GenNET Telephone Service

The Genesee Intermediate School District Board of Education is issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for comprehensive telephone services to support GenNET, a consortium of 21 school districts in Genesee County, Michigan. The procurement seeks bids for telecommunications services including Primary Rate Interface (PRI) circuits, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks, cloud-hosted VoIP services, long distance calling (Michigan, nationwide, and international), Enhanced 911 services with Public Safety Answering Point Automatic Location Identification capability, directory listings, and related telecommunications infrastructure. The scope encompasses service delivery to more than 200 buildings across Genesee County connected by GenNET's private fiber optic network comprising over 450 miles of fiber, with the network headend located at the Genesee Intermediate School District offices at 2413 West Maple Avenue, Flint, Michigan 48507. Vendors must submit sealed bids on the required Genesee Intermediate School District Bid Form (one original and two copies plus one electronic copy) by December 13, 2019, at 2:00 P.M., with bid opening at the same time and date at the Erwin L. Davis Education Center. Bid prices must remain valid for ninety days from the date of bid opening, with all contract prices firm for the duration of the project. The District anticipates awarding contracts by January 14, 2020, at a regular meeting of the Genesee Intermediate School District Board of Education, with purchase orders to be issued shortly thereafter. Written vendor questions were accepted up to 72 hours prior to bid opening, with an addendum addressing vendor inquiries issued prior to the deadline.

There are no identified set-aside designations or restrictions limiting organizational types from responding to this procurement. Windstream is identified as the current service provider, maintaining equipment on-premise at the GenNET headend and potentially at individual district sites; bidders must honor any lower pricing available through existing contracts with the vendor. All bidders must submit a certified check or bid bond of $5,000.00 made payable to the Genesee Intermediate School District, and bids without this bond will be rejected. Required certifications include a Familial Relationship Disclosure Statement under Michigan Public Act 232 of 2004 disclosing any familial or business relationships between bidder personnel and District board members or officials, and a sworn, notarized Vendor Certification confirming compliance with Michigan's Iran Economic Sanctions Act. All personnel working on school district property must be fingerprinted with criminal background checks from State Police and FBI, and vendors must certify that all materials are asbestos-free and lead-free. Pricing must be provided for both three-year and five-year contract options, with the awarded vendor required to extend contract pricing to all public school districts in Genesee County and any new or existing county locations not specifically listed in the RFP during the contract period. The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to split the bid between one or more vendors if in its best interest, and to award to other than the lowest bidder if deemed in the District's best interest; however, specific budget ranges or award values are not disclosed in the RFP documents.