E-Rate #270002490

IU 13 WAN Consortium fiber connectivity, network equipment, and maintenance

Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13), through the IU 13 WAN Consortium, is seeking fiber connectivity and supporting network services to expand its education-site wide area network. - Government buyer: Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13), for the IU 13 WAN Consortium; Collaborative Services / Technology Services. - OEMs and vendors: No equipment manufacturers, OEMs, or prospective service-provider vendors are named. IU13 identifies preferred manufacturer product lines and required equipment SKUs in a separate workbook, but those details are not included here. - Requested products and services: - Leased lit fiber, potentially including optical wavelength service, for 25–59 service units; requested bandwidth is 1–100 Gbps per site. - Leased dark fiber for 25–59 fiber strands; the detailed RFP specifies 2 or 4 single-mode strands per route as indicated in Attachment G. - Supporting Category One network equipment, with installation and initial configuration; the Form 470 lists a range of 25–734 units across 25 entities. - Network maintenance and operations, listed as 25 service units across 59 entities. - Notable technical requirements: Lit fiber has a 99.99% per-circuit availability target, with performance commitments for packet loss, latency, and jitter; throttling and rate limiting are not allowed. Dark-fiber proposals must include ongoing 24/7 maintenance, with response within two hours and correction within four hours. Proposals should include route diagrams and KMZ files, construction and testing information, delivery timelines, demarcation details, and E-Rate eligibility. Equipment equivalents may be proposed with evidence of equivalent quality, functionality, interoperability, and compatibility. - Commercial terms: The contract length will be selected after pricing review. Requested lit-fiber terms are 24, 36, or 60 months; dark-fiber terms are 36, 60, 120, or 240 months. Up to five one-year extensions may be mutually agreed, followed by up to 12 months of month-to-month service. Circuits within a contract must be coterminous, and service levels may need to accommodate changing sites, users, or bandwidth.

Description

IU13 seeks proposals for leased lit fiber, including possible Optical Wavelength Services, leased dark fiber, and supporting network equipment, maintenance, and operations. The services will add buildings to the existing IU13 Wide Area Network and serve members of the IU13 Wide Area Network Consortium. The Form 470 lists 25–59 leased dark fiber strands, as well as requests for lit fiber and network equipment and maintenance and operations; see the attached RFP for detailed requirements. Vendors must register by October 28, 2026, and attend a mandatory vendor meeting that day; proposals are due December 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM EST.

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