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RFI City of Texas City Municipal Wireless Network 2013

The RFI seeks a Consultant to help build a public Wi-Fi network in certain areas in the city. The Consultant will provide all professional design, build, oversight and related services necessary to complete the scope of work. The Consultant will develop the necessary design documents and provide full project administrative duties as necessary for the installation of the Texas City public wireless network.

The preferred network model would be a privately owned Wi-Fi network operated, maintained, supported and upgraded at reasonable cost to the City of Texas City. The City envisions being able to sell advertising on the landing page where users are initially logged on and/or asked to agree to terms of service.

Responses to the RFI are due no later than 5:00 PM, Central Standard Time, Monday, March 18, 2013. Details of the RFI, including technical requirements, coverage, project schedule, pre-conference date and address for sending your response are set forth in the Texas City RFI.

Please check MuniWireless for amendments and updates.

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As I mentioned before, Chicago has 3 goals:
- create an open access gigabit fiber network;
- provide free or cheap high speed wired or wireless Internet broadband service;
- free Wi-Fi service in parks and other public spaces.

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UPDATE: Chicago’s broadband plans go back even further than the 2007 muni Wi-Fi plan! Nine years ago it was called Chicago Civic Net. I posted the Chicago Civic Net RFP on 25 June 2003 when Muniwireless was barely a few weeks old, so this is one of the earliest public tenders on the website. The bidders were AT&T, SBC and the US subsidiary of Alcatel. Click here to see my old post and to download the RFP, if you’re curious to see what they were up to.

* * *

What’s clear from the RFI is that the city’s focus is on wired fiber broadband with wireless as an add-on for mobility and cheap broadband service. Given the requirement that the fiber network be open to all service providers, it is unlikely that an incumbent telecom operator would bid for this project. The most likely candidate is Google which has already deployed a fiber network in Kansas City and received more than enough sign-ups for fiber service. According to Google, 180 out of the 202 “fiberhoods” in Kansas City have met the minimum number of residents (who preregistered and paid a small fee) required for Google to come in and deliver fiber-to-the-home service.

I have posted the two RFI documents (main document and addendum) on Scribd (see below).

Chicago Broadband Infrastructure Expansion RFI

Addendum 1 of Chicago Broadband Infrastructure Expansion RFI

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MCNC issued an RFP last June 2011 seeking a private-sector service provider that will be responsible for marketing GLRBI fiber and other broadband services to private business enterprises, wholesale service providers, and to last-mile service providers who are seeking to expand service offerings to underserved consumers and businesses in the areas of the GLRBI build. The partner also will oversee routine and emergency maintenance of the GLRBI fiber.

MCNC raised $28.25 million in private matching funds and received $75.75 million in BTOP funds to build and acquire 1,700 miles of fiber as part of the second phase of the GLRBI.  The Golden LEAF Foundation granted $24 million of the matching funds for this phase of the expansion. Construction on the new build portion of the second phase of network expansion began in July and will conclude in spring 2013.

MCNC will use the new fiber to expand the capacity of NCREN, which serves as the backbone Intranet and Internet network for a significant number of Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) in North Carolina. Those CAIs include all K-12 public schools, community colleges, University of North Carolina System institutions and select private colleges and universities, non-profit hospitals, public health, and public safety institutions in North Carolina.

In addition to serving rural and underserved CAIs through NCREN’s historic expansion, commercial businesses and consumers also can be served on all segments of the new GLRBI infrastructure. This includes segments in Northeast North Carolina (including the Outer Banks), North Central, Graham County, Charlotte to Wilmington, Charlotte to Kannapolis, and Hamlet to Raleigh. ECC will be responsible for working with public sector entities, private business enterprises, wholesale service providers, and last-mile service providers who are seeking to expand service offerings to reach these underserved consumers and businesses with affordable broadband service using the GLRBI fiber. ECC has a 16-year history of creating collaborative agreements that expand broadband services in rural areas.

ECC will begin its efforts on behalf of MCNC with extensive outreach to groups of leaders in areas of the GLRBI build. Groups of advocates, such as Northeast Rural Broadband Partnership, have already begun to formulate their strategies for leveraging the GLRBI fiber to expand broadband options for businesses and consumers in their respective regions. ECC will work with existing and emerging groups like the Northeast Rural Broadband Partnership to assist them in understanding the role the GLRBI fiber can play in their broadband expansion plans.

“Many rural regions in North Carolina have been left behind in the race to build out critical broadband infrastructure.  The GLRBI is the first step for these regions and their leaders to leverage an infrastructure that is now critical for prosperity, education, healthcare, and global competitiveness,” said Joe Starks, CEO and founder of ECC Technologies. “We are looking forward to working with leaders throughout North Carolina and helping discover how the GLRBI can be part of their plans to create a prosperous future.”

Noel Preston, chairman of the Northeast Rural Broadband, said that for years leaders in Northeast North Carolina have realized the critical nature of reaching underserved businesses and consumers with more affordable broadband service.

“We know that realizing that vision is only possible if the public sector and private sector work together,” said Preston. “The GLRBI has provided a catalytic step to energizing this vision. By working with ECC Technologies and MCNC, we hope to form the partnerships to help realize this vision.”

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Read the original post:

RFP for Wi-Fi service on Los Angeles Metro Gold Line (12 December 2010)

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The bid is divided into three lots:

Lot 1 – Smart meter communications services in northern GB including Scotland;
Lot 2 – Smart meter communications services in central GB including Wales;
Lot 3 – Smart meter communications services in southern GB.

The value of each of the lots will depend on the contracted term (i.e. 9 to 15 years plus possible extensions) and the precise boundary of the geography that is agreed upon by the contracting party and the DECC. However, the total contract value of each lot is expected to be between GBP 330m and GBP 1,525m (330 000 000 and 1 525 000 000 GBP) including possible extensions and exclusive of VAT.

The purpose of the smart meter project is to reduce carbon emissions and allow people to manage more efficiently their use of electricity and gas.

Here is a portion of the text from the official UK smart grid public tender document on the European Union’s Tenders Electronic Daily website:

“The UK Government has an objective for every home in Great Britain (GB) to have smart energy meters, empowering people to manage their energy consumption and reduce their carbon emissions. Businesses and public sector users would also have smart or advanced energy metering suited to their needs. The rollout of smart meters will play an important role in GB’s transition to a low-carbon economy, and help us meet some of the long-term challenges we face in ensuring an affordable, secure and sustainable energy supply.”

“Communication of data to and from smart meters in the domestic sector will be managed centrally by a new, GB-wide function covering both the electricity and gas sectors. We refer to this new function as the central data and communications company (DCC). In advance of the appointment of the DCC through a competitive licence application process, DECC is initiating the process for procurement of the data and communication services that will be contracted to DCC. For the avoidance of doubt, although DECC (referred to as “the Authority”) will be administering the procurement process, the services will be provided to DCC and it is intended that DCC would take over the procurement from DECC and sign the contracts. As such DECC has therefore elected to voluntarily follow the broad principles of the competitive dialogue procedure.”

“This contract notice covers the procurement of communications services to connect meters in up to 30 000 000 households and businesses across GB (initial figures – subject to growth). The communications services will be split into three geographically based lots. The Authority’s objective is for every home in GB to be capable of receiving smart metering services. The Authority does not expect to tender separate contracts to companies providing a particular solution within a lot, but will tender communications services contract(s) on a prime contractor basis for each lot. The successful organisation(s) would then be responsible for managing any subcontractors and delivering an integrated solution meeting the required coverage targets.”

“Bidders should register their request to participate in relation to this contract notice on 14.10.2011 (17:00) (as specified in section IV.3.4 of this notice). Registration should be by way of submitting a completed Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). Instructions for the submission of PQQ responses will be provided within the PQQ. The PQQ and prospectus will be provided to bidders on receipt of a properly formatted email request to dcc.services.procurement@decc.gsi.gov.uk providing the following information: Subject: Request to receive smart metering data services PQQ Organisation name: [Organisation] Single point of contact (SPOC): [Name] SPOC job title: [title] SPOC email address: [email] SPOC contact telephone: [number] Copies of the PQQ and prospectus will be issued on request, and will be available from 9.9.2011.”

“The deadline to submit clarification questions in relation to this contract notice or the PQQ is on 26.9.2011 (9:00), further instructions will be provided within the PQQ. For the avoidance of doubt, expressions of interest received to the smart metering implementation programme’s previous Prior Information Notice (2011/S 91-148947, 9.5.2011) will not be carried forward. Bidders must expressly respond to this contract notice if they wish to register their interest to participate and to receive a PQQ. A separate contract notice has been issued for smart metering data services. Bidders wishing to bid for communications services and data services must respond to each contact notice separately.”

* * * * * * * *

Link: Department of Energy and Climate Change Smart Meter Communications Public Tender

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MCNC currently operates an optical network to support the NCREN community using existing dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) equipment. The current network includes two metro-region optical rings, one in Research Triangle Park and one in Charlotte, which is being expanded through the first phase of the GLRBI and is scheduled to be complete by late fall.

As part of the second phase, respondents to this RFP will be asked to propose a solution to equip new network fiber paths to be constructed in the northeast, north-central, and south-central portions of the state that complement the existing NCREN and the new Round 1 backbone. There are up to 179 Community Anchor Institutions (CAI) in the state that reside along the Round 2 routes that are required to be connected to NCREN along the newly-constructed infrastructure. Responding vendors must include in their proposals a method that will allow circuits to be created to these CAIs (or CAI aggregator) to at least the point on the combined network where the proposed equipment connects to existing NCREN equipment.

Some of these CAIs also will require redundant connections. Where this is the case, responding vendors as part of their proposed solutions, may not specify any version or form of Spanning Tree Protocol. In addition, responding vendors also may not use “Alien Waves” as part of their proposed solutions.

Proposals will be accepted in electronic format only. A direct link to this RFP is available online by clicking here. Proposals should be submitted to MCNC Chief Financial Officer Patricia Moody at pmoody@mcnc.org. Vendors assume all risk of email delivery. The firm deadline for submission is Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. EST. Late proposals will not be accepted or reviewed.

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This RFP is designated for bridges in northeast North Carolina to include: Virginia Dare Bridge (U.S. 64 Bypass over Croatan Sound); U.S. 17 over Chowan River; U.S. 94 over Intracoastal Waterway; Washington Baum Bridge (U.S. 64 Bypass over Roanoke Sound); and the Wright Memorial Bridge (U.S. 158 over Currituck Sound).

Respondents may submit proposals for one or all of the bridges. At MCNC’s sole discretion, each bridge may be awarded separately or not at all. MCNC has applied for encroachment permits from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to allow for the installation of conduit on all of the bridges included on the project route. Receipt of approved encroachment permits is anticipated prior to the selection of a contractor.

Proposals will be accepted in electronic format only. A direct link to this RFP is available online by clicking here. Proposals should be submitted to MCNC Chief Financial Officer Patricia Moody at pmoody@mcnc.org. Vendors assume all risk of email delivery. The firm deadline for submission is Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. EST. Late proposals will not be accepted or reviewed.

All inquiries and questions related to this RFP must be directed in writing via email to MCNC’s BTOP RFP Review Committee at btop-notices-bridge@mcnc.org. To maintain fairness to all bidders, any attempts to contact MCNC staff regarding this RFP outside of this specifically provided email vehicle will be grounds for MCNC to reject a submission. All questions will be considered to be public and released with appropriate answers to https://www.mcnc.org/btop/btop2-rfp/bridge-questions within 48 business hours of receipt. The last date for questions will be 4 p.m. EST on Friday, Sept. 16.

Interested parties also can register to view the RFP and other relevant information at www.mcnc.org/btop.

The GLRBI must be completed in accordance to federal guidelines. To keep from impacting the citizens and tourism in these regions, it is expected that no work for this portion of the project begin prior to Oct. 15, 2011, with all work required to be complete by April 1, 2012.

All construction for both Round 1 and Round 2 portions of the GLRBI must be finished by Jan. 31, 2013 to allow MCNC time to equip and place the fiber optic into service on or before July 31, 2013.

The vendor(s) selected for this RFP will join all of the following firms for Round 2: Globe Communications, Fiber Technologies, Edwards Telecommunications, CommScope, and Kimley-Horn and Associates. MCNC reserves the right to modify any information presented in this RFP as information becomes available.

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The private-sector service provider will be responsible for marketing GLRBI fiber and other broadband services to private business enterprises, wholesale service providers, and to last-mile service providers who are seeking to expand service offerings to underserved consumers and businesses in the areas of the GLRBI build.

This partner also will oversee routine and emergency maintenance of the GLRBI fiber. MCNC envisions the partner functioning similarly to FRC/PalmettoNet – MCNC’s private-sector partner for the first round BTOP award.

Capacity for commercial business and consumer use exists on all new build segments of the GLRBI in Northeast North Carolina (including the Outer Banks region), North Central, Graham County, Charlotte to Wilmington, Charlotte to Kannapolis, and Hamlet to Raleigh routes. Capacity also exits on 180 lateral extensions being built to specific community anchor institutions (community colleges, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, public libraries, public health and non-profit healthcare facilities) in these service regions.

Please download the MCNC RFP.

MCNC RFP

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(a) make recommendations about how to modify the existing network to improve performance and stability and to focus on those areas that can be served reliably;

(b) provide marketing and customer acquisition services;

(c) operate, maintain and support the network that currently serves educational, residential, commercial, and municipal customers within the City of Decatur boundaries.

The city owns the network, which consists of approximately 170 Cisco 1500 nodes (including spares) as well as about 102 PTP backhaul links.

History of Decatur’s municipal wireless network

In November 2006, Decatur built a municipal wireless network using a grant from the Wireless Communities Georgia (through the State of Georgia and the Georgia Technology Authority). The city used approximately $500,000 of the grant for the creation of the network, plus other funds from the City Schools of Decatur, Agnes Scott College, Columbia Theological Seminary and the Downtown Development Authority. A private Internet Service Provider was selected in 2007 to operate the network. Currently, the ISP provides 2 consecutive hours of free service in addition to a fee service across the service area.

Previous article on MuniWireless about the Decatur municipal wireless network:

Decatur, Georgia seeks ISP to run municipal wireless network (2006): initial RFP issued by Decatur for the deployment of the network.

Decatur’s demographics and economy

Decatur has almost 20,000 residents in an area of 4.2 square miles (11 square kilometers). The daytime population is roughly 30,000. In addition, there are 1050 businesses plus 1350 students at the following institutions:

• Agnes Scott College: 850 students
• Columbia Theological Seminary: 500 students

The City provides a full range of municipal services including police and fire protection, municipal court, building inspections and permitting, public works operations, refuse collection, street sweeping, engineering, parks and recreation, operation of a municipal cemetery, community and economic development and general administrative services. Decatur is the seat of DeKalb County, a large, urban county in the Atlanta metropolitan area. With its central location within the county and as the location of county offices and the court system, Decatur’s economy is primarily a service economy. Legal, banking, medical, insurance, accounting, governmental and educational services are the mainstay of this economy.

Download the RFP to view requirements and deadlines

Responses to the RFP are due on 1 July 2011. The deadline for questions from Proposers is 20 June 2011. There are other deadlines to be met and those are in the RFP document which I have posted on Scribd.

RFP-WiFi-Decatur-GA

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