Amherst County Broadband Authority Request for Proposals for

18 Pages·2009·0.21 MB·English

by  Jeffrey S. Gore

11-4-09

Amherst County Broadband Authority
Request for Proposals for Broadband Network

DATE OF THIS REQUEST: November 4, 2009
DESCRIPTION: Broadband network deployment, operation and maintenance
PROPOSAL DEADLINE: December 9, 2009 @ 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
SUBMISSION: One (1) original (clearly marked “ORIGINAL) and seven (7) copies of
proposal, and an unlocked digital copy (.pdf) in Adobe Acrobat. The digital copy is to be
provided on compact disk or USB flash drive. The original and all copies shall be submitted
in a sealed container to the address provided below. The face of the container shall be
clearly marked in the lower left corner as follows:
RFP#: 09-1
RFP FOR: Broadband Network
Proposals must be submitted to:
Amherst County Broadband Authority
c/o David R. Proffitt
Assistant County Administrator
Office of the County Administrator
P.O. Box 390
153 Washington Street
Amherst, Virginia 24521

Proposals must be submitted by the date and time stated above or they will
remain unopened. No allowance will be made for postmark or error in delivery to
incorrect address. It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure timely and
correct delivery of proposal by December 3, 2009 @ 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time.
NOTE: Overnight delivery services may not guarantee timely next day delivery.
Please check with the service you use.
For information relating to this RFP, please contact the Amherst County Broadband
Authority’s Agent:
R. Bryan David
Executive Director
Virginia's Region 2000 Economic Development Council
434.847.1447
[email protected]
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Acknowledgement of Obligation of Offeror

By submitting a proposal, the Offeror covenants and agrees that he/she has satisfied
him/herself, from a personal investigation of conditions to be met, that he/she fully
understands his/her obligation and that he/she will not make any claim for, or have right to
cancellation or relief from any resulting contract because of any misunderstanding or lack
of information.
Conditions herein have been carefully read and this proposal is submitted subject to all
requirements stated herein. The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees if this proposal is
accepted to furnish all services agreed upon in strict accordance with its content.

COMPANY - ______________________________________________________________________________

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: - _______________________________________________________

PRINT NAME: - _____________________________________________________________________

TITLE: - _____________________________________________________________________________

DATE: - __________________________________

PHONE: - ________________________________

FAX: - ____________________________________

EMAIL: - _________________________________

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I. Purpose of RFP:

The Amherst County Broadband Authority (“Authority”) seeks proposals from qualified
entities for the deployment, operation and maintenance of a broadband network that will
provide residents and businesses in unserved and underserved portions of Amherst County
(“County”) as well as certain governmental agencies with affordable, high speed data and
Internet services (“broadband”).1,2

II. Background:

Access to affordable broadband is important for fostering economic development, improving
educational opportunities, ensuring public safety, and enhancing the overall quality of life
of the citizens of the County. However, such access is extremely limited throughout the
majority of the County. Since the private sector alone has not been able to fulfill this
community need, and there is no indication that it will do so in the near future, the
Amherst County Board of Supervisors formed the Authority to facilitate the provision of
affordable broadband access to local businesses, local government, and the general public.
The Authority was formed on April 21, 2009, and it is a public body, politic and corporate,
and an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions to provide
for the public health and welfare in exercising its powers under the Virginia Wireless
Service Authorities Act (“Act”), § 12.2-5431.1 of the Code of Virginia, as amended. The
Authority is issuing this RFP in order to identify and contract with nongovernmental
entities from the private or nonprofit sectors that it can partner with in order to fulfill this
community need. The Authority and County have identified certain assets it owns that
could potentially be utilized by a broadband network. These assets may include
communications towers, water tanks, land, or property which may be made available to the
contractor. No representations are made for the purposes of this RFP as to the suitability
of such assets. In addition, the Authority will consider applying with a partner or partners
selected under this RFP for funds that will be made available through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”).

In order to facilitate this coverage, the Authority would like to identify potential private or
nonprofit entities that would be willing and able to partner with the Authority in the
application process for the Federal Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and/or the
Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP). These programs provide funding
to eligible entities which include public bodies and private entities, for broadband
infrastructure and other related expenses as appropriated under the ARRA. Federal funds
from these programs along with the required nonfederal match would be used to develop
and deploy a broadband network to serve unserved and underserved residents and
businesses. These grant programs are administered by the U.S. Departments of Commerce
and Agriculture.

1 While satellite service may be available in many portions of the County, it is both
relatively expensive and less reliable than other forms of broadband technology, including
fiber and certain wireless platforms. Therefore, satellite services are neither sought by this
RFP, nor deemed by the Authority to render any location “served” by broadband even if
available.
2“Affordable” broadband services means for purposes of this RFP subscriber fees, rates, or
charges which are comparable to subscriber fees, rates, or charges charged in the areas
currently served with terrestrial or wireless/RF based broadband in or adjacent to Amherst
County. “High Speed” means for the purposes of this RFP the minimum data transfer
speeds meeting the current definition of broadband service of the Federal Communications
Commission.
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III. Offeror’s Qualifications:

a. As may be applicable, registrations, licenses, permits, and the like as may be issued by
federal, state, or local governments to design, construct, operate, and maintain a
broadband network as contemplated by this RFP;

b. Thorough and successful experience conducting business as an Internet Service
Provider, utilizing broadband technologies such as fiber optic, cable, digital subscriber
line (DSL), and/or fixed and mobile (nomadic) wireless, or other broadband technologies
as may be presented responsive to this RFP, particularly in rural locations;

c. Thorough and extensive experience with broadband networks, either or both wired and
wireless, to include capital projects, equipment acquisition, operations, engineering,
system maintenance, marketing, accounts receivable and payable, financing, local, state
and federal permitting, programming, site planning, design and construction;

d. Familiarity with local, state, and federal standards, and regulations applicable to this
project and other similar projects;

e. Experience with the BIP and/or the BTOP, or other similar federal broadband network
development grant or loan programs; and,

f. Available resources, to include staff and financial resources, to perform the work
expeditiously within the established budget.

IV. Assistance to be Provided to the Offeror:

The Authority will provide, where applicable the following information:

a. The location by the latitude/longitude (“GPS”) coordinates or physical/street address of
assets the Authority is aware of at the time of issuance of this RFP and may be
available for use by the contractor in the project; but, the Offerors shall be responsible
for determining the applicability or completeness of such assets for utilization in any
proposed network, and shall realize that the existing list of such assets may or may not
allow for a complete build-out of network infrastructure;

b. A copy of the network engineering study: “Wireless High Speed Broadband Project
Survey (2008)”;

c. Upon request, payment of reproduction costs, and a reasonable time allowance for
production, a digital copy of E-911 maps depicting the location and addresses of
occupied structures in the County may be made available in a format to be determined
by the County’s contractor; and,

d. Such reasonable additional information as may be necessary to provide specific services.

e. Upon request of one (1) or more offerors, the Authority will schedule and convene a pre-
submission meeting open to all Offerors at a time and place to be determined.

V. Proposal Content in General:

Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise
description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be
placed on completeness and clarity of content. Proposals should include the following:

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a. A statement by the prospective contractor of his/her understanding of the work to be
performed with descriptions of the approach and illustrations of the procedures to be
employed.

b. The approximate timetable for completing network deployment, including a timetable
for specific phases of deployment, if applicable.

c. Such other information as may be requested herein.

VI. Proposal Format Requirements
To facilitate the analysis of responses to this RFP, Offerors shall prepare concise,
straightforward responses which address the following topic areas and questions. The
responses to these topic areas and questions are considered to be minimum requirements
and any additional supporting information may be included, as the Offeror deems
appropriate. However, attention should be made to accuracy, completeness, and clarity of
content. All parts, pages, figures, and tables should be numbered and labeled clearly. The
response should be organized as follows:

Section Title
1 Executive Summary
2 Business Model
3 Technical Approach
Coverage, Implementation, and
4
Acceptance Test Plan
Financial Plan to include as
appropriate, the application process
for the Federal Broadband Initiatives
5
Program (BIP) and/or the Broadband
Technologies Opportunities Program
(BTOP).
Offeror and Project Team
6
Qualifications And Experience

Instructions relative to each part of the response to this RFP are defined in the remainder
of this section.

Section 1. Executive Summary - This part of the response to the RFP should be limited
to a brief narrative not to exceed two (2) pages. The summary should contain as little
technical jargon as possible, and should be oriented toward nontechnical readers. In
addition to the Executive Summary, this section shall include the Certification page,
Insurance Checklist, Proprietary Information form if applicable, and any addenda,
acknowledgments, signed and filled out as required.

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Section 2. Business Model - The objectives of the project are outlined above. There are
many similar initiatives being undertaking by other local governments in the
Commonwealth of Virginia and throughout the nation; however, the business model for
vendor cost recovery tends to vary across these other initiatives. This project has been
developed with the expectation that the implementation and ongoing costs of the broadband
network will not be funded using County general revenue resources. It is not the intent of
the County to own or operate the broadband network. In this section, please provide a
narrative on the business model believed to provide the greatest long‐term success for this
type of project. This narrative should include responses to the questions/statements listed
below and any other pertinent material below:

• Given that an objective of the project is to provide broadband Internet access for
residents and businesses throughout the County, particularly in currently under or
unserved areas, please identify your strategy to accomplish this objective using a
“fee‐based” subscriber service;

• Describe the basis for the fee structure, what the anticipated fee structure would be for
the service including charges for installation, equipment, and monthly access, and for a
mobile (nomadic) wireless broadband network the anticipated fees to access the Internet
outside of the network’s coverage area;

• How does this type of arrangement fit with your current business model? Would your
proposed business model have the ability to serve the diverse service demands of the
different geographic areas in the County?;

• How do the Authority’s powers under the Act assist with designing, implementing,
operating, maintaining, and financing a “fee for service” broadband network in the
County? What are your expectations from the Authority on this issue?;

• Articulate how you would expect your business model to recoup the costs associated
with the roll‐out of the project and provide for its long‐term viability?;

• How do you anticipate the capital planning, contingency/reserves management, design,
and acquisition process to be implemented for the project? How will your firm contend
with unforeseen expenses?;

• Describe your current customer support system. How will your organization cope with
an increase in volume of new customers which may occur as a result of contract award
and broadband implementation?;

• Describe your current network management and support facilities. Describe how you
will support a County‐wide network and your staffing/hiring needs to operate the
network;

• If the submittal includes collaboration with other partners in ownership or operation of
the network, describe how this group would be structured and how the group would
maintain their respective interests as technology changes;

• In the last part of this section, Offerors shall provide a detailed statement addressing
the general and special terms and conditions of this proposal, and shall acknowledge
acceptance of the RFP inclusive of such terms and conditions, or clearly state exception
to specific areas of the RFP; and,

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• If the Authority deems the best solution for the County’s residents, businesses, and
other potential users of the network is the award of contracts to two (2) or more
companies including your company, provide a statement of willingness to work
cooperatively with other firms. In reaching such a determination, the Authority will
consider the different broadband technologies including fiber optic, cable, digital
subscriber line, and fixed and mobile (nomadic) wireless, or such other broadband
technologies as may be presented by Offerors.

Section 3. Technical Approach. The Authority has clear objectives for the project, but
will rely on the Offeror to plan, design and construct the broadband network. In this
section, please provide the preferred technical approach to the project as outlined in the
following areas:
• Describe the type of technology, in terms understandable by lay persons and engineers,
that would be used for the broadband network and a conceptual, diagrammatic design of
the network;

• The broadband network must be provided for “consumer‐based” technologies with
appropriate technical capabilities. Describe how the customer would access and use the
network;

• Describe how the broadband network would be configured and deployed for residential,
business, and governmental customers;

• What is the maximum and minimum download speeds, initially and for the long-term
(both advertised and actual/average speeds), expected for customers and any expected
reduction to system loading?;

• What provisions would be used to provide network security and integrity?;

• In the case of a wireless broadband network, describe whether or not the spectrum to be
used is currently licensed to the Offeror by the FCC. If so, present documentation on
such licensure from the FCC. If Offeror utilizes unlicensed spectrum, please state
whether the Offeror will utilize FCC Type Accepted Equipment;

• Describe how the broadband network will access its back-haul service and what
company or companies will provide such service to the network; and,

• In the case of a wireless broadband network, describe whether the proposed network is
a fixed or mobile (nomadic). If it is mobile (nomadic), describe the ability of the
subscriber to access the Internet from locations outside of the coverage area of the
network.

Section 4. Coverage, Implementation, and Acceptance Test Plan – The County
covers a diverse geographic area that is in varying degrees of development. The land uses
located throughout the County include residential, commercial, industrial, institutional,
agricultural, and woodlands. A key element of the project is the assurance that broadband
Internet access is provided to the majority of the County (excluding areas within the George
Washington National Forest) with a particular emphasis on areas that are currently
unserved or underserved, and with full coverage being a long term goal. In this section,
please describe how the project would be implemented to support this long term goal. This
narrative should include brief recap of key technology identified in the previous section and
information on implementation of the project. Questions to consider in response are as
follows:

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• Do different landscapes or development patterns have unique network or technological
needs or challenges? If so, describe the needs and challenges and how each would be
addressed;

• Would the County be segmented into different service areas? How and when would
those service areas be created, made operational, and at what speed in bps (bits per
second) and what is the system access time? If the entire County is not segmented into
different services or if specific areas not slated for service, please provide information
giving the business or technical basis for this decision;

• What other unique considerations must be addressed to have broadband service
deployed throughout the County?;

• What would be an ideal timeline be for development of the overall project?;

• What would be the role of the Authority and the County during implementation of the
project?;

• For broadband wireless networks, will the wireless system be designed for seasonal
changes to provide maximum download speeds?; and,

• What is the proposed acceptance test plan for the project?

Section 5. Financial Plan to include as appropriate, the application process for
the Federal Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and/or the Broadband
Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) – The Authority is aware that private
providers are considering and pursuing applications for federal stimulus dollars. The
purpose of this section is to provide the Authority with a general overview of the process
and tasks associated with preparing and submitting an application to the Federal BIP
and/or BTOP programs. The Authority does not presume that such a submission is a
certainty, as a variety of other financing options may be better suited to support the project
or projects in Amherst County. However, the Authority is considering the merits of an
application for second round funding through BIP and/or BTOP, either on its own, jointly
with an Offeror, or in support of an Offeror’s application. In recognition of these potential
options, please respond to the following questions:

• What project categories of the BIP and/or BTOP programs (broadband infrastructure,
public computing centers, and sustainable adoption) are anticipated for inclusion in the
application(s)?:

• What is the proposed time line for preparing the application(s)?;

• Which application round or rounds does the Offeror anticipate the applications(s) to be
submitted to the BIP and/or BTOP programs?;

• What are the tasks needed to be completed to prepare the application(s)?;

• What will be the Authority’s role in preparing or assisting with the application(s)?;

• What estimated expenses may the Authority expect to incur as result of completing its
tasks to prepare that application(s)?;

• What financial resources, including cash and/or in-kind services, does the Offeror
propose to contribute towards the required minimum non-federal twenty percent (20%)
match for the project under BTOP? Would funding under BIP or BTOP (or both for
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different parts of the project or different service areas if appropriate) be preferable? If
BIP funding is sought, what, if any, would be the loan amount/percentage? Who would
be the responsible entity for paying back the loan? Detail whether any contributions
toward a federal stimulus project in the County would be cash and/or in-kind services;
and,

• What financial resources, including cash, in-kind services, and/or real property, does the
Offeror propose that the Authority or County contribute towards the non-federal
twenty percent (20%) match required for BTOP or any non-loan contributions required
or desirable under BIP? Detail whether such contributions would be cash and/or in-
kind services.

Section 6. Offeror and Project Team Qualifications and Experience – The purpose
of this section is to provide the Authority with an overview of the Offeror’s firm and also
demonstrate the qualifications of the staff the Offeror will assign to this project if selected.
At a minimum, the proposal should:

• Designate a Project Manager and indicate office location;

• Include the organization chart, functional discipline, and responsibilities of project team
members;

• Provide a concise resume or description of each team member’s education, relevant
professional experience, length of time employed by the Offeror and/or sub‐contractor,
and professional license if applicable;

• Discuss the experience of the Offeror in completing similar projects on schedule and
within established budgets;

• Discuss the history of the proposed team’s prior experience working together on
previous similar projects;

• References from business, institutional, or residential customers, suppliers/vendors,
trade associations, governmental entities, etc.; and,

• List any special or exclusive qualifications of the Offeror if not already addressed in
previous areas of your proposal response.

VII. Selection Process:

a. The Authority will procure the service using competitive negotiations:

b. The Authority may engage in individual discussions with two (2) or more Offerors
deemed fully qualified, responsible and suitable on the basis of initial response and with
emphasis on professional competence, to provide the required services. The Authority
may enter into discussions with multiple Offerors for various components of the overall
project, including but not limited to network operation and maintenance, network
installation, and Internet services.

c. At the conclusion of discussions, outlined in this section, on the basis of evaluation
factors published in the request for proposal and all information developed in the
selection process to this point, the Authority may make an award to the Offeror or
Offerors who make the best proposal(s).

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d. Should the Authority determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one (1)
offeror is fully qualified, or that one (1) Offeror is clearly more highly qualified and
suitable than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded
to that Offeror.

VIII. Evaluation and Award Criteria:

The Authority will use the evaluation criteria described below to evaluate and rank the
proposals submitted.

a. The specific services and technology to be utilized to provide the services (fixed wireless,
mobile (nomadic) wireless, fiber, digital subscriber line, or other broadband
transmission mode), including upload and download speeds;

b. The skill, experience and training of the specified persons who will be performing the
services requested;

c. References from business, institutional, or residential customers, suppliers/vendors,
trade associations, governmental entities, etc.;

d. Time tables for completing the network and making it operational with services
available to subscribers;

e. Proposed cost of services for all categories of potential subscribers to include
installation, customer premises equipment, one-time and recurring monthly service
charges, out of network or remote access charges, and any other single or recurring
charges which made billed to the subscriber for use of the network;

f. The skill, experience, and training of the customer service representatives and network
maintenance technicians that will respond and resolve customer service inquiries;

g. Plans for sustaining network services over at least a ten (10) year period, including
ability to update equipment to utilize the latest technological improvements;

h. The proposed coverage area for underserved and unserved areas as defined by the
Federal BIP and/or the BTOP;

i. Ability to access private facilities not otherwise offered by the Authority if necessary for
the network; ,

j. Proposed back-haul service and network.

k. Ability to contribute financial resources to the project, including contributing cash
and/or in-kind services towards the non-federal twenty percent (20%) match required for
the Federal BIP and/or BTOP grant application(s); and,

l. Ability and willingness to coordinate with other firms if the Authority deems the best
solution for the County’s residents, businesses, and other users is to award additional
contracts to other firms; and,

m. Proposed acceptance test process and pass/fail parameters.

IX. General Terms and Conditions:

a. All proposals must remain valid for ninety (90) days from opening date.
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