REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PCC_2A Internet Access Services ATTENTION: YPI Grant RFP PCC_2A Youth Policy Institute 634 South Spring Street, 10 th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90014 All questions and contacts regarding this RFP should be submitted via electronic mail, to: ypi@learningtech.org
0. BACKGROUND This Request For Proposals [RFP] has been prepared pursuant to a National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant entitled, Public Computer Centers [PCC], awarded to Youth Policy Institute Inc. [YPI], a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation. The YPI PCC program will bring expanded broadband access to residents of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, and South Los Angeles through approximately 80 Public Computer Centers. The exact locations are not all final, but the flags on the map below are an illustrative approximation. 1 YPI currently operates or partners with most of these sites for existing preschool, afterschool, computer literacy, full-service community schools, charter schools, job training, and adult education services. YPI will create public computer centers at these locations to provide access to technology for community residents who lack the financial resources for broadband or computers in the home. Many lack even telephone lines required for dial-up services. The essential problem tackled by the proposed Centers is that the majority of families in the targeted communities lack access to broadband technology and computer technology. The Public Computer Centers will provide broadband education and technology to help them access online resources such as LA ParentSmart and YPI s Family Technology Project [FTP] Portal. Enrolled families at the Centers will receive user names and passwords to access broadband content offered online, as well as training sessions at the Centers on how to best use these resources. Public Computer Centers merge hands-on technology offered at no cost at convenient locations in the community (such as at the local public school) with practical instruction, as well as providing access to exciting ways to utilize computers and broadband access. YPI Public Computer Centers seek to validate research that demonstrates the importance of integrating technology with useful information of relevance to the target families. 1 The latest available information on the likely PCC sites, including their addresses, is available in MS Excel format on this web site (in the same folder as this RFP). The file name is ypi_pcc_site_list_20110326.xls. It is strongly emphasized that this information is tentative and subject to change without notice. This information has been provided solely to enable preparation of cost estimates for Internet service; it is not intended for distribution outside this context. Page 2 of 14
Outcomes for the Centers will include serving up to thirty thousand clients at about 80 Centers each week. Each Center will install swipe-cards or similar technology to track the use of Center services on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Each Public Computer Center will be housed within a partnering/sponsoring agency (e.g., school); PCCs will be available for use 8-10 hours per day Mon-Sat. YPI will try to reflect the host s infrastructure preferences (i.e., schools with mostly Macs will have PCCs with mostly Macs). Likely, ratios will be about 3 Macintosh computers to every 1 Windows PC, and about 3 desktops to every 1 laptop. PCCs will vary slightly in size; expectations are that there will be: 25 SMALL sites with 12 computers each 40 MEDIUM sites with 20 computers each 15 LARGE sites with 30 computers each. All centers are to be up and running by November 2011. The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology [Learningtech] has been retained by YPI to manage all procurements for this grant. Please do not attempt to contact YPI personnel directly with questions about this RFP. All questions and contacts should be via electronic mail, addressed to ypi@learningtech.org. Learningtech staff will gather information to respond to legitimate questions and provide answers by posting addenda or amendments to this RFP on the same web site. This may occur from time to time during the bidding window; it is the responsibility of bidders to check back periodically during proposal preparation. Telephone, facsimile or U.S. mail contacts are strongly discouraged, and are apt to be overlooked during proposal evaluation. YPI and Learningtech have no interest in blanket advertising and so materials not clearly responsive to the RFP shall be deemed Unsolicited Commercial Email [UCE] or spam possibly causing future, responsive information from your organization to be blacklisted or overlooked. All submissions should clearly indicate to which elements of this RFP you are responding. Descriptions of products, services and pricing should include reasonable line item detail. Additional RFPs for other categories of service relating to this project are anticipated and will be posted on the same web site. In the event of difficulties accessing this RFP or in sending electronic mail to the required address, please contact us at 650-598-0105 for assistance. In the interest of fair and open competitive bidding, all substantive questions will be accepted only by electronic mail and will be answered only by posting clarifications as addenda or amendments to the RFP on the same web site as the original. Page 3 of 14
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE This RFP seeks proposals for the following categories of products and services: Internet Access Services This is a revised version of a previously issued and closed RFP, PCC_2. No awards were made pursuant to proposals received in response to that RFP. This revised version places greater emphasis on cost versus performance characteristics and clarifies the manner in which cost will be judged. Qualified entities interested in bidding on these products and services (hereinafter, Vendors ) should submit proposals including detailed specifications and all costs associated with the delivery of the products and services (parts, labor, installation, testing, acceptance, configuration, turn-up, taxes, shipping and so on). 1.1 Evaluation Methodology Each responsive proposal meeting the minimum qualifications will be evaluated using weighted criteria including cost of the products and services, and other factors as determined by YPI. For any given category of service, the proposal that is deemed to be in the best interest of YPI, based on scoring these factors, shall be selected for award. As shown below, price will be the highest weighted, but not the only factor taken into consideration in vendor selection. After elimination of nonresponsive bids or bids that are disqualified for specific reasons described herein, proposals will be evaluated based upon the following requirements: Factor Weight Cost of Goods and Services (NRCs plus MRCs over 3 years) 30% Functionality: Meeting/Exceeding Specifications (Bandwidth) 20% Timely Availability of Goods and Services (Short Lead Time) 15% Ability to Provide Turnkey Solution (Consolidated Billing) 15% Uptime Reliability Assurances and Reputation 10% Relevant Vendor Qualifications 5% Customer Satisfaction Ratings (J.D. Powers or similar) 5% Total 100.00% Definition of Functionality: In addition to Tier of provider and raw bandwidth, functionality includes how Customer Premise Equipment [CPE] is provided. YPI prefers that the Internet Service Provider [ISP] own and manage whatever router or similar equipment acts as the point of demarcation (where ISP responsibility ends and PCC responsibility begins). YPI will provide its own firewalls and internal data distribution switches. If purchase of a router or similar device is required, its cost will be considered part of the Non-Recurring Costs [NRC] and fewer points will be awarded for Functionality. This category also includes scorer rating of difficulty of sample instructions, if the proposal assumes self-installation. Download speeds are more important than upload speeds; symmetrical service is not a requirement. Definition of Turnkey Solution: YPI has a strong preference, but not a strict requirement, for turnkey solutions, wherein a single contract with a single vendor completely addresses all requirements for that category. In the case of Internet Access Services, this would be either a Page 4 of 14
single Internet Service Provider [ISP] able to directly serve every PCC location, or a consolidating provider able to provide a single point of contact and consolidated billing for services provided to all locations, handling any subcontracts to other ISPs as needed. Definition of Uptime Reliability Assurances and Reputation: Although a formal Service Level Agreement [SLA] for 99.9% uptime, with financial incentives, would earn the highest points on this factor, a formal SLA is not a requirement. YPI seeks reasonable assurances of uptime reliability including reputation, local client references or similar support; other appropriate evidence supporting bidder claims as to uptime reliability will also be considered in scoring this factor. Page 5 of 14
2. REQUIRED TERMS AND CONDITIONS 2.0 Submission Deadline & Delivery Address The deadline for submission of proposals is 12:00 Noon, Pacific Time, on April 11, 2011. Proposals should be submitted as follows (all three elements are required): Via email (single file, consecutive page numbered, MS Office or PDF format) to: ypi@learningtech.org Signature page(s), executed by the Vendor, via facsimile, to: 866-801-8667 Paper copy, with original, dated signatures, with outside of envelope clearly identified as follows: ATTENTION: YPI Grant RFP PCC_2A Youth Policy Institute 634 South Spring Street, 10 th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90014 All three elements are required. There should be a place for YPI to sign and date, indicating YPI s acceptance of your proposal. It is the sole responsibility of the respondents to ensure that their responses arrive in a complete timely manner. YPI has the right but not the obligation to reject all late or incomplete submissions, as YPI determines to be in its own best interest, or to contact vendors such as to seek ministerial corrections such as a missing signature page. YPI has the right but not the obligation to determine a short list for best and final offers and/or to negotiate contract details after the submission deadline. YPI also reserves the right to make zero, one or multiple, non-exclusive awards, for any product or service sought, with or without best and final offers or additional negotiations. Oral and telephone bids will not be considered, nor will modifications of proposals by such communication be considered. The completed proposal form shall be without erasures or alterations. Delivery of signed proposals will be considered authorization by the Vendor to make a contract, if awarded. 2.1 Costs Associated with Preparation of the Vendor s Response YPI will not be liable for any cost incurred by the respondents in preparing responses to this RFP or negotiations associated with award of a contract. 2.2 Subcontractors Any subcontractors working on YPI s projects must be bonded or insured and drug-free and must meet all of the other standards and qualifications applicable to regular employees of the vendor. 2.3 Interpretation and Additional Information and Addenda Any interpretation, correction, clarification or change of the RFP will be made by ADDENDUM. Interpretations, corrections, or changes to the RFP made in any other manner will not be binding, and the Vendors shall not rely upon such interpretations, corrections, or changes. YPI will issue any changes or corrections by posting them on the same web site as the original RFP. It shall be Page 6 of 14
the sole responsibility of the Vendor to check for all posted ADDENDA when submitting their bid. Questions or requests for clarification of this RFP should be sent to the bid submission email address shown above. Vendors should not attempt to contact YPI personnel by telephone or in person during the bidding period, since such contacts can potentially taint the fair and level playing field. Answers to questions submitted by email will be posted on the web site and should be considered amendments or clarifications that are integral to this RFP. 2.4 Omissions Omissions in the proposal of any provision herein described shall not be construed as to relieve the Vendor of any responsibility or obligation for complete and satisfactory delivery, operation, and support of all equipment or services. 2.5 Acceptance and Payment After selection for award, additional contract negotiations may be required before award is final. After contract execution and before the start of work, YPI will issue purchase order(s) for the products and services for which the Vendor will be responsible. No products should be shipped and no services performed before receipt of a valid Purchase Order pursuant to an awarded contract. The final payment of this project will be rendered only after a final acceptance procedure including physical inspection of equipment, walk-through or other procedure as appropriate to the product or service delivered. 2 YPI will strictly enforce the proposal specifications and the quality of the delivered products and services. Acceptance procedure will take place in the presence of a designated YPI representative. YPI technology staff or designated consultants will note any needed changes to meet industry standards including those of the selected manufacturers and to fully comply with the specifications contained in this RFP and the vendor s proposal. YPI reserves the right to adjust quantities or to cancel this entire project or any portion thereof. YPI will notify the winning Vendor(s) if scope will require changes or if project has been cancelled. 2.6 Warranties and/or Service Level Agreements The Vendor shall fully warrant with the manufacturer s warranty all items provided under this RFP against defects in material and workmanship. Three-year warranties are expected wherever appropriate. Warranty information and any applicable Service Level Agreement should be included in the Vendor s Proposal. The vendor may also be expected to provide on-site service as needed to supplement the manufacturer s warranty, so please list any such services in detail where applicable. Should any defects in workmanship or material, excepting ordinary wear and tear, appear during the warranty period, the manufacturer, vendor, or their authorized representative shall repair or replace such items immediately upon receipt of a written notice from YPI. Internet Service may be provided without a formal SLA but reasonable assurances and reputation regarding uptime reliability are essential. 2 For Internet access, acceptance will include straightforward testing of throughput, number of hops and packet loss. Page 7 of 14
2.7 Price Quotations Price quotations are to include the furnishing of all materials, equipment, maintenance, shipping cost, delivery, turn up fees, taxes and surcharges, except as may be otherwise expressly provided in the Contract documents. YPI will not be liable for any costs beyond those proposed herein and awarded. Time and materials quotations will be unacceptable for this RFP. In evaluating cost, additional weight will be given to proposals wherein volume-pricing arrangements are considered cumulative for the life of this contract, rather than based on the quantity ordered on a single purchase order. It is expected that increasing bandwidth at a given site or adding additional sites would not arbitrarily extend the term of the contract and might result in improved volume pricing. YPI is prepared to offer Public Relations exposure or marketing visibility to vendors offering significantly better pricing in light of the philanthropic nature of this project. This could include mentions on web sites, displaying a vendor name on a building, making literature available at the PCCs, or hanging a plaque to recognize significant cost sharing by vendors in return for favorable publicity. If your pricing is based on any such assumptions, please so indicate in your proposal. All bids should include itemization of any applicable taxes and shipping. Not all final delivery locations are known, yet, so shipping charges should be calculated based on delivery to 634 South Spring Street, 10 th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014 and mileage charges should be estimated based on the map clusters for PCC locations shown. Actual charges may vary slightly from this estimate based on minor variations in the destinations. 2.8 Evaluation of Responses Responsive proposals will be evaluated using the criteria presented above. YPI may at its discretion and at no fee to YPI, invite any Vendor to appear for questioning during response evaluation to clarify aspects of their response. 2.9 Right to Reject YPI reserves the right to accept or reject all proposals when the rejection is in the best interest of YPI, such as when no bid is deemed to be cost-effective or when conditions change significantly. YPI further reserves the right to accept an authorization to order form of contract but then never order any items against that contract. YPI also reserves the right to award without further discussion. Therefore, responses should be submitted initially with the most favorable pricing and terms that the Vendor is able to propose. Certain criteria such as lack of vendor qualifications may have been indicated herein as potential causes for disqualification; awards will be to the highest ranked Vendor, with price as the highest weighted factor, after elimination of disqualified or nonresponsive bids. YPI reserves the right to award for some, all, or none of the products and services sought herein; if your bid does not allow for selection of a subset of line items or minor variations in the quantities required, please clearly indicate these limitations. 2.10 Acquisition Regulations YPI intends to comply with all applicable federal, state and local competitive bidding and contractual regulations. It is the express intent of this RFP that competitive bidding be fair and Page 8 of 14
open, in full compliance with all applicable rules, and that resulting contract awards comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The YPI grant imposes a number of duties and responsibilities on recipients of Federal funds, including vendors hired to perform any contract supported with grant funds. The selected vendor(s) may have to comply with one or all of the following additional conditions or regulations, as applicable: For some goods and services sought by YPI in conjunction with the PCC projects, notably computer furniture, Buy American provisions are applicable; however there is an explicit exemption for certain information technology equipment; The Drug-Free Workplace Act, 42 U.S.C. 702 and implementing regulations published at 15 CFR Part 29; Lobbying restrictions; Federal Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination rules; The Copeland Anti-Kickback Act, 18 U.S.C. 874 and 40 U.S.C. 276c; The Davis-Bacon Act, 40 U.S.C. 276a to a 7. Additional codes and regulations may also apply. Please direct any questions or concerns to: ypi@learningtech.org. 2.11 Form of Contract YPI will consider all allowable forms of contract including multi-year contracts and contracts with voluntary renewals, with reasonable options to adjust prices for inflation during renewals. YPI s strong preference is for an Authorization to Order type of contract, specifying pricing, terms and conditions based on cumulative volume over the life of the contract and enabling YPI to place orders from time to time pursuant to the contract. Terms should normally allow for termination with 30 days notice for any business reason, except that completed installations with favorable terms might include reasonable provisions for minimum terms. YPI will consider a range of options from a one-year contract with options for voluntary annual renewals (up to two additional years), up to a simple three-year term; please indicate impact of term on your price proposal. Renewal terms must specify how year-over-year price adjustments would be handled, such as adjustments based on an objective, third party measure of inflation. Term commitments for longer than three years at any one site are unacceptable. The winning vendor(s) should not deliver products, start work or incur expenses until explicitly notified to do so in writing by YPI s Purchase Order, Carrier Service Order [CSO] or equivalent written instrument; notification of award is not in itself authorization to start work. YPI has a right but not the obligation to cancel or reduce the scope of this project at any time. For multiyear contracts or contracts with voluntary renewals, these rights apply to each successive renewal period independently. Vendor commits to honor pricing and scope of work (some part substitutions and predetermined pricing adjustments might be required over time) for up to 36 months from award, with minor adjustments in pricing consistent with published indicators of inflation from year to year. Bidder warrants that all work shall be performed according to best practices in the field of endeavor and in a manner that is fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations. This RFP and all addenda issued to clarify or modify this RFP shall be incorporated in their entirety or by reference into the final contract. This RFP and any resulting contract(s) are intended to fully comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and purchasing Page 9 of 14
regulations, as well as all grant-specific purchasing requirements of the granting agency and BTOP program. If any aspect of the resulting contract fails to comply in any manner with these applicable rules and regulations, said contract shall be amended to comply, if possible, or shall be considered null and void. Vendors may bid on the entire PCC solution or on substantial, well-defined portions of the project. For example, one vendor might bid only the Pacoima area, with a separate vendor bidding only on the Hollywood area. However, other things being equal, YPI prefers a single contract providing a turnkey solution, as described in the bid evaluation criteria above 2.12 Delivery All bids should include line item costs for estimated mileage charges, equipment rental charges, taxes (if applicable) and shipping (for customer premise equipment). Shipping costs should be estimated F.O.B. YPI Headquarters at 634 South Spring Street, 10 th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014. However, actual service address for each location to be served should be considered in estimating any mileage charges or related costs associated with delivery of Internet service. It is possible that equipment deliveries will be made directly to individual PCC sites or to a separate staging location to be determined later. It is understood that actual mileage and shipping costs may vary slightly based on actual delivery destination, especially since the list of PCC locations remains tentative at this time. It is expected that proposals will include the rationale for estimating mileage charges (such as distance from a vendor s nearest Central Office [CO]), enabling bid comparisons to compare unit costs even though not every location to be served is certain at this time. Bidders may assume that PCCs will all be located in the general vicinities of those indicated on the map above. If the actual address of a site changes from that shown in the posted spreadsheet, reasonable adjustments in costs will be acceptable and not invalidate the agreement. Page 10 of 14
3. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SOUGHT 3.0 Categories and Specifications YPI reserves the right to make no award or to make multiple awards for Internet Access Services as a result of proposals received in response to this RFP Cost is the highest weighted, but not the only factor in proposal evaluation Specifications shown are minimums. Proposals that meet or exceed minimums are acceptable. Functionality in excess of the minimum is a factor in proposal evaluation and may be favorably considered in scoring. The ability of a single vendor to provide a turnkey solution will be considered in scoring. Although solutions requiring multiple awards to different vendors will be considered, the ability of a single provider or consolidator to provide consolidated billing for services provided to all PCCs would be a plus. Proposals should describe any applicable assurances of uptime reliability, such as Service Level Agreements [SLAs]. Uptime guarantees and remedies for failure to meet uptime commitments will be considered favorably in scoring. Lead-time required to install and turn up service will be considered in scoring. Company qualifications and (where applicable) industry certifications of installation or service personnel will be considered in scoring. Whenever specific brands or models or technologies are mentioned, these are strictly intended as examples of the required specifications; alternative solutions meeting or exceeding all stated requirements (including compatibility where applicable) are acceptable and may be preferable depending on price, specifications and other factors. 3.1 Internet Access (approximately 80 connections) YPI seeks: Initial bandwidth from 3 Mbps 6 Mbps per center is sought Asymmetrical service is acceptable Minimum download speed is 3Mbps Minimum upload speed is 1Mbps Reasonable Expectation of 99.9% uptime (reputation and assurances, ideally backed by a Service Level Agreement [SLA]; however, a formal SLA is not strictly required) Single point of contact for all 80 ISP connections if at all possible Consolidated single monthly invoice for all PCCs; or willingness to work w/isp consolidator so that YPI receives a single ISP invoice covering all sites Timely availability: short lead times are a factor in evaluation. If more than 45 days lead time from PO/CSO would be required at typical locations, proposal will lose points Each location requires one static, public IP address ISP should provide DNS services including YPI-specified forward and reverse (inaddr.arpa) hostname lookups for its public IPs Preference for ISP owned and managed CPE Scalability to higher bandwidth over the course of the agreement, at reasonable incremental cost to YPI, without extending the termination date, is a plus Page 11 of 14
4. VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS Due to the complexity, potential liability, and to protect YPI s and the sponsoring agency s shared investment in infrastructure and services, YPI requires the following evidence of qualifications in order for submitted bids to be considered responsive to this RFP: As noted above, YPI prefers that Service Provider point of demarcation be a provider owned and managed router (or similar device appropriate to the provider s technology solution). To the extent that YPI must purchase and manage Customer Premise Equipment [CPE] to accept delivery of these services, vendor should show evidence of being a manufacturer-authorized reseller of the proposed equipment. (For example, if Cisco routers are proposed, provider should show evidence of being a Cisco partner.) If proposal includes onsite installation of CPE, by provider, then vendor should provide evidence of experience installing and configuring the recommended brands and models of CPE, and all engineers and installers who will be working at PCC locations should be bonded and liability insured. If proposal assumes onsite installation by YPI of pre-configured CPE that is owned and remotely managed by service provider, sample installation instructions should be included with the proposal. Documentation of the above qualifications should be included with RFP response. 4.1 Variations and Waivers of Qualifications Any variations from any of the above qualifications or other specifications of this RFP should be clearly noted and explained in the bid proposal. Nontrivial variations from the qualifications listed above will be considered sufficient cause for bid disqualification. YPI shall have the right but not the obligation to consider requests for minor waivers from these requirements, if YPI in its sole discretion determines this to be in its own best interest, such as in a situation where the variation is minor and no other fully compliant bids have been received by the submission deadline. Page 12 of 14
5. MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q1. Why was no award made on RFP PCC_2 for Internet service? A1. None of the proposals received for the original PCC_2 fully met the cost-effectiveness requirements of YPI. It was determined that the original RFP may have overemphasized the desire for symmetrical service and formal service level agreements, and underemphasized the cost factor. Hence, we have issued this modified RFP to provide all potential bidders an opportunity to take a fresh look at the project and submit new bids, whether or not they responded to the first version. Q2. Are there other RFPs related to this project? A2. Yes. PCC_1 for furniture and equipment has already closed and some awards have already been made. Additional RFPs will be forthcoming for other needed products and services. Please check back from time to time. You may also send email to ypi@learningtech.org requesting to be added to our bidders list, to ensure immediate notifications of new postings. Q3. Will you also need product/service X? A3. All products and services sought have been or will be posted in RFPs. If the product or service in question is not mentioned in an RFP that has already been posted, we would not be able to discuss it with one bidder before making the same information available to all potential bidders, via the RFP mechanism. Therefore, we cannot discuss whether that product or service will be needed until the corresponding RFP is posted. Please check the web site often if you offer a product or service you think might be needed for this project. Q4. Is this an E-Rate project? A4. No. Some of the PCC locations are at E-Rate eligible sites, but this is not an E-Rate project. Q5. Is YPI eligible for California Teleconnect Fund [CTF]? Does ability to provide CTF discounts matter? A5. Yes. YPI is a 501(c)(3) and so therefore is eligible for CTF discounts. When evaluating the cost evaluation factor, YPI may take into account the potential savings from vendors who support the CTF discount mechanism. Please do let us know if you participate in the CTF program so that the net cost of your offering to YPI can be compared most accurately. Q6. Is it OK to bid on service for only a subset of the sites? A6. It is acceptable to bid on a subset, but there is significant weight (15%) for turnkey solutions -- proposals that are able to provide consolidated billing for services to all sites. To increase your chances of success in this situation, consider partnering with another provider to offer a turnkey solution for all sites, with one vendor serving as the prime contractor. Page 13 of 14
Q7. Is Learningtech or The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology a party to the contract award? Should that firm be listed in the contract paperwork? A7. No. The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology (a.k.a., Learningtech ) has been retained to help conduct the procurement process only, and is not a party to any resulting contract awards. Any contracts awarded would be with YPI only. Q8. We would like to present pricing options for the increments between X Mbps and Y Mbps. Does YPI have a preference as to how those are presented for each site? A8. Tiered pricing proposals offering more than one plan are welcome. Please provide your pricing options in whatever format is simplest and easiest to understand. It would be helpful to know the relative impact of increased bandwidth on cost as well as whether there would be differences in cost based on location (e.g., mileage charges). Please distinguish 1-time installation fees, monthly recurring costs, relationship between cost and term of agreement, and method for determining early termination fees, if applicable. Price comparisons in evaluation will be made at based on a minimum of 3 Mbps down / 1 Mbps up, by adding the Non Recurring Cost (installation/turn-up) to 36 times the Monthly Recurring Cost. Higher speeds and the ability to increase speeds during the course of the project at reasonable incremental cost and without extending the termination date would add points for Functionality. YPI might opt to order additional bandwidth for the larger sites (i.e., sites with medium or large numbers of computers); however, price comparisons for the purpose of vendor selection will be based on the 3x1 bandwidth level. Q9. Where is YPI expecting the circuits to be terminated? At the telco DEMARC? Will YPI (or the host schools) then be responsible for extending the circuit from the DEMARC to the desired location? A9. YPI or a cabling contractor to be selected by YPI will be responsible for extending the demarc from the telco MPOE to the PCC lab. Page 14 of 14