RFP Postings

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EPS-Phone-RFP

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1. QUESTION: Please elaborate on the paging requirement for a minimum of 5 specific tones. What is the purpose of these tones? Are these classroom bells? The description seems to indicate you also wish to dial a code to cause a tone to sound. Again, what is the purpose of this? Are you looking for an emergency notification system? An emergency notification system allows you to dial a code and trip off pre-recorded messages that can be played over the paging system, sent as text, or as phone calls.

ANSWER: This is mostly due to offering different indicator options in the future. All things you mentioned are potential options we may want in the future. As it stands now we currently have a bell system and we do not have an emergency notification system. We added this wording to have the future potential to use the phone system as a bell system and emergency notifications. The ability to dial a code to cause a tone is related to the emergency notifications. To make this easier on you and other potential bidders, I will try to make this more direct and ask the following:

In regards to the PAGING ITEMS section of the RFP on page 6. With the understanding that there are different options and compatibility issues in regards to paging and sending various tones, the district is asking for bidders to separately itemize different paging options for allowing the phone system to fully replace or directly integrate with existing PA systems within the schools to have the ability to do the following:
-Page to a single classroom
-Page to an entire school from any handset (this option is due to the potential need to broadcast to the entire school in an emergency even if not in the main office)
-Page to the district
-Make a tone or pre-recorded message from any handset in the district in the event of an emergency
-Ability to use system as scheduled bell notifications

2. QUESTION: Of the 275 stations, how many are for classrooms?

ANSWER: 155. Also, 275 is on the high-side and includes potential growth. Final handset numbers will be determined after awarding a bidder.

3. QUESTION: Does the district have any virtual servers? Would any of these be available to run a call accounting program? (very minimal server requirements).

ANSWER: Yes. I lean more towards a dedicated system outside of virtual but am open to virtual. Please include technical specs and pricing for virtual and non-virtual in the bid.

4. QUESTION: Also, please be aware that VoIP telephones use network broadcast for paging. No vendor will be able to page all phones in the system at once as this would affect the performance of your network.

ANSWER: Understood. I appreciate the heads up. Can we utilize the existing digital phone lines (non-VoIP) as a way to mitigate that? Perhaps a hybrid solution which is not entirely VoIP? You mention broadcast for the paging. Is there an option for multicast instead and does that change anything related to network performance issues? Also, I specified a little more wording in the PAGING question. (Question number 1 on the RFP website.)

5. QUESTION: Also be aware that telephone trunks are a shared resource. There is rarely an instance where every single station would need to be connected to a trunk. Even with extra activities at your facilities, you should be OK with 23 trunks for 275 stations in an education setting. It would be extremely expensive to equip the system with 250 trunks, both on the equipment side and the charge for the telco services. You may wish to set a particular number of trunks desired so you don’t end up with proposals all over the place. The existing PRI provides for 23 trunks.

ANSWER: I agree, as a whole. In the past we had to come up with a solution to make at least 100 simultaneous phone calls for parent/teacher conferences (due to COVID) and the phone system at the time couldn't handle it. We were made aware of the option of a trunk that could be scalable as needed, especially if we knew ahead of time to schedule it. We would like to see what options there are out there with the understanding that we require at least the existing Comcast connection with 23 lines to be compatible with any system that a bidder proposes.

6. QUESTION: Can you provide a list with the type of paging equipment installed in each facility? Ie: 70 volt; Valcom; Bogen, etc..

ANSWER: Here are the models I pulled from the PA systems at each school. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Primary
Dukane
Model: MCS350T/32-25-1
SP1420-93
Volts: 117 VAC Hz: 60 AMPS: 3

Eagle Lake
Precision Electronics
Model: AXIOM125

Telecor
Model: PSU-2B

Telecor XL
Model: ATP-AX2-1 Single Channel

Intermediate
Dukane
Model: MCS350T/R32-25-1
Volts: 117 VAC Hz: 60 AMPS: 10

Middle School
Dukane
Model: MCS350T/R48-25-1/P
Volts: 117 VAC Hz: 60 AMPS: 10

High School
Dukane
Model: MCS350T/64-25-1
Volts: 117 VAC Hz: 60 AMPS: 3

7. QUESTION: Are survivable gateways required at each building so phones can continue to function, making internal calls and overhead paging if the WAN connection to the main building goes out of service?

ANSWER: Please itemize the cost of each survivable gateway WAN connection, separately. We'll want to review the cost of this service before we commit. Also, WAN connections are a bit of a loose term here based on our campus layout. We have one true WAN connection that is leased fiber. That is our connection from the Middle School to Eagle Lake Elementary School. The other WAN connections are buried, Edwardsburg Public Schools-owned fiber runs. That would be from the Middle School to the following:
-Administration
-Primary School
-Intermediate School
-Transporation/Maintenance/Alternative Learning Center
-High School
-Newly acquired building

8. QUESTION: How many years of support are required in the bid response.

ANSWER: Please itemize separately any costs for 1 and 3 years of support.

9. QUESTION: Can schools make PA announcements to individual classrooms and/or whole building?

ANSWER: Each school is different. Here is a list.

Primary - Can PA to individual classrooms and/or whole building

Eagle Lake - Can PA to individual classrooms and/or whole building

Intermediate - Can PA to individual classrooms and/or whole building and do zones such as, outside or one of two pods

Middle School - Can only PA to whole school UNLESS the classroom pushes their "emergency PA" button. Then the office can reply directly to that classroom.

High School - Can only PA to whole school

10. QUESTION: Can you please respond with the number of years licensing and support EPS is looking for? 3 Year or 5 Year?

ANSWER: I had someone ask me this already. I'll answer the same as I have posted on the website under question 8. If I'm misinterpreting your question and it's actually different from what was said on the website on question 8 then please let me know.

Here is what I put on the website......

8. QUESTION: How many years of support are required in the bid response.

ANSWER: Please itemize separately any costs for 1 and 3 years of support.

Here's where I have that posted - https://www.edwardsburgpublicschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=702534&type=d&pREC_ID=2571742