Form 470 FY22 E-Rate

Rabun County School District in Georgia is requesting proposals for Category 2 switch replacement under the E-Rate program, with written questions due December 10, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST and bid submissions due January 11, 2022 by 3:00 p.m. EST. The project is contingent upon E-Rate Category 2 funding approval and School Board approval. Service providers must possess valid SPIN and FCC Registration Numbers, maintain Green Light Status, and comply with all E-Rate program requirements, including retention of documentation for ten years.

The scope covers replacement of Cisco network switches installed over five years ago across four schools, the District Office, and a Maintenance Facility. The project requires 122 Extreme Networks switches or equivalent units on a 1:1 replacement basis with no additional cabling. Equipment must include stackable network switches with POE+/UPOE ports, 10GB fiber uplink modules, redundant power supplies, cloud-based management capabilities, stack cables, power cables, SFP modules, antennas, connectors, and mounting hardware. All equipment must be new with manufacturer warranties. Vendors must provide E-Rate eligibility percentages for each component and annual software and technical support costs. The district prefers a July 1, 2022 start date, with contract commencement April 1, 2022 and termination September 30, 2023, with all equipment installation required by contract end. Installation cost proposals must be broken down by school location.

Evaluation is weighted 40 points for cost of E-Rate eligible goods and services, 25 points for technical specification compliance and system compatibility, 15 points for prior vendor and manufacturer experience, 10 points for bid completeness, and 10 points for local vendor preference. Pricing must remain firm through September 30, 2023. Progressive Communications was awarded the Putnam County Form 470 FY22 E-Rate project for internal connections and switch replacement. Questions are due by December 10, 2021, with an addendum containing Q&A responses posted by December 14, 2021.