RE-Bid Q3-CY24 Metro Ethernet Transfer Service (IFB)

The Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) for the State of Illinois is conducting a competitive sealed bid (Invitation for Bid) for Fiber-Based Point to Point Metro-Ethernet Transport Service across multiple counties including Jackson, Kendall, and LaSalle. The procurement seeks to establish wide area network (WAN) connectivity between state offices and Illinois Century Network (ICN) Point of Presence (POP) sites, with bandwidth requirements ranging from 20 MB to 1 GB. Specific service requirements include 99.98% network availability, synchronous bandwidth, and 24/7/365 technical support. Bidders must submit comprehensive electronic responses through the BidBuy system by December 3, 2024, with the contract anticipated to have an initial six-year term and an optional four-year renewal period. Evaluation will be conducted on a per-site basis, with awards made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for each location, and bidders must submit pricing for all line items at a specific site to be considered for that site's award.

The solicitation includes provisions encouraging participation from small businesses, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses. Vendors must complete mandatory disclosure forms, including the IPG Active Registered Vendor Disclosure and Vendor Disclosure document, which require detailed information about business operations, financial interests, and compliance certifications. While specific award values are not explicitly stated in the documentation, the procurement covers multiple state agency locations with varying bandwidth needs. The solicitation suggests potential integration with existing network infrastructure from current service providers like Stratus, Frontier, Clearwave, and Comcast. Vendors must be authorized to conduct business in Illinois and will be required to demonstrate technical capabilities to provide metro ethernet transport services across the specified geographic regions, with a focus on creating a robust and reliable wide area network infrastructure for state government operations.