RFPnew-shoreham.com/docs/Island Wide Broadband Project RFP.docx · Web viewThe Town of New Shoreham, the municipality for Block Island, is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP)

Town of New Shoreham

Request for Proposals for

Island Wide Broadband Project

September 2019

Prepared on behalf of the Town of New Shoreham

byMission Broadband, Inc.

Town of New ShorehamIsland Wide Broadband Project

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Table of ContentsInvitation for Proposals....................................................................................................................3Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................41. Statement of Purpose............................................................................................................52. Project Correspondence and Questions................................................................................63. RFP Process Timetable and Proposal Submission Requirements........................................74. Instructions to Vendors.........................................................................................................75. Authorized Negotiator........................................................................................................106. Vendors Responsibility for Proposal Costs........................................................................107. Compliance with Laws, Permits, Rules..............................................................................108. Prevailing Wage and other RIGL provisions......................................................................109. Insurance.............................................................................................................................1310. Island Wide Broadband Access Network – Outside Plant Design and Implementation....1411. Island Wide Broadband Access Network – Access and Aggregation Electronics Design

and Implementation............................................................................................................1812. Mainland Dark Fiber Design and Implementation.............................................................2013. Transport Electronics Design and Implementation............................................................2114. Mainland Data Center/Colocation with access to Service Providers.................................2215. Service Providers................................................................................................................2316. Network Operator...............................................................................................................2617. Public Wi-Fi Services.........................................................................................................2918. Evaluation and Selection Criteria.......................................................................................3019. Rejection/Negotiation Rights..............................................................................................32Exhibit A: Example Broadband Architecture................................................................................33Exhibit B: Dark Fiber....................................................................................................................34Exhibit C: Example Transport Solutions.......................................................................................35Exhibit D: Examples of Network Applications.............................................................................37Exhibit E Map 1: Public Wi-Fi.....................................................................................................38Exhibit E Diagram 1: Public Wi-Fi..............................................................................................39Exhibit F: Future Redundant Transport Service to Mainland.......................................................40Exhibit G: Service Provider Bandwidth Tier Pricing....................................................................41Exhibit H: List and Description of External Documents Referenced in RFP...............................42


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Invitation for ProposalsRequest for Proposals for Vendor Services

The Town of New Shoreham wishes to engage the services of qualified Vendor(s) to provide services in support of the Town’s Island Wide Broadband Project.

Requirements of the project are detailed in the RFP document that may be obtained on the Town of New Shoreham website’s Requests for Proposals page at http://www.new-shoreham.com/requests.cfm.

An electronic copy of proposals must be received by the RFP Administrator by no later than 4:00 PM Eastern time on October 18, 2019 at the following email address: [email protected]. Three hard copies of the proposal must be received by the Town of New Shoreham at the Office of the Town Manager, 16 Old Town Rd, PO Box 220, Block Island, RI 02807 by no later than 4:00 PM Eastern on October 18th, 2019. This Proposal must be enclosed in an opaque envelope addressed to “Town Manager” and bear the name and address of the Vendor.

Proposals should be clearly marked:

“Town of New Shoreham Island Wide Broadband Project.”

The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or any part thereof, to waive any formality, informality, information and/or errors in the proposal, and to accept the proposal considered to be in the best interest of the Town.


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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.new-shoreham.com/requests.cfm

Executive Summary

The Town of New Shoreham, a municipal corporation in the tate of Rhode Island, and geographically the entirety of Block Island, has recently completed a project to build and implement a fiber broadband network to serve its Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs). For connectivity between Block Island and the mainland, the CAI network uses four (4) of eight (8) fiber strands within a National Grid owned submarine cable that runs from Narragansett, RI to Block Island. It is anticipated that the Island wide project will utilize the remaining four (4) strands.

Building on the CAI network foundation, the Town now seeks to address the broadband needs of the Island community’s broader population, namely its residents, businesses and seasonal visitors. The Town’s Broadband Committee states as its mission “development of a sustainable and improved broadband network infrastructure to serve all residents, businesses, visitors and all Town facilities. This network infrastructure must be affordable, reliable, minimum 20-year life and offer best service levels available.”

The broadband network is expected to be capable of providing 1Gbps symmetrical access to the Island community –approximately 1800 developed commercial, residential and mixed-use parcels and a population that can swell to 20,000 on a peak summer day but can decrease below 1,000 in the winter. We anticipate a steady and perhaps rapid increase in the community’s consumption habits over time, and require the network design to be expandable and responsive to increased service demands over its useful life.

In this RFP, the Town is soliciting proposals for the design, construction and/or operation of a robust broadband network on Block Island, and provision of services over the network that satisfies the Broadband Committee’s mission, the community’s anticipated usage requirements and other specified outcomes. The Town will entertain proposals from individual vendors or vendor teams in response to any or all of the components of this solicitation.

The Town recognizes that there are a variety of viable technical approaches and technology solutions available that could potentially achieve the Town’s desired outcomes. Rather than prescribing a network design, the Town has defined required and desired quality and performance standards including, but not limited to, key network technical characteristics, performance requirements, life expectancy, and ownership structures. The physical network must be robust and resilient to withstand exposure to high winds and salt. Additionally, the merits of any proposed technology solution will be balanced against its aesthetic impact, including consistency with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and its emphasis on the island’s visual qualities and preservation of scenic viewsheds. All technology solutions proposed must be permissible under the zoning, land use and other ordinances of the Town of New Shoreham.

The Town is committed to maintaining an objective perspective on the technologies and operational models to be considered for achieving its desired outcomes. All qualified vendors are invited to propose innovative solutions to achieve the Town’s desired outcomes and request that all proposals provide the detail necessary for a fair evaluation of alternative proposals and determine whether and how each proposed solution will satisfy the Town’s expected outcomes.


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1. Statement of Purpose

1.1 The Town of New Shoreham, the municipality for Block Island, is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP).

1.2 Mission Broadband is an independent telecommunications consulting firm retained by the Town of New Shoreham to manage the RFP process for the Island Wide Broadband Project. Mission Broadband will be the recipient of Vendor correspondence related to this RFP as described in Sections 3 and 4 and will provide consultative support to the Town of New Shoreham throughout the process.

1.3 The Town will make all final determinations related to scoring proposals and selecting Successful Vendors.

1.4 The Town is soliciting proposals on the design, buildout and operation of a robust broadband network on Block Island with connectivity back to the mainland. The network will provide 1Gbps symmetrical access to approximately 1800 developed commercial, residential and mixed-use parcels structures and a large visitor population on the Island. The Town is not predisposed to a particular access technology and will consider all types of technology solutions, i.e. wired, wireless, cellular, etc., that meet the requirements laid out in this RFP. The design must be scalable to access speeds above 1Gbps.

A survey of current conditions was conducted in August 2019 to gather details on the existing telecommunications and electrical infrastructure on the Island. This data is contained in the documents titled Block Island Data Sheet.xls and Block Island Complete Points.kmz referenced in Exhibits H.1 and H.2 respectively. This information is summarized in Section 10.7 and available to all respondents to use as they design the physical outside plant components of their solutions.

The Town also seeks responses on the deployment and management of access and transport electronics on the Island and the mainland. The Town’s preference is to own the Island access and transport network components, including all physical infrastructure and electronics, and the Town will seek the services of a qualified respondent to operate the network. The Town is also seeking the design, deployment and management of Public Wi-Fi Services on the Island as outlined in Section 17. The Town is requesting Service Providers to provide Internet access and optionally traditional telephone and cable TV services. The components requiring responses are detailed in sections 10 through 17 and are as follows:

1.4.1 Island Wide Broadband Access Network: Outside Plant Design and Implementation – RFP Section 10.

1.4.2 Island Wide Broadband Access Network: Access and Aggregation Electronics Design and Implementation – RFP Section 11.

1.4.3 Mainland Dark Fiber Design and Implementation – RFP Section 12.

1.4.4 Transport Electronics Design and Implementation – RFP Section 13.

1.4.5 Mainland Data Center/Colocation with access to Service Providers – RFP Section 14.

1.4.6 Service Providers – RFP Section 15.


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1.4.7 Network Operator: a qualified operator to manage and operate the end to end network on behalf of the Town. – RFP Section 16.

1.4.8 Public Wi-Fi Services – RFP Section 17.

1.5 Respondents are asked to be familiar with the details below to ensure any solutions they propose in this RFP are compatible with these desired future services.

1.5.1 The Town is interested in seeking a future redundant transport connection between the Island and the mainland. Vendors should be aware of this need and must ensure the proposed solution will be compatible with this additional service in the future. The Town will in the future seek proposals on a microwave or other wireless solution that will provide backup connectivity from the Island to the mainland in the event the undersea fibers are compromised, or some other outage occurs that affects connectivity. The Town desires a minimum of 1Gbps for this redundancy. Please see diagram in Exhibit F.

1.5.2 Fire Alarm Monitoring System transition from radio communications to Ethernet communication between commercial and municipal facilities and the Police Department. The Town currently provides Fire Alarm monitoring services as required by the Rhode Island Office of the State Fire Marshall using radio-based technology. The Fire Alarm radios and the Police central monitoring unit can be converted to use Ethernet. In this scenario all Fire Alarm ports serviced via Network Termination Equipment (NTE) would be tagged with a specific VLAN and routed to the appropriate network for processing.

1.5.3 Capabilities to enhance the reliability and coverage for our Island-wide existing radio communications system, supporting public safety and other Town department communications. This system includes a centrally located Motorola MOTOTRBO System with three Motorola VHF Digital/Analog Repeaters, EMR VHF Combiner, EMR VHF Multicoupler with built-in Receive amplification, EMR Duplexer, Battery Backup and Management System. It also includes SmartPTT Radio System Licensing, and IP based SmartPTT primary and backup servers and dispatcher console computers.

2. Project Correspondence and Questions

2.1 All project correspondence and questions shall be by email to:

RFP AdministratorMission BroadbandSuite 4145 Exchange StreetBangor, ME 04401Email: [email protected]


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3. RFP Process Timetable and Proposal Submission Requirements

3.1 RFP Process Timetable

Milestone Target DateIssue RFP Thursday, September 26, 2019All Written Questions Submitted Friday, October 4, 2019Response to All Questions Posted Monday, October 14, 2019Proposals Due by 4:00 PM Eastern Friday, October 18, 2019Award Date Thursday, November 21, 2019Financial Town Meeting (Funding Vote) January 2020Contract Execution January 2020Begin Project Implementation Friday, January 31, 2020

3.2 Proposal Submission Requirements

3.2.1 An electronic copy shall be emailed to the RFP Administrator, Mission Broadband at [email protected] and received by 4:00 PM Eastern time on the Proposal Due Date noted in the Timetable above.

3.2.2 Three hard copies of the proposal shall be delivered to the Office of the Town Manager, 16 Old Town Road, PO Box 220, Block Island, RI 02807 on or before 4:00 PM on the Proposal Due Date noted in the Timetable above. Proposals shall be clearly marked “Town of New Shoreham Island Wide Broadband Project” on the outside of the envelope.

3.3 Proposal Addendums and Q&A

3.3.1 Vendors should submit any questions, noted errors, discrepancies, ambiguities, exceptions, or deficiencies they have concerning this RFP by emailing such requests, with “Town of New Shoreham RFP Inquiry” in the subject line, to RFP Administrator, Mission Broadband at [email protected].

3.3.2 The Town will post any addendums to this RFP, as well as responses to all questions received, on the Town’s website “Request for Bids and Proposals” page at http://www.new-shoreham.com/requests.cfm. For clarity of response, the Town may restate or combine questions received from multiple vendors.

3.3.3 Vendors shall include all addenda in their responses, and all instructions in Section 4 that apply to the issued RFP also apply to any/all addendums.

4. Instructions to Vendors

4.1 Any and all information provided to vendors by the Town of New Shoreham or Mission Broadband, is considered to be proprietary information and must be used


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solely for the purpose of preparing the proposal and is not to be released outside the Vendor organization without written permission from the Town.

4.2 It is the responsibility of the vendors to review, evaluate and request clarification prior to submittal of a proposal.

4.3 Vendors shall take all responsibility for any errors or omissions in their quote or proposal.

4.4 Negligence on the part of the Vendor in preparing the proposal confers no right of withdrawal after the time fixed for the receipt of the proposals.

4.5 A Vendor can team with another vendor and/or respond to some or all of the RFP. No automatic advantage will be assessed for a proposal that addresses all RFP components, and conversely no automatic disadvantage will be assessed for a proposal that fails to address all RFP components. If a vendor teams with another vendor, then the information requested for the Vendor shall be provided for all members of the team.

4.6 Vendors shall use the numbering convention in this RFP when formatting their response. The Vendor response shall be explained in detail and shall indicate how the Vendor proposes to satisfy each requirement, where necessary. At the very least, the Vendor must indicate compliance, non-compliance, understood or exception for each line item.

4.7 Vendors shall cite specific terms and conditions to which they take exception. The Vendor shall state the exact requirement to which exception is taken. Any cost impact associated with an exception shall be identified and included in the proposal.

4.8 Vendors shall provide a detailed narrative of the components and processes involved in the implementation of their solution. Vendors shall provide project Implementation Timelines for their proposed solution(s), detailed for each applicable component in Section 1.4.

4.9 All proposals shall provide a straightforward, concise delineation of the Vendor’s understanding of and capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this RFP. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content.

4.10 Vendors shall provide professional references from similar projects, including: contact name, mailing address, phone number, email address and description of the projects.

4.11 Vendor shall describe any experience serving municipal broadband networks.

4.12 As a separate document, but included in the RFP response submittal, the Town requests an Executive Summary that summarizes the Vendor’s approach to a prospective partnership with the Town for this project. Please provide as much information included in your RFP response as you are comfortable with, recognizing that the purpose of the Executive Summary is to allow the sharing of information in a public setting with the Town Council, New Shoreham Broadband Committee, staff and the public. Therefore, no information should be included in the Executive Summary that the Vendor deems to be confidential or proprietary.


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4.13 Vendor shall ensure and demonstrate that all outdoor solution components are able to withstand Block Island’s corrosive and windy marine environment.

4.14 Each Vendor shall name the Project Manager that Vendor will assign to the project along with a description of the Project Manager’s qualifications and experience.

4.15 Vendors organized under the laws of this or any other jurisdiction must provide evidence that they are in good standing under the laws of the State of Rhode Island, and in the case of entities organized under the laws of any other state, evidence that Vendor is licensed to do business in and is in good standing under the laws of the State of Rhode Island or a sworn statement that Vendor will take all necessary action to become so licensed if Vendor’s proposal is accepted.

4.16 All proposals submitted shall be valid for one year, or until the contract is signed, whichever comes first.

4.17 The Town reserves the right to require vendors to demonstrate a proof of concept of their offering.

4.18 A Proposal may be rejected in whole or in part if it limits or modifies any terms and conditions and/or specifications of this RFP.

4.19 By responding, the Vendor states that the Proposal is not made in connection with any competing Vendor submitting a separate response to the RFP and is, in all aspects, fair and without collusion or fraud.

4.20 The Vendor shall comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations related to the performance of the contract to the extent that the same may be applicable.

4.21 The Town reserves the right to seek clarification of each Proposal or to make an award without further discussion of the Proposals received. Therefore, it is important that each Proposal be organized and submitted in a clear and complete manner.

4.22 Vendors may use the accompanying file titled Town of New Shoreham RFP Pricing Matrix.xls that is referenced in Exhibit H.3 for the pricing of their proposed solutions. Using this matrix is preferred but not mandatory. The tabs on the spreadsheet are named to match the RFP sections requiring proposals.

4.23 The Vendor shall clearly outline warranty information and annual maintenance costs for all components included in the solutions they propose.

4.24 All materials submitted in response to the RFP become the property of the Town. If there is any concern about confidentiality, mark the appropriate pages of your response “Confidential.” The Town and Mission Broadband will attempt to honor all reasonable requests for vendor confidentiality.

4.25 No contract will be awarded except to responsible vendors deemed by the Town to be capable of performing the work requested. Vendor's employees shall be trained and qualified to perform the work and operate all required equipment. Before the award of the Contract, any Vendor may be required to show that they have the necessary facilities, experience, personnel, ability and financial resources to perform the work in a satisfactory and timely manner.


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4.26 Vendors must recognize that use of the National Grid fiber strands is limited to those vendors with which the Town enters into a contractual agreement for the expressed purpose of providing telecommunications services to the community.

4.27 The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or any part thereof, to waive any formality, informality, information and/or errors in the proposal, and to accept the proposal considered to be in the best interest of the Town.

4.28 The Successful Vendor may be required to post a 100% Performance and Payment Bond.

5. Authorized Negotiator

5.1 The proposal shall be signed by the person authorized to legally bind the proposal.

5.2 The proposal shall designate the Vendor’s authorized negotiator who shall be empowered to make binding commitments.

6. Vendors Responsibility for Proposal Costs

6.1 The Vendor shall be fully responsible for all proposal development and submittal costs. The Town assumes no contractual or financial obligation as a result of issuance of this RFP.

7. Compliance with Laws, Permits, Rules

7.1 The Successful Vendor shall comply with all rules, regulations, ordinances, codes and laws relating to the work or the conduct thereof and shall secure and pay for any permits and licenses necessary for the execution of the work.

7.2 The Successful Vendor or Vendors shall be responsible for implementing precautions for the safety and security of, and shall provide reasonable protection to prevent damage, injury or loss to Vendor’s employees, Subcontractor’s employees, Town personnel and the general public. Vendor shall comply with all applicable safety regulations including Dig Safe, traffic safety laws, OSHA and regulations of the Town of New Shoreham. Vendor shall comply with and give notices required by applicable laws, statutes, ordinances, codes, rules and regulations, and lawful orders of public authorities bearing on safety of persons or property or their protection from damage, injury or loss.

8. Prevailing Wage and other RIGL provisions

8.1 Vendor shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and orders of any public body having jurisdiction. Vendor shall remedy all damage, injury or loss to any property caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the Vendor, any subcontractor or anyone directly or indirectly employed by any of them or anyone for whose acts any of them may be liable.

8.2 The Contractor shall comply with Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 13 LABOR AND PAYMENT OF DEBTS BY Contractors. Chapter 37-13-3 states in part:


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All contractors who have been awarded contracts for public works by an awarding agency or authority of the state or of any city, town, committee or by any person or persons therein, in which state or municipal funds are used and of which the contract price shall be in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) whether payable at the time of the signing of the contract or at a later date, and their subcontractors, on such public works shall pay their employees at weekly intervals and shall comply with the provisions set forth in Chapter 37-13-4 -37-13-14, inclusive, and 37-13-16, as amended.”

The Town, in compliance with Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 37-13-9, sets forth herein Chapters 37-13-5, 37-13-6 and 37-13-7 as follows:

§ 37-13-5 Payment for trucking or materials furnished – Withholding of sums due. – A contractor or subcontractor on public works authorized by a proper authority shall pay any obligation or charge for trucking and material which have been furnished for the use of the contractor or subcontractor, in connection with the public works being performed by him or her, within ninety (90) days after the obligation or charge is incurred or the trucking service has been performed or the material has been delivered to the site of the work, whichever is later. When it is brought to the notice of the proper authority in a city or town, or the proper authority in the state having supervision of the contract, that the obligation or charge has not been paid by the contractor or subcontractor, the proper authority may deduct and hold for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, from sums of money due to the contractor or subcontractor, the equivalent amount of such sums certified by a trucker or materialman creditor as due him or her, as provided in this section, and which the proper authority determines is reasonable for trucking performed or materials furnished for the public works.

§ 37-13-6 Ascertainment of prevailing rate of wages and other payments – Specification of rate in call for bids and in contract. – Before awarding any contract for public works to be done, the proper authority shall ascertain from the director of labor and training the general prevailing rate of the regular, holiday, and overtime wages paid and the general prevailing payments on behalf of employees only, to lawful welfare, pension, vacation, apprentice training, and educational funds (payments to the funds must constitute an ordinary business expense deduction for federal income tax purposes by contractors) in the city, town, village, or other appropriate political subdivision of the state in which the work is to be performed, for each craft, mechanic, teamster, laborer, or type of worker needed to execute the contract for the public works. The proper authority shall, also, specify in the call for bids for the contract and in the contract itself the general prevailing rate of the regular, holiday, and overtime wages paid and the payments on behalf of employees only, to the welfare, pension, vacation, apprentice training, and education funds existing in the locality for each craft, mechanic, teamster, laborer, or type of worker needed to execute the contract or work.

§ 37-13-7 Specification in contract of amount and frequency of payment of wages. –

(a) Every call for bids for every contract in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), to which the state of Rhode Island or any political subdivision thereof or


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any public agency or quasi-public agency is a party, for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works of the state of Rhode Island or any political subdivision thereof, or any public agency or quasi-public agency and which requires or involves the employment of employees, shall contain a provision stating the minimum wages to be paid various types of employees which shall be based upon the wages that will be determined by the director of labor and training to be prevailing for the corresponding types of employees employed on projects of a character similar to the contract work in the city, town, village, or other appropriate political subdivision of the state of Rhode Island in which the work is to be performed. Every contract shall contain a stipulation that the contractor or his or her subcontractor shall pay all the employees employed directly upon the site of the work, unconditionally and not less often than once a week, and without subsequent deduction or rebate on any account, the full amounts accrued at time of payment computed at wage rates not less than those stated in the call for bids, regardless of any contractual relationships which may be alleged to exist between the contractor or subcontractor and the employees, and that the scale of wages to be paid shall be posted by the contractor in a prominent and easily accessible place at the site of the work; and the further stipulation that there may be withheld from the contractor so much of the accrued payments as may be considered necessary to pay to the employees employed by the contractor, or any subcontractor on the work, the difference between the rates of wages required by the contract to be paid the employees on the work and the rates of wages received by the employees and not refunded to the contractor, subcontractors, or their agents.

(b) The terms "wages", "scale of wages", "wage rates", "minimum wages", and "prevailing wages" shall include:

(1) The basic hourly rate of pay; and

(2) The amount of:

(i) The rate of contribution made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; and

(ii) The rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to employees pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or program which was communicated in writing to the employees affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, or accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or subcontractor is not required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of the benefits; provided, that the obligation of a contractor or subcontractor to make payment in accordance with the prevailing wage determinations of the director of labor and training insofar as this chapter of this title and other acts incorporating this chapter of this title by reference are concerned may be discharged by the making of payments in cash, by the making


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of contributions of a type referred to in subsection (b)(2), or by the assumption of an enforceable commitment to bear the costs of a plan or program of a type referred to in this subdivision, or any combination thereof, where the aggregate of any payments, contributions, and costs is not less than the rate of pay described in subsection (b)(1) plus the amount referred to in subsection (b)(2).

(c) The term "employees", as used in this section, shall include employees of contractors or subcontractors performing jobs on various types of public works including mechanics, apprentices, teamsters, chauffeurs, and laborers engaged in the transportation of gravel or fill to the site of public works, the removal and/or delivery of gravel or fill or ready-mix concrete, sand, bituminous stone, or asphalt flowable fill from the site of public works, or the transportation or removal of gravel or fill from one location to another on the site of public works, and the employment of the employees shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (a) and (b).

(d) The terms "public agency" and "quasi-public agency" shall include, but not be limited to, the Rhode Island industrial recreational building authority, the Rhode Island economic development corporation, the Rhode Island airport corporation, the Rhode Island industrial facilities corporation, the Rhode Island refunding bond authority, the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation, the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation, the Rhode Island public transit authority, the Rhode Island student loan authority, the water resources board corporate, the Rhode Island health and education building corporation, the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority, the Narragansett Bay water quality management district commission, Rhode Island telecommunications authority, the convention center authority, the board of governors for higher education, the board of regents for elementary and secondary education, the capital center commission, the housing resources commission, the Quonset Point-Davisville management corporation, the Rhode Island children's crusade for higher education, the Rhode Island depositors economic protection corporation, the Rhode Island lottery commission, the Rhode Island partnership for science and technology, the Rhode Island public building authority, and the Rhode Island underground storage tank board.

9. Insurance

9.1 The Successful Vendor shall agree to maintain General Liability Insurance and Worker’s Compensation Insurance, where applicable, to cover all its personnel engaged in the performance of the services herein described as well as damages arising as a result of the performance of such services, in amounts acceptable to the Town, with reputable and financially responsible insurance companies acceptable to the Town and authorized for business in the State of Rhode Island. The Successful Vendor shall furnish to the Town certificates of such insurance and renewals upon the Town’s request. Such certificates shall name the Town of New Shoreham as additional insured. Minimum insurance requirements are as follows:

9.1.1 General Liability Insurance (Contractual Liability Included)Minimum Limits:


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Each Occurrence: $1,000,000Products/Completed Operations: $1,000,000

If the above insurance is written on a claim made form, it shall continue for three years following termination of this agreement. The insurance shall have a retroactive date of placement prior to or coinciding with the effective date of this agreement.

9.1.2 Workers' Compensation InsuranceAs required under Rhode Island law.

9.2 The Successful Vendor further agrees to require its subcontractor(s), if any, to maintain General Liability Insurance, Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability Insurance, where applicable. The amounts of such coverage shall be as reasonably determined by Successful Vendor.

9.3 Proof of policies shall be provided with proposal.

9.4 Performance Bonds. Where indicated, Successful Vendor must furnish a 100% Performance and Payment Bond for contracts subject to Title 37 Chapters 12 and 13 of the Rhode Island General Laws. All bonds must be furnished by a surety company authorized to conduct business in the State of Rhode Island. Performance bonds must be submitted within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the contract execution.

10. Island Wide Broadband Access Network – Outside Plant Design and Implementation

10.1 The Town is seeking proposals for the design and construction of an Island wide broadband network with sufficient capacity to provide 1Gbps symmetrical Internet service to approximately 1800 developed commercial, residential and mixed-use parcels. A detailed breakdown of the types of structures on the Island is contained in the file titled Land Use Table.xls referenced in Exhibit H.7.

10.2 The Town also seeks proposals for Public Wi-Fi services in specific locations on the Island as outlined in Section 17.

10.3 The Town is not predisposed to a particular access technology and will consider all types of technology solutions, i.e. wired, wireless, cellular, etc., and any combination thereof, that meet the requirements laid out in this RFP. The design must be scalable and provide capabilities for access speeds above 1Gbps.

10.4 The Town owns and operates a Telecommunications Building (Telecom Bldg) located on the Island at 10 Beach Avenue, Block Island, RI. to be used as the hub in the deployment of the broadband network. The Telecom Bldg has redundant HVAC, Power and ample space for equipment racks. The Town requires that a redundant cable path entrance to the handhole, located outside of the Telecom Bldg as part of this project. Details are outlined in section 10.7 below.

10.5 The Town is also seeking options for future services to include a redundant transport solution to the Island.


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10.6 There are many undeveloped and underdeveloped parcels of land on the Island and all proposals should include sufficient capacity to expand the network to cover these areas. These parcels of land are highlighted in the accompanying file titled Islandwide_BroadbandMap5_UndevelopedLand.pdf which is referenced in Exhibit H.4.

10.7 As stated in Section 1.4 a survey of current conditions was conducted in August 2019 to gather details on the existing telecommunications and electrical infrastructure on the Island. This data is contained in the documents titled Block Island Data Sheet.xls and Block Island Complete Points.kmz referenced in Exhibits H.1 and H.2 respectively.

10.7.1 Vendors will need to break down costs for connecting to structures as outlined in the pricing matrix titled Town of New Shoreham RFP Pricing Matrix.xls which is referenced in Exhibit H.3.

10.7.2 The data provided from the survey can be used by the vendor to assist in creating accurate solutions in their engineering design. All outside plant solutions must be designed according to industry best practices. It is recommended Vendors conduct an onsite evaluation as part of their response process.

10.8 The Town requires that a redundant cable path entrance to the handhole, located outside of the Telecom Bldg as part of this project. Refer to the document titled Block Island Fiber As-Built.pdf referenced in Exhibit H.5 for details. To accomplish this goal new conduit will need to be placed from the handhole outside of the Telecom Bldg to either Pole 26S or Pole 14 on Beach St.

10.9 The Town owns an existing aerial 288 fiber cable from the Telecom Bldg to several Community Anchor Institutions (CAI’s). Up to 144 strands of this fiber can be leveraged in the design of the proposed network. Town owned fiber currently connects the following CAI’s:

10.9.1 Town Hall - 16 Old Town Rd, Block Island.

10.9.2 Island Free Library - 9 Dodge St, Block Island.

10.9.3 Block Island School - 15 High St, Block Island.

10.9.4 Block Island Medical Center - 6 Payne Rd, Block Island.

10.9.5 New Shoreham Police Department, Fire and Rescue also located at 10 Beach Ave, Block Island.

10.9.6 Block Island Utility District – 100 Ocean Ave, Block Island.

10.9.7 State Highways Garage – 9 Ocean Ave, Block Island.

10.9.8 See accompanying file titled Block Island Fiber As-Built.pdf referenced in Exhibit H.5 for a map of existing fiber. Up to 144 existing strands are available for use in the network design.


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10.10 Regardless of the solution(s) proposed, all vendors should be sensitive to the Island’s aesthetic character and concerns over balancing new construction with preservation of viewsheds and the Island’s historical character. Vendors should describe the aesthetic impact that their proposed solutions may have.

10.11 Vendors proposing any fiber optic outside plant, design and implementation must adhere to the requirements below. (Please Note: The Town is not predisposed to a particular access technology and will consider all types of technology solutions, i.e. wired, wireless, cellular, etc., and any combination thereof, that meet the requirements laid out in this RFP. The design however, must be scalable and provide capabilities for access speeds above 1Gbps.)

10.11.1 All fibers will be single mode.

10.11.2 All fibers will be homerun back to the Block Island Telecom Bldg.

10.11.3 Vendor must terminate all homerun fiber cables within the Telecom Bldg.

10.11.4 Vendor must provide all required Outside Plant (OSP) materials, Fiber Distribution Panels (FDP) and Racks to accommodate implementation of the physical network and termination of fiber within the Telecom Bldg.

10.11.5 Town owned existing cable infrastructure is available for over lashing of new backbone fiber network. Vendors shall ensure and demonstrate that all outdoor solution components are able to withstand Block Island’s corrosive and windy marine environment. At a minimum, this hardware should meet or exceed existing fiber attachments.

10.11.6 Town desires a geographically diverse fiber ring topology design for their existing Community Anchor Institutions (CAI) backbone fiber network. Responding vendors will design and build fiber routes that will allow the Town to accomplish this diversity goal in the future. Vendors will utilize existing CAI backbone and extend this backbone to create a fiber ring topology. The locations requiring a ringed architecture are listed below and shown in the Block Island Fiber As-Built.pdf referenced in Exhibit H.5:

10.11.6.1 Town Hall - 16 Old Town Rd, Block Island.

10.11.6.2 Island Free Library - 9 Dodge St, Block Island.

10.11.6.3 Block Island School - 15 High St, Block Island.

10.11.6.4 Block Island Medical Center - 6 Payne Rd, Block Island.

10.11.6.5 New Shoreham Police Department, Fire and Rescue also located at 10 Beach Ave, Block Island.


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10.11.6.6 Block Island Utility District – 100 Ocean Ave, Block Island.

10.11.6.7 State Highways Garage - 9 Ocean Ave, Block Island.

10.11.7 Fiber cable must be installed per manufacturer’s specifications.

10.11.8 Fiber drops will be terminated into electronics inside all structures.

10.11.9 Fiber drops will be a combination of aerial and buried.

10.11.10Where aerial drops exist, Vendors may use aerial solutions. Where existing utilities are underground, drops must be buried.

10.11.11For buried drops, conduit such as microduct is required.

10.11.12Vendor will need to engineer drops accordingly to structure, i.e. business, multi-dwelling, condominium, etc.

10.11.13Vendors proposing fiber will install slack loops in sufficient quantity to ensure all current and future service needs can be met. Explain your standard practice and distance for placing slack loops.

10.12 Vendors proposing any wireless technologies or wireless-hybrid technologies for access or aggregation shall adhere to the requirements below: (Please Note: The Town is not predisposed to a particular access technology and will consider all types of technology solutions, i.e. wired, wireless, cellular, etc., and any combination thereof, that meet the requirements laid out in this RFP. The design however, must be scalable and provide capabilities for access speeds above 1Gbps.)

10.12.1 Vendors should clearly mark the locations and state the mounting method and the necessary provision of power supply and backhaul connection for each Access Point or Fixed-Wireless Access device in the site diagram provided.

10.12.2 Vendor must provide all required Outside Plant (OSP) materials, Fiber Distribution Panels (FDP) and Racks to accommodate implementation of the physical network and termination of fiber within the Telecom Bldg.

10.12.3 Vendor shall ensure and demonstrate that all outdoor solution components are able to withstand Block Island’s corrosive and windy marine environment.

10.12.4 All outdoor equipment will be weatherproof.

10.12.5 Wireless devices will be mounted on structures and Network Termination Equipment placed inside the premise.

10.12.6 Each subscriber must have access to 1Gbps of symmetrical bandwidth.


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10.12.7 All field electronics must have sufficient battery to run for 8 hours if commercial power is lost.

10.12.8 Access Points will be capable of providing 360-degree coverage as a baseline or option.

10.13 The Successful network construction Vendor will be responsible for the preparation of all necessary pole attachment licensing applications on Block Island, Town. However, the Town will be responsible for submission of those applications under existing Pole Attachment Agreements with the Block Island Utility District and Verizon. Town will be responsible for all make ready costs.

10.14 Outside plant construction must be in compliance with Town’s existing pole attachment agreement with pole owners Verizon and BIPCO, which are available upon request.

10.15 All Vendors must provide to Town the industry standards that they will adhere to for installation of all network components such as Fiber Optic Association Standards (FOAS).

10.16 Successful Vendor(s) will be required to deliver engineering maps and as-builts of final network including documents detailing all poles, drops, slack loops, splice and termination points in paper and digital formats as determined by the Town.

10.17 Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) acceptance testing for all fibers shall be completed after fiber installation and industry standard acceptance results will be provided for the Town to review and approve.

10.18 Successful Vendor(s) will secure permits and approvals and finalize construction details with the Town’s support as needed.

10.19 Vendor pricing may be provided by filling out the pricing matrix titled Town of New Shoreham RFP Pricing Matrix.xls referenced in Exhibit H.3 or optionally use their own pricing format.

11. Island Wide Broadband Access Network – Access and Aggregation Electronics Design and Implementation

11.1 The Town is requesting design and implementation of the hardware and electronics necessary to provide 1Gbps symmetrical Internet access to approximately 1800 developed commercial, residential and mixed-use parcels. The Town seeks a design that will futureproof the network for speeds greater than 1 Gbps.

11.2 The diagram in Exhibit A illustrates an example of hybrid network deployment including fiber to the premise and fixed wireless. The diagram in Exhibit D illustrates the applications that may run over the end to end network. As stated earlier in this document the Town is not predisposed to a particular access technology. Vendors are encouraged to propose designs they feel optimally meet the requirements and specifications of this RFP.


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11.3 All core network access equipment, servers, software, controllers, firewalls, electronics and all other components required to operate the network will be installed in the Telecom Bldg.

11.4 The core network in the Telecom Bldg must provide scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing bandwidth and application needs over time. The desired characteristics of the network are as follows:

11.4.1 The network must scale to meet short term and long-term traffic demands. It is expected that the enablement of high capacity broadband in the Town will result in an increase in bandwidth intensive applications such as telecommuting, telehealth, gaming, streaming video, video conferencing and distance learning. IoT applications will be important, especially for property owners who spend time away from the Island. The network must have sufficient capacity to meet user demand especially during peak season from May 15th to September 15th. The access network must have sufficient capacity at all levels to accommodate the volume change in traffic that will occur during the year.

11.4.2 Vendor must ensure that high availability, redundancy, and hot swappable common components (i.e. control cards/processors, power supplies, etc.) are built into the core components.

11.4.3 The network must be flexible enough to provide different types and classes of services to meet different customer and Service Provider requirements.

11.4.4 The Town desires that the network is open access. The core and access platform solutions must be capable of logically segmenting traffic to/from different Service Provider’s via separate VLAN’s, VPN’s or some other mechanism.

11.4.5 Vendors proposing solutions based on Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology must explain any backplane or uplink bandwidth constraints as take rates increase and individual PON ports become oversubscribed. Every residential and business subscriber must have a base requirement to access 1Gbps symmetrical bandwidth.

11.4.6 Vendors proposing solutions involving wireless technologies must explain the frequencies, channels and licensed or unlicensed spectrum proposed.

11.4.7 Fiber-to-the-premise solutions must be capable of supporting access utilizing a single strand of fiber except where dual strands are required for a specific application or customer.

11.4.8 Support for IEEE 802.3ad/802.1AX link aggregation on all uplink ports.


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11.4.9 Support for IEEE 802.1Q VLANs throughout entire network.

11.4.10 Support for IEEE 802.1p QoS (minimum four traffic classes) throughout entire network.

11.4.11 SNMP management capabilities throughout entire network.

11.5 Network Termination Equipment (NTE) on customer premise.

11.5.1 NTE equipment will be installed inside customer premise.

11.5.2 NTE shall include model options of 10/100/1000 Base TX ports facing subscribers.

11.5.3 NTE shall include single port and multi-port model options for different types of uses (I.E. single unit, multi-unit).

11.5.4 Vendor will need to engineer NTE accordingly to use, i.e. single unit, multi-unit, hotel, etc.

11.5.5 NTE with multiple Ethernet ports may be used to separate and isolate Fire Alarm signaling. In this scenario all Fire Alarm ports serviced via NTE would be tagged with a specific VLAN and routed to the appropriate network for processing.

11.5.6 It is preferred that all NTE is capable of supporting Wi-Fi for customer use inside the premise.

11.5.7 Vendors should explain compelling advantages and features of their solution beyond the baseline listed above.


12. Mainland Dark Fiber Design and Implementation

12.1 The Town has four available strands of undersea fiber that may be accessed via a Town-owned handhole located under the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) right-of-way adjacent to Point Judith Road (Rt. 108) and near Pole 6, which is south of Dillon’s Corner in Narragansett, RI as referenced in the diagram in Exhibit B. Access to the fiber will require a splice of the fiber and installation of a splice case.

12.2 The Town requests proposals for geographically diverse dark fiber connectivity from this handhole (Location A) to a Colocation facility (Location Z). For OTDR test results of existing undersea fibers see document titled OTDR Block Island to Dillons Corner.pdf referenced in Exhibit H.6.

12.2.1 There are three Colocation scenarios that can be considered.


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12.2.1.1 The Town has identified and pre-screened two possible Colocation facilities located in the proximity of the following addresses:

12.2.1.1.1 304 Carpenter St., Providence, RI.

12.2.1.1.2 375 Promenade St., Providence, RI.

12.2.1.2 The Vendor may propose bringing geographically diverse dark fiber connectivity to another Colocation facility of their choice.

12.2.1.3 If a suitable Colocation facility is not attainable, then the Town will pursue the construction of a telecommunications facility, potentially on State of Rhode Island property located at Dillon’s Corner in Narragansett, RI, North of Woodruff Ave. between Pt. Judith Rd (Rt. 108) to the East and the on-ramp to Tower Hill Rd (Rt. 1) to the West. The Vendor shall propose geographically diverse dark fiber connectivity from the handhole (Location A) to this new facility (Location Z).

12.2.2 The Town requests two strands each of dark fiber geographically diverse from handhole to Colocation facility.

12.3 The Successful network construction Vendor will be responsible for the preparation and submission of all necessary pole attachment licensing applications on the mainland. The Vendor will be responsible for all make ready costs.


13. Transport Electronics Design and Implementation

13.1 The Block Island Transport electronics will be located in the Telecom Bldg. Mainland Transport electronics will be located in the Colocation facility. Fiber connectivity between the Island location and the mainland location will be provided by the Town through this RFP process as outlined in Section 12. For OTDR test results of existing undersea fiber see document titled OTDR Block Island to Dillons Corner.pdf referenced in Exhibit H.6. The expectation is that all fiber used to complete connectivity from the Dillon’s Corner handhole to a suitable Colocation facility will pass industry standard Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) testing.

13.2 The diagrams in Exhibit C depict possible transport solutions for connecting Service Providers to the Block Island access network. The Town requests a transport solution that is highly scalable. The transport solution must include routers on each end capable of supporting multiple 10/40/100Gbps interfaces. All equipment proposed must include redundant power and processing capabilities. The transport solutions depicted in Exhibit C are described below, however,


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Vendors should feel free to submit alternate designs that meet or exceed the requirements.

13.2.1 Referencing Exhibit C, Diagram C-1. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems on the Island and mainland terminating all four fibers to create a layer 1 foundation for high capacity and scalable ringed layer 2 and 3 architectures. In this scenario the routers would be connected initially via dual 10/40/100Gbps circuits riding wavelengths on the DWDM system. Vendors must clearly outline incremental costs for adding bandwidth in this model.

13.2.2 Referencing Exhibit C, Diagram C-2. This scenario includes routers on the mainland and the Island with dual 10/40/100Gbps optics capable of reaching up to 100Km. In this scenario the fibers would be used to create a high capacity connection from the Island to the mainland. Vendors must outline incremental costs for adding capacity.

13.2.3 Referencing Exhibit C, Diagram C-3. Direct access via these fibers to a Service Provider on the mainland capable of providing both 10/40/100Gbps upstream bandwidth and transport of other Service Providers on to the Block Island network to access subscribers. In this scenario the Town would not place electronics on the mainland. Vendors must provide incremental costs for increasing bandwidth beyond the initial starting point.

13.3 The Town is seeking proposals for design, implementation, operation and support of the entire transport infrastructure outlined in this section.


14. Mainland Data Center/Colocation with access to Service Providers

14.1 The Town requires rack space in a Data Center or Colocation Facility on the mainland. This space will be used for the electronics that will terminate the 4 strands of mainland East/West fiber to complete the transport path from the Island to the mainland. This equipment will be used to provide transport of bandwidth to the Island and access to Service Providers who will provide services on the Island. The Town requires pricing for half rack and full rack solutions including redundant power and diverse fiber path entrances for the East/West fiber route to the Town handhole in Narragansett. The mainland Data Center or Colocation facility shall have the following characteristics:

14.1.1 Facility shall run in a High Availability (HA) configuration, with fully redundant power and cooling.


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14.1.2 Facility shall include uninterruptible power source (UPS) batteries, and backup power generation for survival through sustained commercial power outages.

14.1.3 Facility shall have strong physical security, with limited/controlled access.

14.1.4 Facility shall have environmental controls for humidity and temperature, and fire suppression systems.

14.1.5 Equipment shall be mounted securely in racks and cabinets, in compliance with national, state, and local codes. All equipment shall be connected with uninterrupted cutover to battery and generator.

14.1.6 Facility shall be SSAE 16 SOC 2 Certified. Vendor Respondent will provide evidence that the facility meets or exceeds certification requirements.


15. Service Providers

15.1 Town is requesting Service Providers to provide services to subscribers on the Island. The Town seeks vendors who will provide a superior customer experience to the diverse population on the Island.

15.2 Service Provider must have strong track record of providing outstanding customer service and support and shall provide the following items to demonstrate this track record:

15.2.1 Three customer references.

15.2.2 Summary of organizational programs or initiatives aimed at improving the customer experience.

15.2.3 Annual Key Performance Indicator (KPI) goals and achievements for Customer Service and Technical Support for the past three years.

15.3 As an option, the Town seeks a wholesale arrangement in which the Town would purchase bandwidth from a Service Provider and resell bandwidth to subscribers on the Island. The Town’s preference is for an open access network over which capable Service Providers deliver services to subscribers with a qualified Operator managing the network on the Island, however, the Town must evaluate various models for service delivery in this process.

15.4 The Town is requesting Service Providers to provide the following services:

15.4.1 Internet Bandwidth. Vendor must provide bandwidth tier pricing as referenced in Exhibit G.


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15.4.2 As an option, the Town is requesting traditional telephone service to include State and Federal requirements as applicable.

15.4.3 As an option, the Vendor may provide a description of any additional telecommunication services offered.

15.4.4 As an option, the Town is requesting traditional television services.

15.5 Vendor will need to provide non-blocking Internet scalable for the busiest months of the year (May 15th through September 15th), based on total subscription bandwidth. During these months the Island population can grow to 20,000 on a peak summer day and the anticipation is that the access networks and Public Wi-Fi will be heavy utilized during these months.

15.6 The Town plans to negotiate final Service Level Agreement (SLA) requirements with the winning Vendor(s). Please explain SLA guarantees that can be provided and are appropriate, including those from the following list:

15.6.1 Jitter

15.6.2 Latency

15.6.3 Network Availability - Expressed as a percentage (in the form of ##.###%).

15.6.4 Response Time - Expressed in terms of initial trouble report response time in minutes and on-site response time in hours.

15.6.5 Planned Network Maintenance - Please indicate the standard notification Vendor provides to customers for planned network maintenance. Vendor should describe their standard network maintenance window.

15.6.6 Escalation Procedures - Vendor should provide NOC initial point of contact and trouble escalation procedures.

15.6.7 Security Incidents: Vendor shall list any programs and procedures in place specifically for monitoring and resolving security incidents.

15.6.8 Credit Allowances - Vendor must provide a listing of the credit allowances and/or refunds that may be assessed based upon service outages. Vendor should state the outage intervals and the refund amounts. For example, if service were unavailable for 30 minutes, state the refund amount. If service were unavailable for an hour, state the refund amount.

15.7 (Optional) Vendor will provide a description of traditional telephone services.


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15.8 (Optional) Vendor will provide a description of traditional television services to include station availability and local programming.

15.9 Service Provider vendors must perform the following functions:

15.9.1 Sales and marketing activity to sell services to subscribers on the Island.

15.9.2 Billing, collection and payment of all monthly reoccurring charges to include Federal and State taxes, surcharges and assessments.

15.9.3 Customer Service functions to include:

15.9.3.1 Entering and maintaining customer service records in a database.

15.9.3.2 Vendor must adhere to all state and federal customer privacy regulations.

15.9.3.3 Receiving inbound calls from customers for service-related issues.

15.9.3.4 Signing up new customers and upgrading a customer’s services.

15.9.3.5 Billing and payments.

15.9.3.6 Discussing/issuing credits when necessary.

15.9.3.7 Tracking and reporting Customer Service-related performance data to the Town.

15.9.4 Technical Support Level I / II / III: Vendor must have a Network Operations Center (NOC) or Technical Support call center to take calls from subscribers with service issues and perform the following functions:

15.9.4.1 Resolve subscriber service troubles.

15.9.4.2 Provide escalation procedures to subscribers.

15.9.4.3 Enter and update trouble tickets.

15.9.4.4 Provide updates to end customer.

15.9.4.5 Work with the Network Operator on the Island to resolve complex troubles as necessary.

15.9.4.6 Provide a process for trouble escalations.

15.9.4.7 Have network management and monitoring platforms that actively monitor services on the network.

15.9.4.8 Track and report Trouble Ticket related performance data to the Town.

15.10 Vendor must indicate whether or not they are a facilities-based retail Service Provider and eligible for FCC or Federal program funding.


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16. Network Operator

16.1 The Town is seeking proposals from qualified operators for the operation, management and maintenance of the broadband network that will be constructed on Block Island. The network is intended to be an open access network allowing Service Providers who wish to provide services over the network to do so provided they meet Town requirements, including performance and customer service standards. The operator must have experience working with and managing relationships with multiple Service Providers. The Town desires subscribers on the Island to have an excellent customer service experience regardless of time of day or weather conditions.

16.2 The Town recognizes that Vendors may be unable to respond solely to this section of the RFP due to the unknown architecture of the final network. The Town understands that qualified Vendors who wish to respond solely to this section will be required to partner with other Vendors for the network architecture to be defined. In the event that the Town does not receive the desired responses for this section it is possible solicitation of these services may occur through a future RFP process.

16.3 The primary functions that will need to be performed are listed below. It is assumed that the winning vendor will have existing Operation Support Systems/Business Support Systems in place and strong experience turning up, onboarding and managing greenfield networks.

16.3.1 Operator will work with Service Providers to perform the following activities related to service delivery and trouble resolution:

16.3.1.1 Network to Network Interface (NNI) Design and Activation.

16.3.1.2 Coordination and scheduling of all activities related to a service install with internal and external parties including splicing, trenching, traffic control etc.

16.3.1.3 Provisioning of access and core network components to facilitate turn up of new subscriber services.

16.3.1.4 Coordination and scheduling of test and turnup / service activation.

16.3.1.5 Providing detailed installation information to customer and Service Provider.

16.3.1.6 End user service requests for all adds, moves and changes.


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16.3.1.7 End user service requests concerning all trouble resolution.

16.3.1.8 Communication with all affected parties during outage events.

16.3.2 Platform Engineering Support: The operator must have core and access equipment expertise. Please provide resumes of evidence of access to such expertise.

16.3.3 Network Engineering – Physical Layer: Operator must have expertise in outside plant and systems capable of maintaining accurate plant data for all physical components of the network. Please provide an overview of the system that will be used to house the Block Island inside and outside plant data.

16.3.4 Network Engineering – L2/L3: Operator must have Network Engineering expertise and experience dealing with complex layer 2 and layer 3 issues. Please provide resumes of staff with networking engineering expertise.

16.3.5 Inventory: Operator must maintain sufficient inventory on the Island to perform new activations within 5 business days of initial order by customer.

16.3.6 Response Times: Operator must maintain all tools, testing equipment and critical spares in a manner that allows both installation and trouble response time commitments to be adhered to.

16.3.7 Please explain your network change control processes.

16.3.8 Operator must have a process for performing maintenance on the network and a maintenance notification process for informing all relevant parties. Please explain.

16.3.9 Operator must provide expected annual operational costs for years 1-5.

16.4 Specific Operator Requirements

16.4.1 The Town requires ongoing configuration, management, and maintenance of the physical network as well as the electronics supporting the Island access platform. Please explain any functions listed above/below that would be outsourced.

16.4.2 Operator must have expertise in Layer 2 and Layer 3 architectures, Outside Plant, BGP peering and network security.

16.4.3 Operator must have a strong track record of providing outstanding customer service and support and shall provide the following items to demonstrate this track record:


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16.4.3.1 Three customer references.

16.4.3.2 Summary of organizational programs or initiatives aimed at improving the customer experience.

16.4.3.3 Annual Key Performance Indicator (KPI) goals and achievements for Customer Service and Technical Support for the past three years.

16.4.4 Operator must explain overall security posture and approach for securing the network being proposed including any hardware, software or processes that would be implemented as part of the overall security architecture.

16.4.5 Physical Plant

16.4.5.1 The Town requires a contractor to provide ongoing maintenance of any physical plant including backbone segments, laterals, drops, field cabinets, Access Points, Fixed Wireless Devices and all other associated OSP hardware in the network. It is the Town’s desire that the network be repaired quickly. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be negotiated with the Successful Vendor upon selection.

16.4.6 Electronics

16.4.6.1 The Town requires a contractor to provide ongoing operation and maintenance of the Island Broadband Network including all access and aggregation electronics.

16.4.6.2 The Town requires vendors to provide preference and pricing for 3-year, 5-year and 10-year contracts for this service.

16.4.6.3 Operate, manage and monitor the network on a 24x7 basis.

16.4.6.4 Contractor will make all network monitoring data and statistics available to the Town either through reporting or portal access.

16.4.6.5 Contractor will facilitate the open access network on Block Island.

16.4.6.6 Planned Network Maintenance – Vendors will describe their standard network maintenance notification window and communication to impacted parties.

16.4.6.7 Vendor must have trouble escalation procedures in place. Please explain.

16.4.6.8 Security Incidents: Vendor shall list any programs and procedures in place specifically for monitoring and resolving security incidents.


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16.4.6.9 Credit Allowances - Vendor must provide a listing of the credit allowances and/or refunds that may be assessed based upon service outages. Vendor should state the outage intervals and the refund amounts.


17. Public Wi-Fi Services

17.1 There are a number of public locations throughout the Island where the Town desires to implement Wi-Fi services in a model where subscribers would be charged a fee for daily/weekly/monthly access. The Town is seeking proposals on the design, deployment, management and support of Wi-Fi services to several locations on the Island. The population of the Island grows each summer and several public places including the Old and New Harbors are often crowded with visitors and boats presenting an opportunity to provide broadband access to this seasonal population.

17.2 The locations on the Island requiring design and implementation services to support this access need are identified in Exhibit E Map 1. Note that two levels of prioritization have been indicated. The highest priority zones focus on Old Harbor public spaces, Old Harbor Dock, and the New Harbor Mooring Fields. Second level priority is given to the broader Downtown area and the center of the New Harbor commercial district as shown.

17.3 Exhibit E Diagram 1 depicts an example of a Public Wi-Fi deployment.

17.4 Vendors must include scope of work and the associated costs to provide the design of the desired solution including field sight surveys to collect environmental information and spectrum analysis at all Wi-Fi locations.

17.5 The Town desires the following characteristics in a Wi-Fi solution:

17.5.1 Minimum downstream/upstream bandwidth equal to or greater than 25/15 Mbps for every connected device. Vendors shall specify how many simultaneous users each Access Point can support.

17.5.2 Access Points capable of providing coverage in a 360’ radius.

17.5.3 Ability to process transactions to allow visitors and residents to subscribe to and access the service for a daily/weekly/monthly fee.

17.5.4 Ability of subscribers to the Block Island Broadband Network to use mobile devices in Public Wi-Fi zones and attach automatically or as seamlessly as possible when transitioning to public Wi-Fi zones.

17.6 Please explain the reach and aggregate data rate of Access Point operating in the 2.4GHZ and 5GHz ranges.


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17.7 The proposed solution should support a portal with the following requirements:

17.7.1 A customizable splash page must be presented to users upon initial connection to the Wi-Fi system.

17.7.2 All initial requests for Internet access on the Wi-Fi network must be redirected to this splash page.

17.7.3 The solution must present terms of service and privacy policy to connecting clients and require user acceptance of these before allowing Internet access.

17.7.4 The solution must support secure transactions and VPNs.17.7.5 The solution must support wireless network connectivity

delivered using the IEEE 802.11 standards, specifically 802.11ac and every subsequent or amended standard. Backwards compatibility for legacy 802.11g/n devices is required. The future standard of Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) must be supported.

17.7.6 The Wi-Fi network must be designed for high speed communication with minimum transmission latency.

17.7.7 The solution must be designed to support smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

17.7.8 The solution must support a mesh topology to provide seamless coverage.

17.7.9 The solution must support multiple SSIDs.17.7.10 The solution must support unique 802.1q VLAN tags per

SSID.


18. Evaluation and Selection Criteria

18.1 The Town seeks an Island Wide robust, scalable and future proofed broadband network. There are several components requiring proposals in this RFP and the Town will select the most appropriate vendor for each component. Each Vendor is encouraged to provide detailed responses to demonstrate its experience and expertise in providing services as requested in this RFP. The selection will be based on all factors listed for each component and may not go to the lowest price proposal if price is outweighed by a combination of other features and factors in the Successful Vendor’s proposal.

18.2 The Town reserves the right to select proposals that in its sole judgment most nearly conform to the specifications set forth herein, best serve the needs of the Town of New Shoreham and provide the most cost-effective means of producing those results.

18.3 The Town is not obligated to accept or select any proposal received in response to this RFP. In particular, the Town may select proposals in whole or in part, or it may disqualify any and all proposals received.


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18.4 The selection decisions made by the Town under this RFP are final.

18.4.1 In evaluating Vendor Viability, the Town will score vendors based on the following criteria:

18.4.1.1 The Vendor’s previous experience with complex projects of a similar size, scope and characteristics and/or their experience with the element(s) of the project for which they are providing proposal(s).

18.4.1.2 References from Customers of the Vendor for similar projects (or element thereof) of the same size and scope.

18.4.1.3 Documentation from the Vendor that demonstrates the Vendor’s experience with similar projects (or element thereof) of the same size and scope.

18.4.1.4 Any other information that bears on the Vendor’s suitability for this project.

18.4.2 Technical Merit of Proposal scores will be assigned based on how well the proposed solution meets the currently understood and projected needs of the Town. This may include, among other things, service performance characteristics (SLA terms), technology description, continuity of network platform, diversity and redundancy in the Service Provider’s network, diversity from existing services, transport technology, reliability, technical support capabilities, scalability, expandability, future network capabilities and the appropriateness of the design proposal for Block Island and how well it meets the stated priorities of the network.

18.4.3 In evaluating the Implementation Timeline, the Town will consider, among other things, the projected starting date, the overall time to install, the disruption of existing services, the complexity of the installation and the projected completion date as well as the reasons for these projections. If appropriate, a starting date relative to completion of a prior milestone may be used.

18.4.4 Costs may include, among other things, monthly recurring costs, non-recurring costs, fees, the termination liability associated with existing contractual obligations, and any additional costs that the Town may potentially realize based on any given Vendor selection. All costs that can reasonably be anticipated over the desired 20-year lifecycle should be addressed. Note: The Town of New Shoreham is tax exempt.


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18.5 The Town will use the following Selection Criteria Matrix to evaluate proposals:Component Description Vendor

ViabilityTechnical

MeritImplementation

TimelineCost

Essential ComponentsIsland Wide Broadband Access Network – Outside Plant Design and Implementation (Section 10)Island Wide Broadband Access Network – Access and Aggregation Electronics (Section 11)Mainland Dark Fiber Design and Implementation (Section 12)Transport Electronics Design and Implementation (Section 13)Mainland Data Center / Colocation Facility (Section 14)Service Providers (Section 15) Internet Service Telephone Service Television Service Other Telecommunications ServicesNetwork Operator (Section 16)Public Wi-Fi Services (Section 17)

19. Rejection/Negotiation Rights

19.1 The Town reserves the right to disqualify any proposals for substantial non-compliance with the terms of this RFP. The Town reserves the right to accept or negotiate the contractual terms of any proposal(s) in response to this RFP.

19.2 The Town reserves the right to select multiple Service Providers.

19.3 The Town reserves the right to select multiple equipment providers.


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Exhibit A: Example Broadband Architecture


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Exhibit B: Dark Fiber


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Exhibit C: Example Transport Solutions


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Exhibit C(cont.): Example Transport Solutions


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Exhibit D: Examples of Network Applications


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Exhibit E Map 1: Public Wi-Fi


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Exhibit E Diagram 1: Public Wi-Fi


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Exhibit F: Future Redundant Transport Service to Mainland


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Exhibit G: Service Provider Bandwidth Tier Pricing

19.4 Service Providers proposing Internet Bandwidth shall provide month to month and contracted tiered pricing for the services listed below. Vendor pricing may be provided by filling out the pricing matrix titled Town of New Shoreham RFP Pricing Matrix.xls referenced in Exhibit H.3 or optionally use their own pricing format.

Bandwidth Tiers

Speed SLA25/25 Best Effort50/50 Best Effort100/100 Best Effort1G/100 Best Effort

100/100 Guaranteed1G/1G Guaranteed


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Exhibit H: List and Description of External Documents Referenced in RFP

H.1: Block Island Data Sheet.xls

This file is an Excel spreadsheet with detailed mapping information of the Island telecommunications and electrical infrastructures. Vendors must request this via email to [email protected] with “Town of New Shoreham RFP Inquiry” in the subject line and the following information in the body: Requestor Name, Company Name and a statement that requestor agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the data provided.

H.2: Block Island Complete Points.kmz

This file is a zipped KML file for use with Google Earth that gives a graphical view of the Island telecommunications and electrical infrastructures. Vendors must request this via email to [email protected] with “Town of New Shoreham RFP Inquiry” in the subject line and the following information in the body: Requestor Name, Company Name and a statement that requestor agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the data provided.

H.3: Town of New Shoreham RFP Pricing Matrix.xls

This file is an Excel spreadsheet to be used by Vendor’s in pricing out their solutions. There is a corresponding tab for each section of the RFP with instructions for pricing out the proposed solution. Use of this Pricing Matrix is preferred but not mandatory.

H.4: Islandwide_BroadbandMap5_UndevelopedLand.pdf

This file is a map of the Island in PDF format that highlights the undeveloped and underdeveloped parcels of land on the Island.

H.5: Block Island Fiber As-Built.pdf

This file is a map in PDF format of the existing fiber on the Island that was built for the Community Anchor Institutions (CIA) network that was recently constructed on the Island.

H.6: OTDR Block Island to Dillons Corner.pdf

This file contains the OTDR testing results for the undersea fibers that run from the Island to the mainland.

H.7: Land Use Table.xls

This file is a detailed breakdown of the types of structures on the Island with the corresponding number of each type.


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