St. Charles City-County Library District 77 Boone Hills Drive - P.O. Box 529 St. Peters, MO 63376

December 9, 2010

TELECOMMUNICATIONS REQUEST for PROPOSAL

The St. Charles City-County Library District is accepting bids for telecommunication services supporting the Library District's Wide Area Network (WAN) for service beginning July 1, 2011 for three (3) of the District’s 13 buildings. The Library District has multiple branches throughout St. Charles County, Missouri. The District’s current wide area network consists of an Administration Building and twelve branch locations for a total of 13 buildings. The WAN connections for ten (10) of these locations are currently provided by Charter Communications through an existing contract ending June 30, 2013. This RFP is for the remaining three locations. The Library District participates in the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, known as “E-Rate”. The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission. The request for these services is listed on Schools and Libraries Universal Service Description of Services Requested and Certification Form 470 available on the Universal Service Administrative Company, Schools and Libraries, website: http://www.universalservice.org/sl/ . The Library District's E-Rate Entity Number is 136936. Library District Contact: Audrey J. Bangert, IT Project Manager; Voice: 636-441-2300 x1551; Fax: 636441-3132; email: [email protected].

Specifications 1.

Due to the nature of this service, the Library District may request bidders to schedule a meeting with the District prior to submitting bids.

2.

All vendors submitting bids for the services will be required to provide to the Library the discounts to which it is eligible/approved under the FCC Universal Service Discount Plan (E-Rate). Failure to do so will disallow consideration of the vendor's bid by the Library. Bidders must supply their current SPIN (Service Provider Identification Number) as part of their proposal and must agree to comply with all ERate program rules and requirements.

3.

Services must be provided by a regulated telecommunications carrier – i.e., an organization recognized by the FCC as providing telecommunications services on a common carrier basis. Information regarding E-Rate funding for WAN related services can be found at http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step06/wide-area-network-fact-sheet.aspx

4.

Bidders must include a listing of all charges for services including installation charges, fees, applicable taxes and surcharges. The Library District is tax exempt. Bids should also outline any additional equipment the Library District would need to purchase.

5.

The Library District is seeking a one or two-year contract only. (The District ‘s current contract with Charter Communications for the remaining 10 locations will end on 06/30/2013. Bids will be solicited for all thirteen locations in December 2012).

6.

The successful bidder will be required to enter into a written contract with the Library District. Bidders should note that no increase in costs will be permitted during the term of the contract.

7.

Each bidder must provide a proposed installation and cutover plan. The Library District operates seven days a week and requires minimal down time.

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8.

Bidders may submit bids in excess of the “Minimum Bandwidth Requirement”. Bidders may submit multiple bids or one bid with multiple bandwidth options.

9.

The Library District recognizes that not all bidders can offer service at each of the three branch locations. However, the District would prefer to enter into a contract with one or possibly two companies for its data network for these three branches.

10. All bids

are due Monday, January 10, 2011 at 2:00 p.m., Central Time.

Bids may be:  Faxed:  Mailed:



Emailed:

636-441-3132, attention Audrey J. Bangert OR St. Charles City-County Library District Administrative Offices P.O. Box 529 St. Peters, MO 63376, Attention: Audrey J. Bangert [email protected] (Subject line: TELECOMMUNICATIONS BID)

11. The following evaluation and award criteria will be used: a) b) c) d) e)

35% Total price and cost effectiveness * 30% Vendor’s experience and service performance 15% Meeting or exceeding overall requirements 10% Technical Merits 10% Vendor’s demonstrated ability to work with E-Rate

* Prior service reliability with District connections will be given high consideration. 12. Schedule: RFP Published/Form 470 Posted Bids due Evaluation of bids Bid awarded Deadline for Signed Contract Service Start date

December 8, 2010 January 10, 2011 January 11 through January 17, 2011 January 18, 2011 January 24, 2011 July 1, 2011

Current Data Network Description The Library District has multiple branches throughout St. Charles County, Missouri. The District’s current wide area network consists of an Administration Building (host site) with twelve branch locations. This bid request is for three (3) of the 13 locations. Currently, each of these three locations has a single T1 Point-to-Point connection between the branch and the Administration Building. The District’s Internet connection is located at the Administration Building (host site) and is a connection contracted and funded through MOREnet.

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Technical Specifications 

The St. Charles City-County Library District is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide wired bidirectional, point-to-point WAN connections for three (3) of the District’s branches.



The Library District intends to enter into a lease with the selected service provider for the proposed WAN connections. Specifically, this RFP requires network connections built in a star configuration between the Administration building (host) and the branch locations at the bandwidth levels listed below.



The selected service provider will install, support, maintain, and own these WAN connections. The Library District will lease the service from the service provider.



Each of these three connections must be wired bidirectional with equal upload and download speed between the host site and each location.



The host site is the Administration Building, 77 Boone Hills Drive, St. Peters, MO 63376.



Proposals should state how the service provider will provide end connections, or “hand-offs”, to the Library District.



Bidders may submit bids in excess of the “Minimum Bandwidth Requirement”. Bidders may submit multiple bids or one bid with multiple bandwidth options.



This document represents a request for a separate bid for each location (labeled Bid A, Bid B, Bid C). The District recognizes that not all bidders can offer service in all areas. Bids for each location will be analyzed independently of other locations.

Location

A

North County Branch 1825 Commonfield Road Portage des Sioux 63373

Main Phone #

636-753-3070 (AT&T)

This Bid:

Current Service

Minimum Bandwidth Requirement

1.5 Mbps Bidirectional

1.5 Mbps Bidirectional

(T1 Point-to-Point)

(Cisco 2621)

B

South County Branch 5577 Walnut Street Augusta, MO 63332

636-228-4855 (CenturyTel)

1.5 Mbps Bidirectional

3 Mbps Bidirectional

(T1 Point-to-Point)

(i.e. two T1 Point-toPoint)

1.5 Mbps Bidirectional

3 Mbps Bidirectional

(T1 Point-to-Point)

(i.e. two T1 Point-toPoint)

(Cisco 2621)

C

Boone’s Trail Branch #1 Fiddlecreek Plaza New Melle, MO 63365 (Cisco 2621)

636-398-6200 (CenturyTel)

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