Request for Proposal (RFP) For Provision and Management of Bandwidth in Community Resource Centres (CRCs) Under the Bandwidth Aggregation Project (USPF) Project
Universal Service Provision Secretariat
Nigerian Communications Commission Head Office, 9th Floor,
Plot 423, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama District, Abiya, FCT.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
For Provision and Management of Bandwidth in Community Resource Centres (CRCs) Under the Bandwidth Aggregation Project
- Introduction
The Universal Service Provision Fund “USPF” was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to facilitate the achievement of national policy goals for universal service and universal access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in rural, un-served and under-served areas in Nigeria, in fulfilment of part of its statutory mandate, the USPF has in the past years facilitated the establishment of Community Resource Centres across the country toenable access to basic ICT infrastructure and services at affordable prices. In order to sustain these projects and ensure that target communities’ benefit from it maximally, the USPF seeks to provide additional support in form of bandwidth connectivity,
- Number of Locations
The project is to be implemented in 192 locations across the country.
- Objectives
The main objective of the bandwidth aggregation is the provision and management of Internet bandwidth for the CRC project in each of the 192 CRC locations. The project will enable the USPF to have a common connectivity platform and solution for managing bandwidth provisioning across the CRC.
- Project Scope
a) Survey and conduct site assessment to determine the equipment and associated peripherals to be replaced or provided in all the CRCs being quoted for.
b) Determine and provide bandwidth required in each location such that every CRC will experience a minimum Internet speed of 256/1024 kbps with a maximum contention ratio of 4: 1.
c) Establish a fully functional Network Operating Centre (NOC) at the Implementer’s premises where all CRC/project locations are linked and integrated with a view to monitor the utilization and generation of reports.
d) Establish a secondary view of Implemented NOC in the USPF through supply and installation of hardware, software and other required equipment to support configuring and monitoring of link status, bandwidth utilization and uptime for a minimum of 500 clients.
e) Prepare necessary operational and technical documentation on both NOC and connectivity infrastructure at connected facilities and provide training to USPF technical personnel on operation and use of implemented NOC facilities.
f) Provide one (1) year post-implementation support.
- Deliverables
a) A comprehensive completion report of Internet bandwidth provisioning in all CRCs with graphic presentation of Internet usage per CRC. The report should indicate equipment provided or replaced in all the CRCs, bandwidth utilisation chart, etc.
b) A catalogue of IP addresses, names of contact persons, and GPS co-ordinates of each CRC in both electronic and hardcopy format.
c) Quarterly post-implementation reports detailing all relevant statistics in the preceding period e.g. availability, usage, maintenance work undertaken, equipment repairedor replaced, etc.
d) Final project report covering the entire contract duration.
6. Eligibility Criteria
a) General Conditions
Eligible companies must submit the following:
- Evidence of incorporation and or registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Companies mustenclose Certificate of Incorporation and Form C07.
- Articles and Memorandum of Association of the Company, which must show that the Company has ICT related activities as part of its objects.
- Three years Tax Clearance Certificate for the year 2011,2012 and 2013,
iv. Certificate of VAT and evidence of past remittances.
- Audited accounts for the last three years.
- Verifiable evidence of financial capacity to execute the project, and such evidence must come from a reputable bank.
- Evidence showing a proper understanding of telecommunication solutions for rural areas.
- Evidence of similar works carried out in the past such as award letters.
- A company profile and organizational structure, including names and resumes of key personnel and technical staff with addresses and phone numbers.
- Submit detailed evidence of compliance with Pension Act, 2004, including evidence of remittances.
xi. Evidence of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) contribution.
Specific Conditions
Proponents shall be required to demonstrate the following minimum competencies:
i. Functional NOC in its premises for similar, assignments carried out in the past.
- An understanding of the ICT industry in Nigeria or worldwide.
- Experience in bandwidth supply.
- Experience in Internet service delivery.
- Experience in VSAT installation.
- Proponents must demonstrate the ability to use not less than 25% of local content in the implementation of this project.
- Collection of Request for Proposal
Qualified Companies wishing to respond to this invitation must purchase a copy of the RFP document from the Procurement Department, USPF by payment of a non-refundable fee of N250,800.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only, which must be payable in bank draft in favour of “Universal Service Provision Fond, Abuja”. The draft should be submitted to the Funding and Subsidy Department, USPF and copy of the receipt attached to the bid document when submitting the document.
- Submission Of Documents
The prospective bidders shall enclose Three (3)bound copies each of detailed Technical and Financial Proposals in separate sealed envelopes, and enclose the two envelopes in one sealed outer envelope clearly marked ‘Request for Proposal for CRC Bandwidth’ on the top right hand corner which shall bear the name and address of the company on the reverse side of the envelope.
- Pre Bidders Meeting
All bidders are to note that a Pre Bidder’s Meeting will be held as follows:
Date: Tuesday September 23, 2014
Venue: NCC Conference Room
Time: 2.00pm
10. Deadline for Submission of Proposals
All tender documents must be Delivered by Hand and should reach the Office of the undersigned on or before Tuesday November 11, 2014 by 5:80pm.
The Secretary
Universal Service Provision Fund
USP Secretariat 9th Floor
Nigerian Communications Commission
423 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama – Abuja
- Disclaimer
a) Late submissions shall be rejected.
b) The Fund will not be responsible for any cost or expenses incurred by any interested party in connection with any response to an inquiry nor shall it entitle any party submitting documents to claim any indemnity from the Fund.
c) The Fund is not bound to shortlist any bidder and reserves the right to annul the bidding process at any time without incurring any liabilities and assigning any reason thereof.
d) This advertisement is published for information purposes only and should not be construed as a commitment or obligation on the part of the Fund to award a contract.
For further clarification on the RFP, please email: uspfbids@ncc.gov.ng or uspfprocurement@ncc.gov.ng
Signed
Secretary
Service Provision Fund
