currieasutton@epicing.org

Date of E-Rate Service

July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030 with possible voluntary extensions

NOTE: Questions concerning the specifications in this Request for Proposals will be received until date and time listed above. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING BY

EMAIL TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS LISTED ABOVE. NO QUESTIONS will be received by telephone. Questions received after the date and time listed above will not be considered. It is the

OFFEROR’S responsibility to assure that all addenda have been reviewed and, if need be, signed and returned.

NOTICE TO BIDDERS: Sealed Proposals subject to the conditions herein will be received until the date and times listed above.

mailto:lalexander@epicinc.org

LIBERTY COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM

©2025 EPIC COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

LIBERTY COUNTY

SCHOOL SYSTEM

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE

BIDS AND PROPOSALS

FOR CATEGORY 1 SERVICES

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR PROPOSALS FOR

INTERNET ACCESS and WIDE AREA NETWORK DIGITAL TRANSMISSION with a MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

RFP RELEASE DATE:

January 29, 2025

LAST DAY TO ASK QUESTIONS:

February 13, 2025

RFP RESPONSE DATE:

February 28, 2025

Liberty County School System does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, or handicap in employment practices or in administration of any of its educational programs and activities in accordance with applicable federal statutes and regulations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDER AND GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS…..4

II. BUILDING LOCATIONS……11

III. DATES AND ACTIVITIES……12

IV. BID SUBMISSION FORM……13

V. CUSTOMER EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION FORM…..14

VI. SERVICE DESCRIPTION…..15

VII. AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES…..20

VIII. E-RATE ELIGIBLE PRICING….24

IX. INVOICING…..25

X. INTERNET ACCESS REFERENCES…..26

XI. WAN REFERENCES…..27

XII. SECA COST ALLOCATION SCENARIOS FOR SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION…28

XIII. ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES…..31

Liberty County School System is soliciting Internet Access and WAN (transport only) proposals from qualified Service Providers for the Schools listed in Section II and the services listed in Section V.

I. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDER AND GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. E-Rate instructions: This bid will be issued at the same time the FCC Form 470 is filed; this bid will remain posted for no less than 28 days.

2. Funding will be subject to E-Rate eligibility and District Approval. Any Contract entered into by the

District will be contingent upon E-Rate funding.

3. Proposals must be made in the official name of the firm or individual under which business is conducted (showing official business address) and must be signed in ink by a person duly authorized to legally bind the person, partnership, company or corporation submitting the proposal.

4. Offerors are to include all applicable requested information and are encouraged to include any additional information they wish to be considered

5. Lowest Corresponding Price: Per FCC rules, vendors must offer the Lowest Corresponding Price when submitting proposals. Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) is defined as the lowest price that a service provider charges to nonresidential customers who are similarly situated to a particular E-Rate applicant (school, library, or consortium) for similar services. See 47 CFR, Part 54, Section 54.500(f).

Service providers cannot charge E-Rate applicants a price above the LCP for E-Rate services. See 47

CFR Section 54.511(b). There is a rebuttable presumption that rates offered within the previous 3 years are still compensatory.

6. All bids shall be SEALED AND ADDRESSED to: Liberty County School System, c/o Currie A.

Sutton, 31225 Bainbridge Road, Suite H, Solon, OH 44139. All bids shall be delivered by the specified time in a sealed envelope with a NOTATION ON THE FRONT of the envelope indicating

“LIBERTY COUNTY SCHOOLS IA and WAN RFP Response" stating time and due date of such bid.

7. Bids received prior to the time of opening shall be held unopened. No responsibility will be assumed by the district or its representatives for the premature opening of a BID NOT PROPERLY

IDENTIFIED as stated above.

8. ALL BIDS ARE DUE not later than 2:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, February 28, 2025. Bids may be HAND DELIVERED until the time of the bid opening. Bids may be delivered by U.S. Postal service or commercial delivery preceding the time of bid opening.

9. After recording the bids received, the bids will be referred to the appropriate administrative office for tabulation, review, and subsequent recommendations for Board action.

10. It is a REQUIREMENT THAT BID RESPONSE PRICING BE SUBMITTED ON PRICING

SPREADSHEETS. One (1) clearly identified sealed printed originals of your proposal as well as one (1) digital (CD, DVD, USB drive – NO EMAIL) copy is required for district evaluation.

The digital version must include pricing in a spreadsheet format and should be included in your sealed package for the printed copies submission. No PDF format for pricing sheets should be used for the digital submission. Responsive proposals should provide straightforward, concise information that satisfies the requirements of this RFP. The District does not wish nor require that vendors bind their responses nor staple sections together. Responses in 3-hole punched binders or loose with a binder clip are sufficient and desired. Emphasis should be placed on skills and experience that respond to the needs of the School Board, the requirements of this RFP, and completeness and clarity of content.

11. If there are any questions regarding this RFP please direct those to: currieasutton@epicing.org. The deadline for questions will be February 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm EST. No questions will be accepted after this time.

12. All entries shall be entered in ink or typewritten and shall remain firm for a period of not less than

(ninety) 90 days. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrections inserted adjacent thereto, and shall be initialed, in ink, by the person signing the proposal.

13. Offers, amendments thereto or withdrawal requests must be received by the time advertised for proposal opening to be timely filed. It is the vendor's sole responsibility to insure these documents are received by the person (or office) at the time indicated in the solicitation document.

14. By submission of an offer, you are guaranteeing that all services meet the requirements of the solicitation.

15. The document that will form the contract shall include the entire solicitation, all amendments, the winning offeror's proposal and the subsequent "Contract Agreement".

16. This solicitation does not commit Liberty County School System to award a contract, to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of a proposal, to procure or contract for the articles of goods or services.

The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this solicitation, to negotiate its entirety this solicitation if it is in the best interest of the District to do so.

The offeror shall bare all costs associated with the preparation of the response.

17. All vendors will receive EQUAL CONSIDERATION in the bidding procedures

18. Bids will be awarded to the BIDDER who MEETS SPECIFICATIONS, complies with all

INSTRUCTIONS AND CONDITIONS, and demonstrates product/service delivery superiority via demonstrations and test runs if required.

19. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information needed by the offeror is included herein. If an offeror finds that the proposal cannot be completed without additional information, if there are any questions for this bid, please direct those to: currieasutton@epicing.org. All replies to the questions shall be in writing. All questions and written replies will be distributed to all offerors and will be regarded as a part hereof.

20. Proposals, amendments thereto or withdrawal requests must be received by the time advertised for proposal opening to be timely filed. It is the vendor's sole responsibility to ensure that these documents are received by the person (or office) at the time indicated in the solicitation document.

21. Ambiguous Offers: Offers, which are uncertain as to terms, delivery, compliance to requirements and/or specifications, may be rejected or otherwise disregarded.

22. Prohibition of Gratuities: Whoever gives or offers to any public official or public employee any compensation including a promise of future employment to influence his action, vote, opinion or judgment as a public official or public employee or such public official solicits or accepts such compensation to influence his action, vote, opinion or judgment shall be subject to the punishment as provided by Georgia law. The provision of this section shall not apply to political contributions unless such contributions are conditioned upon the performance of specific actions of the person accepting such contribution nor shall they prohibit a parent, grandparent or relative for making a gift to child, grandchild or other close relatives for love and affection except as hereinafter provided."

23. Offeror's Qualifications: Offers shall be considered only from offerors who are regularly established in the business called for, and who in the judgment of the district, are financially responsible and able to show evidence of their reliability, ability, experience, and have personnel directly employed or supervised in the manner called for under this contact. The district may make such investigation as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the offeror to perform the work, and the offeror shall furnish to the district all such information and data needed for this request, including a detailed list of the equipment which the offeror proposes to use; and a detailed description of the method proposed for service completion/installation. The district reserves the right to reject any offer if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of such offers demonstrates that the offeror is not properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to complete the work contemplated therein. Conditional offers will not be accepted.

24. Explanation to Prospective Offerors: Any prospective Offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing soon enough to allow a reply to reach all prospective Offerors before the submission of their offers. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of the contract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective Offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective Offerors as an amendment of the solicitation, if that information is necessary in submitting offers or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective Offeror.

25. Offeror's Responsibility: Each offeror shall fully acquaint himself with conditions relating to the scope, and restrictions attending the execution of the work under the conditions of this proposal.

26. Competition: This solicitation is intended to promote competition. If the language, specifications, terms and conditions, or any combination thereof restricts or limits the requirements in this solicitation to a single source, it shall be the responsibility of the interested vendor to notify the district in writing.

The solicitation may or may not change, but a review of such notification will be made prior to award.

27. Waiver: The owner reserves the right to waive any provisions of this solicitation.

28. Georgia Law Clause: Upon award of a contract under this solicitation, the person, partnership, association, or corporation to whom the award is made, must comply with the laws of the state of

Georgia, which require such person or entity to be authorized and/or licensed to do business in this state, by submission of this signed offer, the Offeror agrees to subject itself to the jurisdiction and process of the courts of the state of Georgia, as to all matters and disputes arising or to arise under the contract and the performance thereof, including any questions as to the liability of taxes, licenses, or fees levied by the State/County.

29. Accidents: The vendors shall hold the owner harmless from any and all damages and claims that may arise by reason of any negligence on the part of the vendor, his agents, or employees in the performance of this contract, and in case of any action brought therefore against the owner of any of its agents or employees, the vendor shall assume full responsibility for the defense therefore, and upon his failure to do so on the proper notice, the owner reserves the right to defend such motion change all cost thereof to the vendor. The vendor shall take all precautions necessary to protect the public against injury.

30. Affirmative Action: The successful Offeror shall take affirmative action in complying with all Federal, State and County requirements concerning fair employment, employment of the handicapped and concerning the treatment of all employees, without regards of discrimination by reasons of race, color, sex, religion, and or national origin.

31. Force Majeure: Neither the District nor the successful offeror shall be considered to be in default of this Agreement if delays in or failure of performance shall be due to Uncontrollable Forces, the effect of which, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, the non-performing party could not avoid. The term

"Uncontrollable Forces" shall mean any event which results in the prevention or delay of performance by a party of its obligations under this Agreement and which is beyond the reasonable control of the non-performing party. It includes, but is not limited to fire, flood, earthquakes, storms, lightning, epidemic, war, riot, civil disturbance, sabotage, and governmental actions. Neither party shall, however, be excused from performance if nonperformance is due to forces which are preventable, removable, or remediable and which the non-performing party could have, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, prevented, removed, or remedied with reasonable dispatch. The non-performing party shall, within a reasonable time of being prevented or delayed from performance by an uncontrollable force, give written notice to the other party describing the circumstances and uncontrollable forces preventing continued performance of the obligations of this Agreement. If a force majeure event extends for a period in excess of 30 days in the aggregate, either Party may immediately terminate this Agreement upon written notice.

32. Non- Appropriations: Any contract entered into by the owner resulting from this solicitation shall be subject to cancellation without damages of further obligation when funds are not appropriated of otherwise made available to support continuation of performance on a subsequent fiscal period or appropriated year.

33. Assignment: No contract may be assigned, sublet or transferred without written approval of the

Director of Technology.

34. Proposal Evaluation: Proposals received on-time will be evaluated based on the E-Rate criteria as outlined below. The following factors will be used in evaluating bid responses per IA services and

WAN services separately; price is weighted higher than any other single factor. price is weighted higher than any other single factor. The minimum speed configuration of each facility will be used to evaluate the bids provided; however, optional speeds and costs should be provided as part of contract options to permit growth during the terms of the contract. At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussion with any or all Vendors for the purpose of clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal.

Factor Weight

E-Rate eligible recurring and one-time circuit costs

(E-Rate eligible costs: the total cost of ownership for the eligible components of the proposed service. Total cost of ownership takes into account all one-time and recurring costs. Note that E-Rate eligible costs refers to the pre-discount cost of the solution, not the post-discount portion of costs that are the responsibility of the

Applicant. This criterion must be the highest weighted per E-Rate program rules.)

Other Cost Factors (including price of ineligible goods and services, price of changing providers, price for breaking contract, contract terms and conditions, etc.)

Overall suitability of the proposal for current and future needs of the Laconia School

District

Strong and unequivocal evidence that proposing organization’s human, organizational, technical, and professional resources (including Education and E-Rate expertise) and abilities can support the proposed project, which will meet the full scope of the requirements specified in the RFP in a timely manner

Evidence of prior successful experience is detailed and related to the proposed services; References provide assurance that vendor can deliver the services and/or required products

Environmental Objectives1 5

Vendor Agrees to SPI Billing2 5

Conformance of proposal to instruction for format and contents of proposal 5

Total 100

35. Arbitration: Under no circumstances and with no exception will the Liberty County School System act as arbitrator between the Offeror and any sub-contractor.

36. Change Orders: No oral statement of any person shall modify or otherwise change, or affect the terms, conditions or specifications stated in the resulting contract. All change orders to the contract will be made in writing by the Appointed Contracting Officer.

37. Special Notation: The Purchasing Department is acting under that authority given to it in the District

Procurement Policy to procure contracts. The resulting contract is between the District and the successful offeror. The Purchasing Department bears no liability for any damages that any party may incur in the execution or enforcement of the contract.

38. Award: Liberty County School System reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to make an award in the best interest of the District.

39. ALL BIDS MUST BE SIGNED. (See Bid Submission Form). Unsigned bids will not be considered.

40. SPIN NUMBER. Please include SERVICE PROVIDER INFORMATION NUMBER (SPIN) in section 7 - Bid Submission Form, for E-Rate purposes. IF YOUR PROPOSAL DOES NOT

INCLUDE A SPIN NUMBER, YOUR RESPONSE MAY BE DISQUALIFIED. Please confirm if you have recently applied for a SPIN number.

1 See last page for a complete listing of Environmental Objectives.

2 See page 25 for confirmation of SPI Billing.

41. Each response must address the vendor’s understanding and capabilities to provide Wide Area Network services for all schools. Examples of vendor’s successful implementation of these services are required to demonstrate capability. Examples must address service, scope, and reliability.

42. Please note: The bidder does not need to respond to all the requested products and services to be considered. The bidder can respond to any, some, or all of the service/price requests.

43. Notice for Taxes, Travel and Living Expenses:

All prices/rates quoted must be inclusive of all taxes (local, state, and federal).

Please provide a complete proposal, avoiding any hidden items, and include any estimates for labor, equipment delivery, licenses, as well as cost-reimbursable items such as travel and out-of-pocket expenses.

44. References: Responders must provide a minimum of three (3) current references of similar services/solutions they have provided, including contact information. See section VIII.

45. Responders should be aware of the following reasons for bid response disqualification.

• Liberty County School System may reject an erroneous bid after the bid opening if all, some, or one of the following conditions exist: (1) an error was made; (2) the error materially affected the bid; (3) rejection of the bid would not cause a hardship on the district, other than losing an opportunity to receive commodities at a reduced cost; and (4) enforcement of the part of the bid in error would be unconscionable. If a bid is rejected, documented evidence shall be maintained that all of the conditions set forth in this subdivision exist;

• Vendor is on Red Light status with the FCC or is delinquent on a debt to a state or federal government agency or entity;

• Vendor is not authorized to do business in Georgia;

• Vendor has not been in business for at least 5 years performing the services or furnishing the equipment required in this RFP;

• Vendor does not have an E-Rate SPIN number;

• Vendor cannot provide all the services listed in the RFP unless otherwise noted in this solicitation that separate contracts may be awarded for subsets of equipment and/or services.

• Vendor has not signed the RFP documentation;

• Vendor has not sent the pricing spreadsheet in their response;

• Vendor does not agree to provide discounted billing to the District if requested;

• Vendor cannot certify that equipment placed in District and school locations do not post a national security risk, specifically the vendor must certify equipment placed at customer locations is not from the companies listed on the Customer Equipment

Certification Form below. (See FCC News Release:

https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist, “List of Equipment and Services

Covered By Section 2 of The Secure Networks Act.”, FCC, Last visited, 2025-01-

22.).

https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist

II. BUILDING LOCATIONS TO BE CONNECTED:

BUILDING LOCATIONS

Bradwell Institute

100 Pafford Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty Elementary School

600 Edgewater Drive

Midway, GA 31320

Button Gwinnett Elementary School

635 Taylor Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Lyman Hall Elementary School

1396 Shaw Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Frank Long Elementary School

920 Long Frasier Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

Midway Middle School

425 Edgewater Dr.

Midway, GA 31320

Horizons Learning Center

101 Deen Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

Snelson-Golden Middle School

465 Coates Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Joseph Martin Elementary School

1000 Joseph Martin Drive

Hinesville, GA 31313

Taylors Creek Elementary School

378 Airport Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Lewis Frasier Middle School

910 Long Frasier Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

Waldo Pafford Elementary School

2550 West 15th Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty College and Career Academy

245 Dorsey Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty County BOE Office

200 Bradwell Street

Hinesville, GA 31313

LCCS Performing Arts Center

2140 E Oglethorpe Hwy

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty County Maintenance and

Operations Facility

4185 E Oglethorpe Hwy

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty County High School

3216 East Oglethorpe Hwy.

Hinesville, GA 31313

Liberty County Transportation Facility

100 Techwood Drive

Hinesville, GA 31313

The District reserves the right, through the life of the contract, to remove buildings and services at no additional charges if the configurations of the entities change within the District in response to budgets, population shifts, enrollment changes, Board of Education decisions, and/or circumstances outside the District’s control.

III. DATES AND ACTIVITIES:

1. If there are any questions regarding this RFP please direct those to:

currieasutton@epicing.org.

Deadline for questions will be February 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm EST. No questions will be accepted after this time.

2. RELEVANT DATES:

Event Date

Release bid to Bidders January 29, 2025

Deadline for bid Questions February 13, 2025 12:00 pm EST

Deadline for Proposal Submission February 28, 2025, 2:00 pm EST

Dates of E-Rate Service

July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030

With two possible voluntary extensions of 12 months each

IV. BID SUBMISSION FORM3

COMPANY NAME

COMPANY ADDRESS

E-RATE SPIN NUMBER ____________________________________________________

RESPONSIBLE PERSON’S NAME AND AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*

I certify that this proposal is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm, or person submitting a proposal for the same services, materials, supplies, or equipment, and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. I agree to abide by all conditions of this proposal and certify that I am authorized to sign this proposal for the vendor.

NAME

SIGNATURE

DATE: ____________________________________

CONTACT TELEPHONE: ________________________

CONTACT EMAIL: ____________________________

*Signature certifies that the proposed solution and services meet all requirements outlined in the bid and that the vendor will comply with all specified requirements.

3 Please return this page with your company’s response.

V. CUSTOMER EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION FORM4

(COMPANY NAME)

CERTIFIES THAT EQUIPMENT PLACED IN DISTRICT AND SCHOOL LOCATIONS IS

NOT FROM THE FCC PUBLISHED LIST OF EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES COVERED

BY SECTION 2 OF THE SECURE NETWORKS ACT:

HTTPS://WWW.FCC.GOV/SUPPLYCHAIN/COVEREDLIST

RESPONSIBLE PERSON’S NAME AND AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE:

THE INCLUSION OF PRODUCERS OR PROVIDERS OF EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES IDENTIFIED ON THIS LIST SHOULD BE

READ TO INCLUDE THE SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES OF SUCH ENTITIES.

WHERE EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES ON THE LIST ARE IDENTIFIED BY CATEGORY, SUCH CATEGORY SHOULD BE

CONSTRUED TO INCLUDE ONLY EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES CAPABLE OF THE FUNCTIONS OUTLINED IN SECTIONS

2(B)(2)(A), (B), OR (C) OF THE SECURE AND TRUSTED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS ACT OF 2019, 47 U.S.C. §

1601(B)(2)(A)-(C).

4 Please return this page with your company’s response.

https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist

VI. SERVICE DESCRIPTION

Liberty County School System is soliciting bids from qualified service providers for Internet Access and

Wide Area Network connections for the School District buildings listed above in Section II. The core/hub of the District network resides within the Liberty County Board of Education building.

OPTION 1 - INTERNET ACCESS PROPOSALS:

➢ Liberty County School System is requesting proposals for delivery of fully managed, dedicated, symmetrical bandwidth of Internet Access bundled with transport to the District entities. The demarcation of the District Internet Access network resides within the Liberty County Board of

Education Office, 200 Bradwell Street, Hinesville, GA 31313. Please see the pricing sheet for

Internet Access options requested. The minimum requested service is 9Gbps Internet Access.

The District is open to a preference of a vendor providing IA services so that there is a “fail safe” of connectivity in case of an issue with the infrastructure, The District would prefer to have connectivity within the backbone being provided that allows for a design to include some bandwidth amount to be maintained to the District in case of electrical or physical infrastructure failure.

The District is not requesting redundancy of service, but rather a design within the services requested that allows for some ability of the provider to maintain services, even if that is not at full capacity, in the case of electrical or physical infrastructure failure.

The District is requesting that the system's design prevents or mitigates unsafe consequences of the system's failure beyond the walls of the District’s infrastructure (i.e. port failure, SFP module failure, or switch failure).

The solution must be scalable to 10Gpbs. Price quotes are requested for 60 months with two 12-month renewals for terms of service. No increased pricing will be allowed during the term of the quoted special construction, NRC, and MRC rate in each pricing cell of the matrix. Costs added to the quote after the respondent has submitted their bid are solely the responsibility of the respondent and not the District.

If an increase in bandwidth is requested by the District during the contract period, the term length does not reset or renew. As bandwidth needs are steadily rising, respondents are requested to bid higher tiers of bandwidth to demonstrate their future scalability.

Additional Requirements of the Awarded Provider:

Liberty County School System requires, within the first month of service, that the awarded provider furnish the following information:

• All billing account numbers and the corresponding circuit numbers;

• Labeling of all vendor owned equipment at the customer site;

• Labeling of all vendor ports for easy identification.

Failure to provide this information and labeling will result in non-payment of invoices and denial of access to any District site by the vendor, due to non-compliance.

OPTION 2 - WIDE AREA NETWORK PROPOSALS:

Liberty County School System must have dedicated, symmetrical transport bandwidth at a minimum of

10Gbps with Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees between the designated endpoints for the School

District buildings listed above in section II. The core/hub of the District network resides within the Liberty

County Board of Education Office, 200 Bradwell Street, Hinesville, GA 31313. Price quotes are requested for 60 months with two (2) one-year extensions for terms of service.

Important requirements for this WAN connectivity at the district are as follows:

• Leased-lit fiber service is preferred

• Service provided must be Layer 2 ELAN (Any to Any) between all locations

• Symmetric Bandwidth must be proposed with the preferred bandwidth of 10 Gbps

The solution must be scalable. Price quotes are requested for 60 months with two 12-month renewals for terms of service. No increased pricing will be allowed during the term of the quoted special construction, NRC, and MRC rate in each pricing cell of the matrix.

If an increase in bandwidth is requested during the contract period the contract does not renew. As bandwidth needs are steadily rising, respondents are free to bid higher tiers of bandwidth as requested to demonstrate their future scalability.

Liberty County School System will evaluate fiber-based network infrastructure proposals for the Wide Area

Network solution. The District will evaluate long term contract options for leased lit fiber solutions, as defined by the FCC Second E-Rate Modernization Order.

The option requested is a fully managed, leased lit fiber solution. One-time special construction should be bid separately from the monthly recurring cost for the fully managed leased service as indicated in the table in “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP.

The proposed lease is to include any and all subsequent charges, including but not limited to, costs from utility companies for use of poles, licenses and permits to perform work, and other expenses, which may be incurred.

All costs must be provided in an itemized format. A pricing spreadsheet provided with this RFP must be completed. Bidders will be responsible for accurately providing all costs.

In reference to LEASED LIT FIBER WAN proposals, Switching Services are desired to provide routing and limiting protocol transmission between school district buildings where needed. SLD regulations require that the telecommunications provider must own this hardware; all on-site telecommunications (Priority 1) equipment shall be owned and maintained by the carrier.

The District will consider traditional network designs (such as hub and spoke) or alternative proposals that, in accordance with E-Rate guidance, maximize cost effectiveness. Respondents should clearly illustrate proposed network design and construction routes. The District is not advocating or mandating any preconceived network design or construction route and leaves this decision up to the vendor to present their best solution while recognizing the cited termination locations.

In order to assess the vendor’s ability to provide a fiber based Wide Area Network necessary to meet District needs, the response to this bid must address the “development process”. Describe in detail how your fiber based Wide Area Network solution actually provides the services described. This description should include, but not be limited to:

1. Transport alternatives considered and explanation of solution(s) selected

2. Anticipated time requirements to obtain permits, certifications, etc.

3. Anticipated time to install services solution.

4. Use of subcontractors for cable and electronics installation, etc.

5. A project management and implementation plan that includes a timeline outlining the completion of the network for each building.

• Any permits and inspections required for the proper installation of the specified project shall be furnished and coordinated by the bidder/Offeror at your sole expense.

• All network cutover work must be performed on-site after normal school hours or on weekends to avoid disruption to students and staff. All work areas and materials must be secured and a safe environment maintained for students and staff.

• Service activation must be transparent and any down time required to activate the system and services must be approved by District personnel.

• System and services must be installed, tested, and fully operational to all specified sites at least 48 hours prior to 7:00 am, July 1, 2025. Unless otherwise negotiated with the District, the District reserves the right to terminate the contract and award services to the next qualified vendor if the system and services are not available at the time and date specified above.

• The completed installation must be inspected and approved in accordance with all state and local codes and requirements.

• All Offerors shall carry Worker’s Compensation Insurance, in addition to Public Liability

Insurance. Verification of this insurance must accompany the vendor’s proposal.

• The Offeror shall remove from the premises any resultant debris and return the surrounding areas to previous condition.

All pricing must be submitted using the “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is included as a separate

Excel spreadsheet with this RFP.

Qualified Vendors should include in the following in their proposals:

• Any Special Construction Costs5 (consisting construction of network facilities, design and engineering and project management) if necessary.

• The fiber network infrastructure.

• The maintenance cost of the fiber infrastructure (if not included in the monthly fee).

o Applicant must have dedicated, symmetrical transport bandwidth.

o The solution must be scalable for future growth.

o Contract options are requested for 60-months with two 12-month extensions terms of service.

o Each respondent is required to complete the attached pricing sheet with this RFP.

5 See Section IX: SECA Cost Allocation Scenarios for Special Construction Costs.

▪ Special construction, monthly recurring cost, and any additional non-recurring costs are required to be broken out and listed separately.

▪ Respondents are free to propose alternate pricing terms provided they have also included pricing in the requested format.

▪ No increased pricing will be allowed during the term of the quoted special construction, NRC, and MRC rate in each pricing cell of the matrix.

o All costs required to deliver the proposed solution must be included in the bid. By submitting a bid, the respondent certifies that it has engineered a full solution including all monthly recurring charges, all installation charges and all special construction costs. Costs added to the quote after the respondent has submitted their bid are solely the responsibility of the respondent and not the applicant.

o If a bandwidth upgrade is requested mid-contract the term length does not reset or renew.

For example, if an upgrade occurs in month 20 of a 36-month contract, then 16 months of service must remain on the contract at the new bandwidth before a contract renewal is available.

o All solutions must adhere to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) terms in Section VI.

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION:

In E-Rate terminology, special construction refers to the upfront, non-recurring costs associated with the installation of new fiber to or between eligible entities. If no new fiber is being installed, then any installation costs are considered standard non-recurring costs (NRC). Applicants may seek funding for special construction charges in connection with leased lit fiber, leased dark fiber, and self-provisioning.

Special construction charges eligible for Category One support consist of three components:

1. construction of network facilities

2. design and engineering

3. project management

Note: The term “special construction” does not include network equipment necessary to light fiber, nor the services necessary to maintain the fiber. Charges for network equipment and fiber maintenance are eligible for Category One support as separate services, but not as special construction.

All options can include special construction or one-time E-Rate eligible non-recurring costs as well as E-

Rate eligible recurring circuit costs.

To the extent that the winning service provider installs additional strands of fiber for future business ventures, the winning service provider assumes full responsibility to ensure those incremental costs are allocated out of the special construction charges to the district in accordance with FCC rules and orders. If, after the issuance of the FCDL, USAC or the FCC determines that the winning service provider did not cost allocate those charges associated with the additional strands, Liberty County School System will not be responsible for reimbursing the winning vendor and the winning vendor will assume all responsibilities deemed ineligible by USAC. For examples of cost allocation, please see document in Section IX as prepared by the State E-Rate Coordinators’ Alliance (SECA).

Special Construction6 Information for Form 471 and PIA Review:

All E-Rate applications including special construction are subject to detailed questioning during PIA review where the cost of proposed special construction will be reviewed based on the cost of historical fiber builds in the region. Additionally, certain information on necessary special construction is needed to accurately fill out the Form 471. Respondents are required to fill out the table in “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP. Additionally, respondents are encouraged (but not required) to submit the additional information in the “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP that will likely be requested during

PIA review. If respondents do not submit this additional information with their bid, and their solution is chosen, they must be prepared to promptly provide that information and any additional information not described in this RFP when requested. Please note that vendors may assist applicants with preparing funding requests or responding to PIA questions and may speak directly with PIA reviewers.

Special Construction Payment Plan Option:

Depending on the overall cost of the solution, Liberty County School System requests that the respondents consider allowing the District to pay the non-discount share of special construction costs (portion of costs that are the responsibility of the applicant) to be paid in equal annual installments over three years from

Funding Year 2025 to Funding Year 2027 inclusive. Responses must include agreement or non-agreement of this request. Respondents are required to fill out the table in “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP indicating their wiliness to consider the payment plan option.

Additional Requirements of the Awarded Provider:

Liberty County School System requires, within the first month of service, that the awarded provider furnish the following information:

• All billing account numbers and the corresponding circuit numbers;

• Labeling of all vendor owned equipment at the customer site;

• Labeling of all vendor ports for easy identification.

Failure to provide this information and labeling will result in non-payment of invoices and denial of access to any District site by the vendor, due to non-compliance.

6 See Section IX: SECA Cost Allocation Scenarios for Special Construction Costs.

VII. AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES:

In the case of INTERNET ACCESS, the vendor should be prepared to guarantee the availability of all services at 99.99% (or best available) as calculated by the following formula:

1. Proposed services must me the following specifications:

a. The provider will make all reasonable efforts to ensure 99.99% network availability of each circuit.

b. .25% frame/packet loss commitment

c. 25ms round trip network latency commitment on transport between Applicant site and

PoP only. This does not apply to traffic outside of the PoP.

d. 10ms network jitter commitment

e. There is no right of provider to limit or throttle the capacity of the circuit at any time for any reason

f. Vendor stated commitment is to respond to any outage within two (2) hours and a four (4) hour restoration of service.

2. Network operations center: Solution will provide customer support functions including problem tracking, resolution and escalation support management on a 24x7x365 basis. Customer has the right and is encouraged to call concerning any problems that may arise relative to its connection with vendor provided services.

3. Trouble reporting and response: Upon interruption, degradation or loss of service, Customer may contact Vendor by defined method with a response based on trouble level. Upon contact from the

Customer, the Vendor support team will initiate an immediate response to resolve any Customer issue. Customer will receive rapid feedback on trouble resolution, including potential resolution time.

4. Escalation: In the event that service has not been restored in a timely manner, or the Customer does not feel that adequate attention has been allocated, the Customer can escalate the trouble resolution by request. A list of escalation contacts will be provided when implementation schedule is completed.

5. Resolution: The Customer will be notified immediately once the problem is resolved and will be asked for verbal closure of the incident.

6. Trouble reporting, escalation and resolution: A detailed trouble reporting, escalation and resolution plan will be provided to the district.

7. Measurement: Time starts from the time the Customer contacts vendor and identifies the problem.

Credits for outages of a certain duration or longer will be identified. Credits for outages should be the following:

Length of Service Outage

Credit is the following percentage of monthly recurring cost

Less than 2 hours No Credit

Greater than two (2) hours and less than four (4) hours 5%

Greater than four (4) hours and less than eight (8) hours 10%

Greater than eight (8) hours and less than twelve (12) hours 15%

Greater than twelve (12) hours and less than sixteen (16) hours 20%

Greater than sixteen (16) hours and less than twenty-four (24) hours 35%

Greater than twenty-four (24) hours 50%

8. Reports: Upon request, an incident report will be made available to the Customer within five (5) working days of resolution of the trouble.

9. Link performance per segment: The service will maintain the proposed link performance throughout the term of the contract.

10. Historical uptime: Provide aggregate uptime statistics for your proposed service in the geographic area encompassing Applicant.

Liberty County School System reserve the right to cancel the contract with the vendor for non-performance at any time during the contract period. Nonperformance includes but is not limited to failure to supply good quality service, failure to provide services for the full term of the contract, installation performance, poor billing and customer service services, and failure to maintain status as an authorized representative of services.

In the case of WAN CONNECTIVITY, the vendor should be prepared to guarantee the availability of all services at 99.99% (or best available) as calculated by the following formula:

1. Proposed services must me the following specifications:

a. The provider will make all reasonable efforts to ensure 99.99% network availability of each circuit.

b. .25% frame/packet loss commitment

c. 25ms round trip network latency commitment

d. 10ms network jitter commitment

e. There is no right of provider to limit or throttle the capacity of the circuit at any time for any reason

f. Vendor stated commitment is to respond to any outage within two (2) hours and a four (4) hour restoration of service.

2. Network operations center: Solution will provide customer support functions including problem tracking, resolution and escalation support management on a 24x7x365 basis. Customer has the right and is encouraged to call concerning any problems that may arise relative to its connection with vendor provided services.

3. Trouble reporting and response: Upon interruption, degradation or loss of service, Customer may contact Vendor by defined method with a response based on trouble level. Upon contact from the

Customer, the Vendor support team will initiate an immediate response to resolve any Customer issue. Customer will receive rapid feedback on trouble resolution, including potential resolution time.

4. Escalation: In the event that service has not been restored in a timely manner, or the Customer does not feel that adequate attention has been allocated, the Customer can escalate the trouble resolution by request. A list of escalation contacts will be provided when implementation schedule is completed.

5. Resolution: The Customer will be notified immediately once the problem is resolved and will be asked for verbal closure of the incident.

6. Trouble reporting, escalation and resolution: A detailed trouble reporting, escalation and resolution plan will be provided to the district.

7. Measurement: Time starts from the time the Customer contacts vendor and identifies the problem.

Credits for outages should be the following:

Length of Service Outage

Credit is the following percentage of monthly recurring cost

Less than 2 hours No Credit

Greater than two (2) hours and less than four (4) hours 5%

Greater than four (4) hours and less than eight (8) hours 10%

Greater than eight (8) hours and less than twelve (12) hours 15%

Greater than twelve (12) hours and less than sixteen (16) hours 20%

Greater than sixteen (16) hours and less than twenty-four (24) hours 35%

Greater than twenty-four (24) hours 50%

8. Reports: Upon request, an incident report will be made available to the Customer within five (5) working days of resolution of the trouble.

9. Link performance per segment: The service will maintain the proposed link performance throughout the term of the contract.

10. Historical uptime: Provide aggregate uptime statistics for your proposed service in the geographic area encompassing the School District.

Liberty County School System reserve the right to cancel the contract with the vendor for non-performance at any time during the contract period. Nonperformance includes but is not limited to failure to supply good quality service, failure to provide services for the full term of the contract, installation performance, poor billing and customer service services, and failure to maintain status as an authorized representative of services.

VIII. E-RATE ELIGIBLE PRICING:

Internet Access Proposal: Provide proposal for delivery of Internet Access to the district for the options described in the Pricing Spreadsheet included with this RFP.

All pricing must be submitted in a digital format using the “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is included as a separate Excel spreadsheet with this RFP.

WAN: Provide proposals for a with associated Ethernet connectors to the district for the options described in the Pricing Spreadsheet included with this RFP.

All pricing must be submitted using the “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is included as a separate

Excel spreadsheet with this RFP.

Special Construction7 Information for Form 471 and PIA Review:

All E-Rate applications including special construction are subject to detailed questioning during PIA review where the cost of proposed special construction will be reviewed based on the cost of historical builds in the region. Additionally, certain information on necessary special construction is needed to accurately fill out the Form 471. Respondents are required to fill out the table in “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP. Additionally, respondents are encouraged (but not required) to submit the additional information in the “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP that will likely be requested during

PIA review. If respondents do not submit this additional information with their bid, and their solution is chosen, they must be prepared to promptly provide that information and any additional information not described in this RFP when requested. Please note that vendors may assist applicants with preparing funding requests or responding to PIA questions and may speak directly with PIA reviewers.

Special Construction Payment Plan Option:

Depending on the overall cost of the solution, Liberty County School System requests that the respondents consider allowing the District to pay the non-discount share of special construction costs (portion of costs that are the responsibility of the applicant) to be paid in equal annual installments over three years from

Funding Year 2025 to Funding Year 2027 inclusive. Responses must include agreement or non-agreement of this request. Respondents are required to fill out the table in “Pricing Spreadsheet” that is provided with this RFP indicating their wiliness to consider the payment plan option.

7 See Section IX: SECA Cost Allocation Scenarios for Special Construction Costs.

IX. INVOICING

The Service Provider agrees to bill and receive a portion of the payment for the provisions of goods and services described herein directly from USAC via…