Leased Lit Fiber or Equivalent Technology Leased Dark Fiber Service or Equivalent Technology for Wide Area Network Transport Service Category 1 Network Equipmen...

Leased Lit Fiber or Equivalent Technology Leased Dark Fiber Service or Equivalent Technology for Wide Area Network Transport Service Category 1 Network Equipment E-Rate Year 27 (2024-2025) 470# 240004149 Issuance Date: December 8, 2023 Deadline for Submission of Proposals: January 26, 2024, 4 p.m. Eastern Time 1 OVERVIEW OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS AND PROCEDURE 1.1 Issuing Organization 1.1.1 The School District of Haverford Township (“District” or “SDHT”) has more than 6,000 enrolled students across five (5) elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and three other buildings. All of these buildings are located within the 13.5 square miles of the District’s boundaries. The District seeks to enter into multi-year agreements with voluntary extension options for leased lit fiber or leased dark fiber service/IRU transport service to interconnect the buildings in a wide area network. 1.1.2 The District intends to apply for discounts on the equipment/services listed in

this RFP through the federal E-rate program. Several criteria and restrictions pertinent to the E- rate program are included herein and must be met by the successful vendor for the proposal to be considered a Qualified Proposal. 1.2 Business Manager The Business Manager is responsible for overseeing and reviewing all procurements undertaken by the School District of Haverford Township: Anthony Testa Business Manager School District of Haverford Township 50 E Eagle Rd Havertown, PA 19083 Mr. Testa has authorized the issuance of this RFP and designated Mr. Robert Anderson, the Director of Technology as the point of contact for this procurement. 1.3 Point of Contact The Point of Contact for this procurement is: Robert Anderson Director of Technology School District of Haverford Township Technology Department 50 E Eagle Rd Havertown, PA 19083 SDHTErate@haverfordsd.net 1.4 RFP Documents The RFP documents consist of the following: (1) This RFP narrative document (28 pages) (2) Appendix A, Price Template (separate Excel document) (3) Appendix B, Special Construction Technical Requirements (included with RFP narrative document) (4) Appendix C, Non-Collusion Affidavit (separate PDF document) (5) Appendix D, Proposal Cover Sheet (included with RFP narrative document) 1.5 Access to RFP Documents The RFP documents are available online at the E-rate Form 470 website and may be retrieved as follows: https://data.usac.org/publicreports/Forms/Form470Rfp/Index Make the following selections: Funding Year: 2024 Starting Posting Date: Date of issuance of this RFP Ending Posting Date: 30 days from date of issuance of this RFP Applicant Type: School District Applicant State: PA Applicant Billed Entity Number: 126150 Service Type: All Service Types Form Version: Current Export: select preferred option – XLS Interested Vendors are required to monitor this site to obtain any updates about this procurement. The Form 470 report generated from the search parameters described above has hyperlinks to the Form 470 application and the RFP documents. The date that the RFP document was uploaded is provided in Column I. This will inform interested bidders whether there are subsequent documents uploaded regarding the RFP. The procurement documents also will be posted online at the District’s web site, https://www.haverford.k12.pa.us/departments/business-office/available-bidsrfps as a courtesy. The official repository for all RFP documents is the E-rate Form 470 web site. 1.6 Communications Regarding this Procurement Email to the Point of Contact is the required and only permissible means of communication of any kind, including questions or comments, about this RFP. The email address is SDHTErate@haverfordsd.net. It is important that interested bidders notify the Point of Contact of their potential interest in this procurement at their earliest opportunity by sending an email to SDHTErate@haverfordsd.net. The Vendor’s email address will become part of an email distribution list for communications from the District about important RFP-related items, including answers to Vendor inquiries, and any clarifications issued about this RFP. This email distribution list is a courtesy and not the official means of notifying bidders of updates. The official repository for all RFP documents is in the E-rate portal where the Form 470 is filed. 1.7 Scope of Services in this RFP This Request for Proposal (“RFP) seeks to procure the following services and equipment: 1.7.1 Leased lit fiber transport service (or equivalent technology) for wide area network. 1.7.2 Leased dark fiber transport service as an alternative to leased lit fiber for wide area network. 1.7.3 Category 1 network equipment (purchased or leased) for the wide area network to operate. 1.7.4 Maintenance and operation of leased dark fiber service. Section 2 contains the detailed technical requirements. 1.8 E-rate SDHT intends to apply for discounts on the services and facilities listed in this RFP that are used to deliver services to eligible schools and libraries through the federal Universal Service Support Mechanism for Schools and Libraries, commonly known as “E-rate.” The Vendor(s) must be familiar with and must agree with comply with E-rate program rules including E-rate deadlines, information requirements and all regulatory requirements. See Section 3 herein for more information about E-rate requirements. 1.9 Estimated Timeline for this RFP (Subject to Revision) Action Date Form 470 and RFP Issuance 12/8/2023 Deadline to Request Site Visits 12/18/2023 Site Visits 12/20/2023 12/21/2023 (if 2nd day is needed) Deadline for Vendor Questions 12/22/2023 Responses to Vendor Questions Provided 12/29/2023 RFP Deadline (28 days from responses to vendor questions) 1/26/2024 Vendor Meetings to Review Proposals (virtual) 1/29/2024 Issue Clarifying Questions to Vendors 1/30/2024 Deadline for Vendors’ Responses to Clarifying Questions 2/1/2024 Solicitor review & negotiation of language re solicitor 2/6/2024 Submission of final contract signed by Vendor 2/8/2024 Finance Committee presentation February 8, 2024 Board Approval February 15, 2024 Commencement of New Services 7/1/2024 This timeline sets forth the proposed schedule to the best of the SDHT’s ability based on the facts and circumstances that are known at this time. This timeline is subject to revision and modification as the need may arise. All revisions and modifications to the schedule will be posted in the E-rate Form 470 portal and emailed to any Vendor who emailed his/her name and email address to the Issuing Officer pursuant to Section 1.6 above. 1.10 Pre-Bid Conference A pre-bid conference for potential bidders is scheduled for the date identified in Section 1.9. Attendance is encouraged but not mandated. Interested Vendors are required to email the Point of Contact for information about how to access the pre-bid conference. SDHT will try to record the pre-bid conference for later viewing by interested Vendors. 1.11 Site Walkthrough Visits SDHT seeks to ensure that all bidders have access to all required information necessary to prepare thoughtful, comprehensive, and knowledgeable proposals. A site survey and visit to the SDHT hub site location and other buildings is available per the timeline set forth in Section 1.9, upon prior request and scheduling. Vendors or their subcontractors are not allowed to show up unannounced at any building and will be denied entry without prior arrangements and scheduling by District officials. Vendors who are interested in attending the site visit/site survey shall contact SDHTERATE@haverfordsd.net by the date and time specified in Section 1.9. Vendors are strongly encouraged to visit the buildings if they are not familiar with them and the specific location of the main distribution facilities room. Bidders are required to indicate in their proposals whether they attended the site visit/site survey. The make-ready costs of preparing all buildings must be incorporated into each Vendor’s proposal price. Each Vendor bears the risk of incurring all costs that may not be incorporated into their price proposal due to their decision to not attend the site visits prior to submitting their proposal. See also Section 1.32 regarding the requirement for proposals to contain firm prices. If prospective bidders are unable to comply with the deadline for requesting a site visit, SDHT will attempt to accommodate later site visit requests but cannot guarantee or make any commitment to honor such requests. In any event, no site visits will be permitted during the 28 day period immediately preceding the proposal deadline. 1.12 Questions about RFP Bidders are encouraged to submit their questions via email to the Point of Contact at their earliest convenience. The deadline for submission of inquiries is prescribed in Section 1.9 and answers will be posted to the E-rate Form 470 web site, the District’s web site and emailed to all interested bidders on the email distribution list compiled in response to Section 1.6. 1.13 Deadline and Format of Proposals 1.13.1 Electronic Copy A complete electronic proposal including all appendices, exhibits and/or attachments must be emailed and received by the deadline set forth in Section 1.9 to SDHTErate@haverfordsd.net. Please note that the Appendix D, Price Template must be submitted in Excel format, with no password protections, as part of the electronic proposal. 1.13.2 Hard Paper Proposal One original proposal signed by an authorized official (complete with all exhibits and attachments in the prescribed format) must be received at the School District of Haverford Township at the following address marked with the following information, by the date and time specified in Section 1.8. Robert Anderson Director of Technology School District of Haverford Township Technology Department 50 E Eagle Rd Havertown, PA 19083 ATTENTION: E-rate Fiber RFP Proposal