R. F. P. - Public Safety and Government Land Mobile Radio System Assessment and

The Town of East Hartford, Connecticut (Hartford County) has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) Bid No. 26-19 for professional consulting services to conduct a comprehensive technical and operational assessment of the municipality's land mobile radio (LMR) communications system. The procurement seeks a qualified, independent consultant or consulting team to analyze the town's existing 460 MHz conventional radio system serving approximately 51,000 residents and evaluate future communications needs for the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, and other town agencies. Key deliverables and objectives include analysis of existing system infrastructure, RF coverage evaluation against NFPA standards, operational needs assessment, technical alternatives analysis, cybersecurity risk evaluation, and system recommendations including options for maintenance or replacement. The scope encompasses a 90-day analysis phase followed by a 90-day recommendations phase for a total anticipated project timeline of 180 days. Minimum qualifications require five years of consulting experience, expertise in trunked and P25 systems, lifecycle costing experience, in-building survey capabilities, familiarity with NFPA 1221 and 1225 standards, and demonstrated multiagency coordination skills. Consultant selection will be based on weighted evaluation criteria: firm experience (25%), personnel qualifications (20%), technical approach (25%), past performance (10%), and cost (20%). The solicitation opened on March 19, 2026, with a mandatory pre-bid meeting scheduled for March 31, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the Public Safety Complex; questions must be submitted by April 13, 2026 with responses provided by April 16, 2026; and sealed proposals (five printed copies and one digital version) are due by 11:00 a.m. on April 21, 2026 at the Purchasing Division office.

The procurement is open to all qualified vendors with specific restrictions on consultant independence and potential conflicts of interest. Proposers cannot be manufacturers, distributors, resellers, or system integrators of LMR equipment and must disclose any business relationships with major vendors including Motorola Solutions, L3Harris, Kenwood, Tait, or EF Johnson within the past three years. The selected consultant is further prohibited from participating in any subsequent procurement for radio system equipment or services resulting from this assessment. The Town requires the awarded bidder to maintain professional errors and omissions insurance of $1,000,000 per claim and $1,000,000 annual aggregate, as well as commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, with the Town named as an additional insured. The existing infrastructure being assessed consists of a four-site satellite voting receiver system with a single transmit site and seven channels that has been operational since 2003. No specific contract award value or budget range has been disclosed in the solicitation documents at this stage of the procurement process, and the Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and conduct follow-up interviews before final selection.