Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

Tender description

DMNV 001 Connecting Shropshire Phase 2b — To extend coverage of Next Generation Access (NGA) Broadband, to sub 30Mbps premises across the Shropshire Council area. Shropshire Council recognises the opportunities for digital communities and remains committed to pursuing its broadband aspiration of providing all premises in its area with access to superfast broadband by 2020. Connecting Shropshire is aiming to extend the availability of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband across the Shropshire Council area. Shropshire Council has previously invested significant public funds through two separate contracts (Phase 1 and Phase 2a), to extend the availability of NGA infrastructure in areas where no commercial plans were available from the telecommunications market. Phase 2b aims to extend NGA coverage further by securing a telecommunications provider to deliver to the remaining unserved ‘white’ premises using the public funding that is available in a ‘gap filled’ model. The unserved ‘white’ premises areas have been qualified formally through an Open Market Review and Public Consultation with the supplier market that concluded on 5.9.2016. State Aid approval will be approved for this procurement by Broadband Delivery UK's National Competence Centre under the 2016 National Broadband Scheme for the UK (2016 NBS). The total number of ‘white’ premises included in the procurement will be 16 015. These will be split into two bidding lots as follows: —Shropshire East = 13 259 premises. —Shropshire West = 2 756 premises. The procurement requires a wholesale broadband ‘open’ network solution providing wholesale broadband services that retail service providers can use to provide business consumers, residential consumers, and public sector organisations with a range of broadband services for the contract term. Services will include ‘leased lines’. The proposed solution must comply with the 2016 NBS. It must deliver the following:— a wholesale broadband service that will be open to all service and communications providers on a non-discriminatory basis for at least 7 years as defined by para 3.18 of the of the 2016 NBS. The Contractor will be expected to provide substantial investment in the network, and to own and manage the risks associated with developing and operating a wholesale broadband network, including but not limited to take-up risk. The contract(s) are expected to be awarded in March 2017 (indicative date only). It is anticipated that a contract would be awarded for a 10 year term (completion of deployment + 7 years) to comply with the 2016 NBS. Deployment is likely to commence in Summer 2017 and finish by December 2019 with deployment expected to last for 30 months. The Contractor should note that a sum 500 000 GBP of potential funding has specifically been made available by Shropshire Council to enable community initiatives as they arise and also to bring into scope areas which are currently ‘under review’ in the event that the latter become eligible for intervention under the 2016 NBS. The contract for each lot will make provision for the application of such additional funding at the sole discretion of Shropshire Council, in such amounts as shall be determined by Shropshire Council up to a maximum of 500 000 GBP across both lots. The actual applied amount will be dependent upon need of each contract during deployment. On this basis the total funding available across both lots will not exceed 12 843 791 GBP Connecting Shropshire is aiming to extend the availability of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband across the Shropshire Council area. Shropshire Council has previously invested significant public funds through two separate contracts (Phase 1 and Phase 2a), to extend the availability of NGA infrastructure in areas where no commercial plans were available from the telecommunications market. Phase 2b aims to extend NGA coverage further by securing a telecommunications provider to deliver to the remaining unserved ‘white’ premises using the public funding that is available in a ‘gap filled’ model. The unserved ‘white’ premises areas have been qualified formally through an Open Market Review and Public Consultation with the supplier market that concluded on 5th September 2016. State Aid approval will be approved for this procurement by Broadband Delivery UK's National Competence Centre under the 2016 National Broadband Scheme for the UK (2016 NBS). The total number of ‘white’ premises included in the procurement will be 16,015. These will be split into two bidding lots as follows: —Shropshire East = 13 259 premises —Shropshire West = 2 756 premises The procurement requires a wholesale broadband ‘open’ network solution providing wholesale broadband services that retail service providers can use to provide business consumers, residential consumers, and public sector organisations with a range of broadband services for the contract term. Services will include ‘leased lines’. The proposed solution must comply with the 2016 NBS. It must deliver the following:— a wholesale broadband service that will be open to all service and communications providers on a non-discriminatory basis for at least 7 years as defined in paragraph 3.18 of the 2016 NBS. The Contractor will be expected to provide substantial investment in the network, and to own and manage the risks associated with developing and operating a wholesale broadband network, including but not limited to take-up risk. The contract(s) are expected to be awarded in March 2017 (indicative date only). It is anticipated that a contract would be awarded for a 10 year term (completion of deployment + 7 years) to comply with the 2016 NBS. Deployment is likely to commence in Summer 2017 and finish by December 2019 with deployment expected to last for 30 months. The Contractor should note that a sum £500,000 of a potential funding has specifically been made available by Shropshire Council to enable community initiatives as they arise and also to bring into scope areas which are currently ‘under review’ in the event that the latter become eligible for intervention under the 2016 NBS. The contract for each lot will make provision for the application of such additional funding at the sole discretion of Shropshire Council, in such amounts as shall be determined by Shropshire Council up to a maximum of 500 000 GBP across both lots. The actual applied amount will be dependent upon need of each contract during deployment. On this basis the total funding available across both lots will not exceed 12 843 791 GBP