Request for Proposals for MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
Gary R. Cavin, CIO
Solicitation Number SA005415 PROPOSALS DUE: June 5, 2014 @ 11:00AM Deliver Proposals To: City of Columbus Purchasing Office 77 North Front St-5th Floor Columbus, OH 43215
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER SA005415 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
1. Introduction The City of Columbus is soliciting proposals from qualified offerors to partner with the city, or any agent designated thereby (hereafter “city”) to market, develop a rate structure, and a billing model for cost recovery of the city’s fiber optic infrastructure in support of supplying fiber optic broadband services to businesses, educational and governmental agencies. 1.1
Schedule of events: The following schedule of events represents the City’s best estimate of the schedule that will be followed (schedule subject to change): Event Request for Proposal (RFP) issued Deadline for Written questions City response to questions issued RFP Due Interviews/Presentations from selected vendors Final Award/Contract
Date May 12, 2014 May 19, 2014 May 22, 2014 June 5, 2014 @ 11:00 A.M. (EST) June 20, 2014 July 31, 2014
1.2
Questions: No additional Offeror’s meetings or pre-bid conferences will be held prior to the RFP due date. Questions regarding this RFP must be sent in writing via email to
[email protected] solicitation number must be included in “Subject” line no later than 3:00 p.m. (EST) on May 19, 2014. Reponses will be emailed out no later than 4:00 p.m. (EST) on May 22, 2014.
1.3
Presentations: The city intends to invite selected offerors to present its ideas in person in Columbus. If selected, offerors shall make themselves available on June 20, 2014 for this purpose. Following these interviews, the city will evaluate the proposals and anticipates entering into a contract within sixty days (60) following selection.
2. Background The City of Columbus has a comprehensive fiber network infrastructure and operates approximately 400 miles of fiber to date. The city is in a position to utilize this investment for multiple purposes, including, but not limited to: providing fiber optic voice, video, and data broadband services to city agencies; creating economic development opportunities throughout the city by offering fiber optic network backbone and lateral access; and providing disaster recovery and other regional services to surrounding jurisdictions from the city’s two data centers. For further details on the city’s fiber investment, see the attached map after Page 4G and the additional file – COLUMBUS FIBER INFRASTRUCTURE MAP.
3. Project Goals The City of Columbus is seeking a qualified offeror to assist the city in maximizing its current and future fiber investments in an effort to meet the following goals:
1
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
3.1
Enhance economic development opportunities by marketing the city’s high-speed broadband services as an incentive for increasing employment within the City of Columbus;
3.2
Enhance the city’s ability to effectively deliver services and protect its citizenry by gauging current and future broadband needs.
3.3
Collaborate with neighboring municipalities and other public and non-profit partners to utilize city connectivity to promote the health, safety, education and welfare of local residents
3.4
Address accessibility and affordability issues for economically disadvantaged and/or underserved areas of the city.
3.5
Pursue innovative financial arrangements with the selected offeror to improve the value, quality and use of the city’s fiber network, reduce the city’s cost or increase the city’s revenues in exchange for access to the use of the fiber network (or other innovative approaches that mutually benefit the partners).
3.6
Develop a billing structure that maintains, improves and maximizes city resources while attaining other stated project goals.
4. Scope of Services The successful offeror may be responsible for the following tasks: 4.1
Cost Benefit Analysis and Market Survey Conduct a cost-benefit analysis and market survey of current and future needs, availability of existing carriers, quality of existing service and how the city’s current fiber infrastructure positions us to meet the Project Goals as noted in Section 3.
4.2
Asset Marketing, Sales and Negotiation 4.2.1 Develop marketing materials and a strategic plan to lease assets to interested third parties
4.3
4.2.2
Negotiate and/or broker all arrangements with said third parties
4.2.3
Provide Sales Engineering function
Economic Development and Strategic Expansion 4.3.1 Assist the city and Department of Development with planning, marketing, and expansion strategies. 4.3.2
Partner with the city to encourage owners of new commercial and industrial buildings to install lateral conduit and fiber into the existing network as well as encourage existing building owners to connect the current fiber infrastructure.
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
4.3.3
4.4
Work with the city to identify and apply for federal, state and other sources of fiber infrastructure funding to help leverage the city’s local investment.
Regional Partnerships and Collaboration 4.4.1 Pursue partnership agreements with businesses, government agencies to access the city’s fiber infrastructure. 4.4.2
educational
and
Collaborate with the city’s neighboring jurisdictions, governmental and non-profit agencies, to utilize our mutual fiber assets for the benefit of the region and throughout the state.
4.5
Facilitate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the city to include, but not limited to: partnership/service agreements with other jurisdictions, area non-profits, governmental organizations and other organizations, as needed.
4.6
Negotiate agreements for carrier-neutral telecommunications services, including, but not limited to, internet access, video, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), and data transport, with consideration for future connectivity and infrastructure improvements.
4.7
Work with the city to develop the city’s citywide connectivity plan, the four cornerstones of which are economic development, digital inclusion (both residential and educational), the enhancement of public safety and delivery of municipal services.
4.8
Develop a billing structure for non-city customers
4.9
Agree none of the fiber infrastructure for this venture will be used by any other entity without the prior consent of the city.
5. Proposals All proposals shall address the aforementioned tasks (see Scope of Services). 5.1
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis and marketing study to determine current and future broadband needs in the region, based on availability of existing carriers, quality of existing service and the city’s current fiber infrastructure.
5.2
Proposed a marketing plan for the city’s fiber infrastructure that will assist the city in its economic development endeavors.
5.3
Undertake a customer based rate analysis, develop, and propose a cost recovery billing structure. The city is currently assessing the value of its fiber infrastructure. The results of this assessment will be shared with the successful offeror to assist with the afore-described proposal.
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
6. Fee and Term of Contract Fee and term of the contract will be predicated on the structure of the proposal as noted in Section 5: Proposals.
7. Inclusion The City of Columbus encourages the participation of city-certified minority and female business enterprises. All shall identify all subcontractors(s) who will perform any type of contracting on City proposal/proposal(s). All offerors shall include in their proposal response the anticipated cost and scope of work performed by all subcontractor(s), along with their contract compliance number(s). If the offerors do not have minority/female business participation in the proposal, an explanation must be given and included with the proposal in order to satisfy this requirement.* All offerors and subcontractors that do not have: (1) an application in their proposal(s) to secure a contract compliance number or (2) a valid contract compliance number at the time the proposal is submitted the proposal will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered. Respondents having expired contract compliance numbers will be given seven business days after the submittal date to update their contract compliance information. If information has not been updated after seven business days, the proposal will be deemed non-responsive and will no longer be considered. This information is gathered and monitored by the Equal Business Opportunity Commission Office (EBOCO). Please contact EBOCO for assistance with identifying potential M/FBE contractors or to check the status of your contract compliance numbers. Equal Business Opportunity Commission Office 109 N. Front Street, 4th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 645-4764 M/FBE Certification Contract Compliance Tia Roseboro 614-645-2203 *While the participation and or partnering of certified minority and female owned businesses is encouraged the level of minority and female participation will not be a condition of the proposal award.
8. Submission Guidelines
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
All proposals shall be organized based on the following outline and not exceed 30 pages in length. Supporting material shall be included in an Appendix. 8.1
Cover Letter: A one-page cover letter. A letter of transmittal on the offeror’s letterhead that should include, but not be limited, to the following information: the signature of a person authorized to legally bind the offeror to the extent of work and financial obligation included in the proposal, a statement that the proposal will be valid for 60 days, and identify all material enclosures submitted in response to this RFP.
8.2
Team Contacts: The firm(s) identified and all related contact information for each firm identifying a principal in-charge. This should also be summarized in an organizational chart. Please explain any partnerships with other firms and the roles of each on this project.
8.3
Proposals: Please provide a response to Section 5: Proposals, addressing the relevant items in Section 4: Scope of Services while adhering to Section 3: Project Goals, which will be evaluated by the Evaluation Committee. The timeframe for the proposal should be included with a general calendar showing tasks, milestones and deliverables.
8.4
Workload and Availability: Please indicate the firm(s) current and expected workload for the next 18 months and a statement regarding the firm(s) availability to undertake this project and deliver all services within the expected timeframe.
8.5
Fee: If applicable, the offeror should propose a not-to-exceed fee with a separate estimated budget for reimbursable noted. The fee proposal should identify all staff to be engaged on this project, billable rates on an hourly basis, hours assigned by phase or task, subtotals for fees and hours, and totals as appropriate-all summarized in a table.
8.6 Financial Stability and Financial Disclosure: Each offeror must include in its proposaldocumented proof of financial stability. This includes financial statements or annual reports covering the two most recent fiscal years, or other such documents that will allow the city to assess the financial viability of the offeror. If the offeror is partnering with another firm, documentation is required of them as well. 8.7
Appendix: All supporting material, brochures, maps, work examples and other relevant documents (no page limitation).
8.8
City of Columbus Contract Compliance Number (CCCN) for submitting firm or consultant (see Equal Opportunity Clause page for further information).
8.9
Any additional information to be considered specific to this project.
9. Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria Selection of professional services shall be in accordance with Chapter 329 of Columbus City Codes,1959. The proposals will be evaluated by a committee of at least three (3) members using the following criteria: xx%
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
9.1
The competence of the offeror to perform the required service as indicated by the technical training, education and experience of the offeror’s personnel who would be assigned to the project. 20%
9.2
The quality and feasibility of the offeror’s proposal as demonstrated by the organization of proposal, an understanding of the project, the schedule for implementation and whether all required aspects of the project are addressed appropriately. 10%
9.3
The ability of the offeror to perform the required service competently and expeditiously as indicated by the offeror’s workload and the availability of necessary personnel, equipment and facilities. 25%
9.4
The offeror’s past performance as reflected in evaluations by the city agency, other city agencies, and/or previous other clients. Past performance factors, include quality of work, success in controlling costs and success in meeting deadlines. 30%
9.5
The financial elements of the offeror’s proposal per Section 5: Proposal. 15%
9.6
The demonstration of environmentally preferable factors, if applicable. 0%
CITY OF COLUMBUS, DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY SOLICITATION NUMBER REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING AND RATE STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF THE CITY’S FIBER NETWORK
COLUMBUS FIBER INFRASTRUCTURE MAP
