FirstNet CO Alternate Plan RFP

The State of Colorado's Governor's Office of Information Technology issued RFP 2017000243 for FirstNet Colorado Alternative Plan to procure comprehensive design, construction, deployment, and operational services for a statewide Colorado Radio Access Network (CO-RAN) utilizing 20 MHz of Band 14 (700 MHz) spectrum as an alternative to the federal FirstNet National Public Safety Broadband Network. The procurement, posted April 12, 2017, and applicable to Denver County and Denver City jurisdictions, seeks qualified network service providers, infrastructure providers, equipment manufacturers, system integrators, and consortia capable of delivering an LTE-based public safety broadband network achieving approximately 97.6% geographic coverage across Colorado's 64 counties and tribal territories. The RFP is structured in two phases, with Phase I proposals due May 8, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. MDT requiring offerors to demonstrate basic managerial, technical, and financial capabilities with conceptual approaches; Phase II, initiated only if Colorado opts out of the FirstNet state plan, requires detailed comprehensive proposals including specific coverage maps, deployment schedules, financial models, and implementation plans. Offerors may respond to Project A (Network Construction) or Project B (Network Operations and Monetization) separately or both in a single response, with the initial contract term spanning ten years with three optional five-year extensions for a potential total of twenty-five years. The written inquiry deadline was April 3, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. MDT, with a pre-proposal conference held April 11, 2017. Evaluation criteria include offerors' ability to assume majority implementation risk, maximize federal NTIA State Alternative Plan Program construction grants, leverage existing public and private assets including state-owned fiber and tower infrastructure, develop sustainable monetization strategies for excess capacity, comply with FCC and NTIA requirements including 3GPP Release 13 standards and Mission Critical Push-to-Talk capabilities, and achieve 3dB rise above thermal noise uplink performance with specific downlink data rates of 640 kbps and uplink of 64 kbps for in-building handheld communications.

The RFP does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting organization types from responding, nor are disadvantaged enterprise preferences explicitly detailed in the procurement documents. No incumbent contractors are identified, as this represents a new procurement contingent upon Colorado's decision to opt out of FirstNet's state plan within ninety days of its announcement, subject to Governor approval, FCC authorization, NTIA approval of the alternative plan application, and successful negotiation of a Spectrum Capacity Lease Agreement with FirstNet. The selected offeror must integrate existing infrastructure including the Adams County Communications Center (ADCOM) 911 LTE network and state-owned assets such as fiber optics, tower infrastructure, rights-of-way, and publicly owned facilities. Offerors are encouraged to leverage supplemental spectrum bands including CBRS, 5 GHz unlicensed bands (LTE-U, LTE LAA), and 4.9 GHz public safety spectrum, and to address integration opportunities with complementary state initiatives including Next Generation 911 services, CDOT's Intelligent Transportation System (RoadX), rural broadband expansion, telehealth, and public transit infrastructure. Phase I proposals shall not include specific construction costs; detailed financial proposals will be required only from Phase II-qualified offerors and must include capital expenditures, operational and maintenance costs, wholesale and retail pricing schedules, technology refresh mechanisms, and monetization strategies. The selected offeror will assume majority financial risk for network financing, operations, maintenance, and monetization; no specific funding amounts or sources are guaranteed at RFP issuance, though Colorado anticipates potential federal grant funding from NTIA's State Alternative Plan Program and the ability to leverage existing assets. Performance bonds likely exceeding $100 million will be required, and Colorado anticipates awarding one or more contracts for this statewide telecommunications infrastructure project.