D -- LOCAL TELEPHONE SERVICES FOR US COURTS, CEDAR RAPIDS AND SIOUX CITY, IA

Notice Date

July 12, 2001

Contracting Office

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, OIS-PMD, Suite 3-250, Washington, DC 20544

ZIP Code

20544

Solicitation Number

USC-8-001

Response Due

July 30, 2001

Point of Contact

Sean McAvoy, Contracting Officer, Voice: (319)286-2208, Fax: (319) 286-2280

Description

(i)This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) This document is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). (iii)The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-27. (iv) This RFQ is for full and open competition and the SIC Code is 4813. The U.S. Court intends to issue a Commercial Item, Firm Fixed-Price Delivery Order contract for providing local telecommunication services from a local exchange carrier (LEC) to Federal Building/United States Courthouses located in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, Iowa, and the Bankruptcy Court location in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The street addresses assigned to the three (3) U.S. Court locations are: Federal Building and U. S. Court House, 320 Sixth Street, Sioux City, Iowa 51101-1245 (Site 1); The United States Court House, 101 First Street SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52401(Site 2); and the United States Bankruptcy Court at 425 Second Street SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52401 (a separate facility from the United States Court House, Site 3). (v) Clin 01 -- Initial Non Recurring Charges This is to include any ordering and/or one time installation charges per order and per circuit. Clin 02 -- Monthly Recurring Service Charge per circuit. Clin 03 -- Any additional monthly fixed charges per circuit. Clin 04 -Surcharges and fees based on either usage charges or fixed charges. Clin 05 -- State and Federal taxes applicable to the Courts. Discounts: If discounts are applicable because of multiple circuits, usage, promotional discounts, etc. provide complete clarification on the discounts and how they are applied. Please note that if discounts are applied because of multiple circuits, the multiple circuits may be billed separately to the three agencies The period of performance will be for FIVE years with TWO (2) ONE year RENEWAL OPTIONS. (vi) BACKGROUND: The Court requires local area dial tone services, which are currently provided by Qwest Local Services. SCOPE OF WORK -- This request is to supply network access for local telephone service. It will include local Central Office trunking, 2-way Direct Inward Dialing trunking and service, and local business service lines. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS -- All respondents shall be authorized by the State of Iowa to provide Competitive Local Access Services within the state of Iowa, and within the Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, IA area(s). Contractors shall be carriers who can provide facilities based service to the Courthouse(s). Contractors who are resellers of other carriers' services will not be considered as qualified. The minimum response time for major outages and minor troubleshooting should be kept to two and four hours or less respectively. The contractor should have been in business for at least 5 years. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS -- The Contractor shall provide 2-way DID trunk local service to the District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, and related units located within the courthouse. It is intended that the Services will be terminated in the Nortel Norstar Modular ICS Rel 1 T1 SP System. All services for Sites 1 and 2 will be terminated at the building demarcation; all services for Site 3 will be extended to the tenant demarcation point on the eighth floor. This Request for Quotation does not include any Centrex or other business services required by GSA, the U.S. Attorney's office, or any other lines required by contractors who may occupy space in the courthouse(s), Federal building(s) or Bankruptcy Court locations and require telephone service. Local Services for the District Courts will include the District Court Offices, Bankruptcy Court Offices, and the U.S. Probation and Pre-Trial Services Offices. Primary service shall be T-1 with the call by call selection feature which allows all trunks to be used dynamically for outbound or inbound calling to the local service area. The service shall include DID access that shall be routed over the T-1. The current DID number ranges will be maintained. The Cedar Rapids court offices range of DID numbers to retain are (319)286-2200 through (319)286-2399. The Sioux City court offices range of DID numbers to retain are (712)233-3840 through (712)233-3959, (712)233-8900 through (712)233-8939, (712)258-1293, and (712)233-3143. Any changes or modifications to the DID number range will be at the option of the Court(s). The service shall be terminated at the building demarcation point in the communications room located on the lower level of the Cedar Rapids and Sioux City courthouse(s) (Room 101 and 301, respectively), and at the tenant demarcation point on the eighth floor for the Cedar Rapids Bankruptcy Office. Circuit engineering shall be compatible with a Nortel Norstar Modular ICS Rel 1 T1 SP System or such other equipment as the court may specify. Fifteen to twenty additional business lines may be required. The court's Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC) for Inter-LATA, Intra-LATA, and international traffic shall be FTS 2001. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED FEATURES -- (1) ability to block the display of the calling party identification to the called party. If this blocking is not available through the network Central Office, the network must be able to accept calls when the calling number has been blocked by the PBX; (2) display of incoming caller ID for incoming DID calls routed over the T-1 service is required; (3) ability to redirect calls at the Central Office level to another destination in the event of power failure or disaster is required. The Call-by-Call selection feature is desirable. Other line features commonly found on local services (i.e. call waiting, three way calling, etc.) are required. IMPLEMENTATION -- The current contract expires on 11/30/01. Minimum service (i.e., assumed to be 22 Two-Way DID Trunks in Cedar Rapids and 14 Two-Way DID Trunks in Sioux City) will remain uninterrupted at all court locations. Circuit engineering requirements are to be made available and communicated directly to the PBX vendor. The PBX vendor is to have direct access to appropriate carrier personnel involved with the installation of the service. The Court will provide a LOA for the PBX vendor in order to facilitate installation, cutover, and testing. The selected carrier will be required to provide order documentation to the PBX vendor for all relevant activity. Additionally, the Court may require the selected carrier to provide copies of this documentation to court personnel or other authorized representatives of the Court. Area code and prefixes (NPA/NNX) for the local service is to be provided to the PBX vendor so the PBX can be properly programmed for call routing. BILLING FOR SERVICES -- will be designated for the U.S. DISTRICT COURT. SCHEDULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION -- The implementation schedule planned by the Court is: Carrier Selection Completed 8/31/01; Contract Commencement 12/01/01. OFFEROR'S RESPONSE due 7/30/01 -- Carrier/Vendor responses are to provide all information needed for the Courts to make a decision. Exact quantity of circuits is estimated based on current usage. Circuits may be added or deleted after future usage traffic patterns are developed. Complete pricing and price breakdowns are required. This is to include any discounts available because of multiple quantities of circuits. Any applicable usage charges must be completely detailed. CALLING AREAS -- Provide complete information on the local calling area. This is to include mileage ranges and/or listings of NPA/NNX if applicable. If possible provide a schematic map illustrating the calling areas. Provide a sample of the billing format that will be used. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS -- All LEC Contractor's technical personnel who is assigned to this contract effort and will work on the premises of the courthouse may be required to have a background investigation completed prior to commencing work. The contractor shall provide the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers for all such personnel upon award of this contract to the COTR. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES The LEC Contractor shall be responsible for: (1) Delivering both digital and analog services within the local Lata and to the physical location(s) of the U.S. Courts. (2) Providing separate and accurate billing for different services to the various agencies. (3) Meeting an implementation schedule satisfactory to the Courts. (4) Maintaining the existing number range within the implementation satisfactory to the Courts. (5) Providing competitive cost of the service, including both initial non-recurring charges for installation, and recurring monthly service charges. (6) Ensuring that there is no disruption of dial tone service to the Court agencies procuring these services (7) Preparing and proposing an implementation, test, and acceptance plan. (8) Ensuring that all moves, additions, or changes to the existing and contractor-furnished/installed telecommunications services are approved by the Court designee. (9) Coordinating all aspects of project with Court contracted Telecommunications Consultant and PBX vendor. (10) Providing evidence of satisfactory past performance in providing similar services. The Government will not be responsible for any changes made to vendor furnished and/or installed services that are not approved by the government. ADDITIONAL CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES: If work on the courthouse premises is required, the LEC Contractor shall be responsible for (1) ensuring that all areas in which work is performed are left broom clean and free of debris; (2) removing and replacing ceiling tiles associated with maintenance or installation of telecommunication services; (3) removing all debris and scrap wire generated in the performance of the contract; (4) repairing and returning to its original condition, at no cost to the Government, all surfaces (to include, but not limited to floors, walls, ceilings, doors and windows) which are damaged or marred by contractor personnel. When LEC Contractor's technical personnel are performing contract work at a Government facility, they shall comply with all rules and regulations of the facility, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations governing security, controlled access, personnel clearances and conduct with respect to health and safety and to property at the site, regardless of whether or not title to such property is vested in the Government. The facilities to which the personnel have access belong to the Government and will not at any time be considered "Government Property" furnished to the LEC Contractor. The employees shall only conduct business covered by the contract during periods paid for by the Government, and will not conduct any other business on Government premises. LEC Contractor's technical personnel will abide by the normal rules and regulations applicable to the Government premises on which they work, including any applicable safety and security regulations. The LEC Contractor's technical personnel shall be responsible for maintaining satisfactory standards of employee competency, conduct, appearance and integrity and shall be responsible for taking such disciplinary action with respect to his/her employees as may be necessary. The LEC Contractor's technical personnel are also responsible for ensuring that his/her employees do not disturb papers on desks, open desk drawers or cabinets, or use Government telephones except as authorized. The LEC Contractor shall maintain physical security at all LEC-owned or LEC-controlled facilities by or through which services covered by the CBD are delivered, sufficient to safeguard delivery of service. Upon request, the LEC Contractor shall provide to the courts, documentation or other evidence of the maintenance of physical security at any such facility. COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS -- The Contractor shall provide services in accordance with the rates, terms and conditions set forth in the applicable tariffs of the contractor, as filed with, and approved by, the Iowa Public Utility Commission and/or the Federal Communications Commission. Contractor services shall be in conformance with the following applicable accepted Industry standards, codes and regulations and Federal standards. In the event of a conflict between industry standards and this contract, the contract shall govern. Electronic Industries Association /Telecommunication Industries Association Standards, 42AAAA-1989. (viii) -- FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial applies to this acquisition; (ix) EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS -- FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items is hereby incorporated by reference. The government will award a commercial item purchase order using simplified acquisition procedures to the responsible offeror whose offer is most advantageous to the government. The quotes will be evaluated using the criteria listed below in order of importance from most important to least important. (1) Proven capability to deliver both digital and analog services within the local Lata. (2) Ability to provide separate and accurate billing for different services to the various agencies. (3) Ability to meet an implementation schedule satisfactory to the Courts. (4) Ability to assume responsibility for the existing number range within the implementation satisfactory to the Courts. (5) Evidence of satisfactory past performance in providing similar services. The evidence should include the names of five references of similar sized organizations or federal organizations. (6) Cost of the service, including both initial non-recurring charges for installation, and recurring monthly service charges. (7) Proposed implementation, test, and acceptance plan.(x) FAR 212-3, OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS-COMMERCIAL ITEMS apply to this acquisition. (xi) TERMS AND CONDITIONS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS -- Addenda to 52.212-4 include: (d) disputes. N/A; (g) invoice and (i) Payment. The Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. 3903) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-125, Prompt Payment DOES NOT apply to the Judiciary; (n) Title.N/A; FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 1989); FAR 52.232-19, Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year (Apr 1984); FAR 52.222-37, VETS 100 Compliance Report (Jan 1999), and FAR 52.204-6, Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. The clauses may be viewed at http://www.arnet.gov/far. Judiciary has other clauses that may reviewed by contacting POC . (xii)FAR 52.212-5, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS apply to this solicitation. Interested offerors are required to contact the point of contact (POC) for full text clauses; (xiii)N/A; (xiv) N/A; (xv) N/A; (xvi) PROPOSAL DUE DATE -- Proposals are to be received no later than 5:00 pm, 7/30/01. Two copies of the proposal are to be submitted to Deb Schense, Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR), U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 425 2nd Street S.E., Cedar Rapids, IA, 52401. For further information or clarification, contact Sean McAvoy at (319) 286-2208 (V), (319) 286-2280 (F), or Sean_McAvoy@ianb.uscourts.gov

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010716/DSOL005.HTM (W-193 SN50R652)