Hi Anne,
What if we don't like any of the bids we receive, do we have to award a
contract?

Looking forward to your reply,
Jennifer

On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 9:10 AM, Anne Perloff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> After the Form 470 is posted, there is a mandatory 28 day (minimum)
> waiting period during which vendors may submit proposals to you for
> consideration and/or contact you for more information relating to the
> services you listed on your Form 470. Then, on the 29th day that your Form
> 470 was posted or after, you may select a vendor, sign a contract and
> submit the Form 471 to request E-Rate funding for those services.
>
>
> If contacted by a vendor about a specific service listed on a 470,
> applicants are required to provide relevant information to prospective
> vendors so they may submit solid proposals for consideration. Do not simply
> ignore these inquiries as it would be a violation of the E-Rate competitive
> bidding requirements. Applicants are encouraged to keep a log of all vendor
> inquiries and the responses to these inquiries. However, generic emails
> from vendors saying that the service provider can provide the general type
> of service requested is not considered a good faith response to a Form 470
> posting and can be considered 'spam' and ignored by the applicant. In
> addition, inquiries from "brokers" or mass e-mails that are not specific to
> your 470 are not considered legitimate inquiries by USAC.
>
>
> Below is a compilation of some frequently asked questions regarding vendor
> selection.
>
>
>
> *1. What should we do if we received no bids for a service listed on our
> 470?*
>
>
> If you do not receive any bids after your 28-day waiting period, you can
> contact service providers to solicit bids and can then review and evaluate
> any bids received as a result. However, remember that if you post a new FCC
> Form 470, issue a new Request for Proposal (RFP), or amend your existing
> RFP, you start a new 28-day waiting period.
>
>
> If the Form 470 is for an existing service, you can choose to remain with
> your incumbent provider. You are not required to seek more than one bid,
> but if you only get one bid, you must make sure that it is cost effective.
>
>
> Memorialize what occurred by writing a memo for your files (or email to
> yourself. The memo should include the following:
>
>
> "At the conclusion of the Form 470 28-day waiting period, we did not
> receive any bids. We subsequently contacted [LIST OF VENDORS]."
>
>
>
> *2. What should we do if we only receive one bid for a service listed on
> our 470?*
>
>
> Memorialize why you selected the vendor you did by writing a memo for your
> files (or email to yourself) explaining why you selected that particular
> vendor. The memo should include the following:
>
>
> "At the conclusion of the Form 470 28-day waiting period, we only received
> one bid, which was from [VENDOR]. We reviewed the bid for cost
> effectiveness and selected [VENDOR] as the provider for [DESCRIPTION OF
> PRODUCT OR SERVICE] to our entity.
>
>
>
> *3. What should we do if our existing vendor did not submit a bid?*
>
>
> You may use a recent invoice from your existing provider as a bid response
> and evaluate that invoice with the other bids received.
>
>
>
> * 4. Do we have to select the lowest bid?*
>
>
> No. You are just required to select the lowest responsible bid after you
> have completed a bid evaluation process. Keep in mind though that price of
> eligible services has to be the most heavily weighted factor, which means
> for example that if you have 3 criteria that you judged the proposals on,
> the price of eligible services must be at least 34% of the total weight.
> Many other factors besides price may be considered (for example, vendor
> qualifications/experience, in-state preference, existing relationship with
> school, references from other school customers, cost of ineligible
> services/equipment such as new cell phones required to run on vendor's
> network). Keep all of the bids received and the tool you used to evaluate
> bid responses as proof that you selected the lowest responsible bid.
>
>
>
> *5. Are you required to respond to vendors that contact you after the
> 28-day waiting period?*
>
>
> No. But you may do so as long as you afford all vendors the same
> opportunity.
>
>
>
> *6. Are you required to meet with vendors?*
>
>
> No. But you may do so as long as you afford all vendors the same
> opportunity.
>
>
>
> *7. Is there anything we can do during this 28 day waiting period?*
>
>
> Of course!
>
>    - You are permitted to reach out to vendors and encourage them to
>    submit proposals in response to your Form 470 posting.
>    - Begin your Form 471 online by completing the information that you
>    already know. Then when you select your vendors, you can complete the
>    remainder.
>
>
> *8. When can I file a Form 471?*
>
>
> If your 28-day waiting period has already expired (meaning your Allowable
> Contract Date has passed), you may submit your Form 471 if you have
> conducted your bid evaluation, selected your vendor(s), and signed a
> contract (unless you are just purchasing on a month-to-month basis).
>
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> *Anne Perloff*
> Maine State E-Rate Coordinator for Schools
> Networkmaine ... a unit of the University of Maine System
>
> Web: www.networkmaine.net/erate/
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
> Phone: 207-561-3584
>
> Fax: 207-561-3531
>
> Mail:
> Networkmaine
> 5752 Neville Hall Rm 244
> University of Maine
> Orono, ME 04469
>
>


-- 
Jennifer Tabor
Director of Curriculum
RSU 64
Superintendent's Office
408 Main St.
Corinth, ME 04427
207-285-3334