(570) 544-9291, extension 1246 Fax: (570) 544-6916 Email: To receive an official response on questions related to this RFP, please send all questions in writing to the Issuing Officer (email preferred). Answers to questions will be shared so that all prospective bidders have access to the same information. 1.4 Timeline for the Procurement Process This RFP includes a two-step submission process to ensure accurate evaluation of each provider’s best and proposal. To be considered, any proposal must be received by the Issuing Officer by 3:00 PM EDST on October 9, 2015 in accordance with the instructions in Section 5 (Format of Response). Any proposal received after the deadline may be discarded without being opened or evaluated, at the discretion of the buyers. From the responses, using the evaluation criteria in Section 6 (Criteria for Selection), the Consortium will select finalists to make oral presentations and provide written clarifications to their initial submissions. Then, these “best and final” proposals from among the finalists will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria in Section 6 (Criteria for Selection) leading to contract award. Providers must submit a complete initial response on time in order to be considered as a finalist. The timeline is as follows: 4 September 2015 RFP available to interested respondents. 9 October 2015 RFP proposals due from Service Providers by 3:00 PM EDST. (See Section 5 for more submission instructions.) 22 October 2015 Service Provider oral presentations. 2 November 2015 Best and final proposals due. 14 December 2015* RFP anticipated date. 1 February 2016* Last date for contract approvals. 1 July 2016 Target services delivery start-date. *The dates with an asterisk are target dates and may change. In no case will final contract approval and execution of the contract by both the Service Provider and the buyers be after the deadline for filing a completed E-Rate Form 471. The Issuing Office reserves the right to modify this schedule in its entirety. 1.5 Scope of Document The scope of services sought in this RFP includes regional WAN telecommunications services and building-to-building telecommunications transport service. Service Providers have maximum flexibility to offer multiple solutions This RFP contains instructions governing the responses to be submitted by the Service Providers. This includes specifying the format in responses are to be submitted, the materials to be included therein and other requirements which are requested for evaluation by the buyers.
Evaluation Criteria Possible Evaluators’ Score Comments 1 Compliance with General Provisions Clarity and completeness of response 2.5 2/3 Requirements WAN Transport Service Offerings Network Diagrams Network Operations 30 Project Plan and Timeline Additional Planning and Launch Information 10 Billing 10 Services Best and Final Pricing Flexibility in Pricing Summary Information priced in Attachment 1 37.5 2.5 2.5 Performance SLA Delivery SLA 5 Total 100 The scoring matrix in this section will be used to evaluate each complete Base Transport Proposal (Base) and Enhanced Base Transport Proposal (Enhanced Base) submitted against a predetermined set of criteria. Any complete Provider’s Choice Alternate Base Proposal (Alternate Base) submitted will be evaluated at the discretion of the Buyers but there will be no requirement to score them. In accordance with E-Rate regulations, price will be the most heavily-weighted factor. APPENDIX A: SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION The following information is also included as an Excel spreadsheet: