The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) has just issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design and implementation of public Wi-Fi service on the Metro Gold Line. This is an RFP to prepare an RFP.
Approximately $1 million in grant money will be available to the successful bidder for implementing this pilot Gold Line WiFi project implementation and for up to two years of operation.
I hope that CRA/LA will eventually come up with an RFP for a WiFi network fully optimized for tablets like the iPad and smartphones, especially with regard to video streaming onto these devices. Too many WiFi network operators have not yet optimized their networks for tablet and smartphone use, let alone video streaming, even though a huge number of people on their networks are using the WiFi service with these small devices. Notably, I urge CRA/LA to create a network that does NOT SUPPORT 802.11b clients. It’s a drag on the network.
Below is a summary of the RFP. Go to the CRA/LA website to find more information and download the RFP and its Exhibits.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL KEY DATES:
RFP Issued: December 6, 2010
Written Questions Due: Ten (15) Calendar Days prior to Due Date of Proposals
Submit Proposal By: February 1, 2011 2:00 p.m. PST
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) NO. NP-12925
NOTICE TO OFFERORS CALLING FOR PROPOSALS RFP No. NP-12925 Gold Line WiFi
The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, California (“CRA/LA”) is soliciting proposals to prepare the design and implementation requirements for the installation, deployment, and operation of public WiFi on the Metro Gold Line. Upon approval from Metro, these requirements and specifications will be used for the release of a Request for Proposals to provide such services under the terms of CRA/LA Letter of Agreement (LOA) with Metro for the Project. Metro considers this a pilot project and is intended as an amenity to encourage Gold Line public transit usage by helping to connect to the Internet without a 3G card on a range of mobile devices or even as an alternative to a 3G connection. WiFi entry pages would be provided by the CRA/LA ExperienceLA project. In addition to the milestones that are being funded by Metro/Caltrans, there is also additional scope of work to further leverage this investment for community WiFI for the extended Chinatown, Little Tokyo/Arts District and the Mariachi Plaza station areas.
Detailed information on the scope of services is enumerated in Section 1.1 and Exhibit A of this RFP. The due date for submittal of proposals is February 1, 2011, not later than 2:00 p.m., PST.
(Note: I have uploaded the RFP (plus the most interesting attachments: Exhibit A – the scope of work; the Draft Contract for Professional Services; the Assessment of the project by an outside consultant, to Scribd for future reference. Some agencies delete the RFP files when the public tender is over and many MuniWireless readers have asked for sample RFP documents in preparing their own and fail to find them at the originating source.)
About Esme Vos
This RFP was extended to February 24th 2011.