REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
FOR
RAPID LYNX FIBRE OPTIC CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
April 2018 Matawa First Nations Management
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Rapid Lynx Telecommunications
RFI - Fibre-To-The-Premise
Backbone / Feeder / Distribution Construction Project
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Table of Contents
1. RFI CONTACT PERSONNEL .............................................................................................................. 3
2. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - PRIMARY OBJECTIVES ................................................................................. 4
3. SERVICE AREA ..................................................................................................................................... 5
3.1 ROUTE MAPS .............................................................................................................................................. 6
3.2 ESTIMATED ROUTE DISTANCE (KM) FOR EACH LAND TYPE ............................................................... 12
4. RFI RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................. 13
4.1 RFI CALENDAR ........................................................................................................................................ 15
4.2 SUBMISSION DUE DATE ............................................................................................................................ 15
4.3 PROJECT CALENDAR ................................................................................................................................ 16
4.4 PROJECT CALENDAR (NEXT) .................................................................................................................... 17
5. ISSUES OR RISK WITH RESPECT TO THE EXECUTION MODE ........................................... 18
5.1 KEY QUESTIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 18
6. TERM AND ACRONYM DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................... 19
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Broadband Route from Wunnumin First Nation to Nibinamik First Nation ........................................................ 6
Figure 2: Broadband Route from Nibinamik First Nation to Webequie First Nation .......................................................... 7
Figure 3: Broadband Route from Webequie First Nation to Neskantaga First Nation ........................................................ 8
Figure 4: Broadband Route from Neskantaga First Nation to Eabametoong First Nation ................................................. 9
Figure 5: Broadband Route from Eabametoong First Nation to Marten Falls First Nation ............................................. 10
Figure 6: Broadband Route from Marten Falls First Nation to Aroland First Nation ...................................................... 11
List of Tables
Table 1: Breakdown of estimated distance (km) by land types per route ........................................................................... 12
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1. RFI Contact Personnel
Matawa First Nations Management: Jason Rasevych
Economic Development Advisor / Program Manager
Matawa First Nations Management
233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 2X9
Telephone: (807) 346-3653
jrasevych@matawa.on.ca
Stantec Consulting: Richard Seyer
Project Manager
Outside Plant, Power & Telecom
Stantec Consulting 375 Boulevard Roland-Therrien
Longueil, QC, J4H 4A6
Telephone: (514) 281-1033 ext.1512
richard.seyer@stantec.com
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RFI - Fibre-To-The-Premise
Backbone / Feeder / Distribution Construction Project
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2. Introduction
Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) on behalf of Rapid Lynx Telecommunications (RLT), is about to start the construction of a next generation fiber-optic communications network (''Network'') that will act as the backbone (long-haul) and feeder/distribution network providing advanced telecom services to businesses, homes and community anchor institutions within the participating Matawa First Nations communities.
The long-haul backbone will be approximatively 880 km connecting six (6) Matawa First Nations communities. Within each community a feeder/distribution network will be constructed to connect each resident, business and anchor institution to the network.
RLT intends the Network to serve as a development platform for innovation, next generation application development, workforce development, and job creation throughout the participating First Nations communities.
MFNM is requesting providers to present their experience in construction of fiber optic networks of similar size and in similar locations.
2.1 Construction Project - Primary Objectives
To establish a Network that:
a. Will function as the backbone and feeder/distribution network for a Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) buildout initially capable of offering a 1 Gbps infrastructure. The network will support high-speed data and high-quality voice in the initial rollout. (Video services may be deployed later on)
b. Supports FTTP GPON network architecture including drops to the premises;
c. Establishes a central office / headend (“CO/HE”) and various Point-of-Presence (“PoP”) locations to house equipment and serve as connection points;
d. Install all necessary equipment, racks, OLTs, splitter cabinets, splitters, ONTs, etc. and to activate (“light”) the network;
e. Deliver service to 100% of homes, businesses, and anchor institutions in the participating communities;
f. Promotes the long term economic and community interests of RLT and end users.
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3. Service Area
The designated service area for this project encompasses the First Nation communities of Eabametoong, Marten Falls, Neskantaga, Nibinamik, Webequie, and Aroland. The long-haul backbone fiber will be built in six (6) sections running from:
• Wunnumin to Nibinamik
• Nibinamik to Webequie
• Webequie to Neskantaga
• Neskantaga to Eabametoong
• Eabametoong to Marten Falls
• Marten Falls to Aroland
Feeder and distribution networks would be built within each community with drops to each community residence, business, and anchor institutions (excepted Wunnumin community).
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3.1 Route Maps
Figure 1: Broadband Route from Wunnumin First Nation to Nibinamik First Nation
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Figure 2: Broadband Route from Nibinamik First Nation to Webequie First Nation
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Figure 3: Broadband Route from Webequie First Nation to Neskantaga First Nation
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Figure 4: Broadband Route from Neskantaga First Nation to Eabametoong First Nation
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Figure 5: Broadband Route from Eabametoong First Nation to Marten Falls First Nation
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Backbone / Feeder / Distribution Construction Project
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Figure 6: Broadband Route from Marten Falls First Nation to Aroland First Nation
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3.2 Estimated Route Distance (KM) For Each Land Type
Table 1: Breakdown of estimated distance (km) by land types per route
Route KM 1. Wunnumin to Nibinamik 83.61
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
1.99
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
0.69
Code 2-Through Water
24.97
Code 3-Forested
46.86
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
Winter Road Overlap
9.10
0.00 2. Nibinamik to Webequie 156.60
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
0.15
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
2.45
Code 2-Through Water
5.01
Code 3-Forested
125.92
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
23.07
Winter Road Overlap
43.43 3. Webequie to Neskantaga 118.84
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
4.90
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
3.17
Code 2-Through Water
26.92
Code 3-Forested
55.94
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
27.91
Winter Road Overlap
0.06 4. Neskantaga to Eabametoong 138.83
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
1.78
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
4.76
Code 2-Through Water
17.26
Code 3-Forested
74.36
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
40.67
Winter Road Overlap
34.19 5. Eabametoong to Marten Falls 157.88
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
3.34
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
21.18
Code 2-Through Water
25.95
Code 3-Forested
91.85
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
15.56
Winter Road Overlap
0.00 6. Marten Falls to Aroland 199.75
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
9.93
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
49.62
Code 2-Through Water
2.51
Code 3-Forested
74.16
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
63.53
Winter Road Overlap
2.17
Total for all routes 855.51
Code 0-Bedrock/Unidentified Land Cover Type
22.09
Code 1-Muskeg/Easily Trenched Land Cover
81.87
Code 2-Through Water
102.62
Code 3-Forested
469.09
Code 4-Sparsely Forested
179.84
Winter Road Overlap
79.85
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4. RFI Response Requirements
RLT requires information documents that are easy to understand. Do not include unnecessary or extraneous information. Responses to the requirements should be concise and all reasonable care should be taken to limit responses to pertinent information. Any additional company/marketing information is welcome and should be present as attachments to core response.
The response should include, at a minimum, the following:
Executive summary:
1) Include a brief overview of your company key experiences in similar project construction.
2) Provide information that best illustrates your company’s qualification and sufficient detail to demonstrate ability to perform this type of construction work
3) Supply examples of similar projects your company was involved in the past 5 years
Corporate profile:
Provide information about your company corporate profile
• Vendor name
• Type of organization
• Authorized contact name and title
• Mailing address
• Physical address
• Phone number
• Fax number
• Email address
• Company website
• Number of years in business
• Number of full time employees
• Location of headquarters
• Offices in Canada
• Primary product/services
• Major customers
• Technical strength
Similar project experience:
Please provide at least 3 similar project experiences completed in the last years
• Project name
• Project description
• Project location
• Project size
• Construction methodology, including:
o Construction method used on soft and flooded terrain like muskeg
• Equipment used for fiber installation
• Crew mobilization and demobilization from mobile construction site
• Subcontractors used (if applicable)
o Reason
o Contact information (company name, contact name, email)
• Project management methodology
• Quality control process
• Cost management
• Material transportation to the site and removal of waste/excess materials
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• Project timeline
• Environmental compliance and restoration
• Health and Safety policies
• Main challenges encountered during construction and how those challenges were resolved
• Lessons learned
References
Please client references for the projects presented above. By providing the information, the vendor grants permission to RLT staff to contact each reference.
• Project name
• Client contact information
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4.1 RFI Calendar
Anticipated Event Dates:
RFI Advertised and Issued:
April 27, 2018
Submissions Due By:
May 18, 2018
Potential Interviews with Firms No Later Than:
June 5, 2018
4.2 Submission Due Date
Submissions are due by 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, May 18, 2018. (if submitted late, we cannot guarantee an interview)
Submissions must be submitted electronically or via priority or certified mail. Two (2) hard copies and one (1) complete electronic version are required. Faxed submissions will not be accepted. Proposers assume the risk of the methods of dispatch or delivery chosen. Office hours for receipt of mailed or expressed proposals are: Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Submissions are to be sent to: Jason Rasevych
Economic Development Advisor / Program Manager
Matawa First Nations Management
233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 2X9
jrasevych@matawa.on.ca
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4.3 Project calendar
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4.4 Project calendar (next)
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5. Issues or risk with respect to the execution mode
5.1 Key Questions
1. What risks should we expect about this project? How can your company help us to overcome these risks?
2. Based on the project calendar timeline, how would you propose to meet it?
3. Since the winter roads are practicable mid-January to mid-April and those communities are remote with access by winter road, how do you plan your schedule?
4. In your opinion, what would be a key success factors?
5. What would be a high-level estimate for this project?
6. Would there be any reason for your company to not submit a bid?
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6. Term and Acronym Definitions
ADSS
All Dielectric Self Support A cable designed and constructed with non-metallic components, that is designed for aerial applications and does not require a separate cable messenger.
AE
Active Ethernet A standard Ethernet architecture used as an access technology for residential access. .
ANSI
American National Standards Institute A voluntary organization composed of over 1,300 members that creates standards for the computer industry
ATA
Analog Terminal Adaptor Device to convert a digital signal to/from and analog signal. Used, for example, to connect legacy phone systems to an Internet delivered signal.
AWG
American Wire Gauge Also known as the Brown & Sharpe wire gauge, is a standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 predominantly in North America for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire
BICSI
Building Industry Consulting Service International Standards Program that creates standards and guidelines for use in the design, installation and integration of information communications technology (ICT).
BRI
Basic Rate Interface Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) configuration intended primarily for use in subscriber lines similar to those that have long been used for voice-grade telephone service. The BRI configuration provides 2 B channels and 1 D channel. The B channels are used for voice or user data, and the D channel is used for any combination of data, control/signaling, and X.25 packet networking.
CAI
Community Anchor Institution Entities such as government buildings, schools, libraries, etc.
CLEC
Competitive Local Exchange Carrier A telephone company that competes with the already established local telephone business by providing its own network and switching.
CO/HE
Central Office/Head End A building or a location within a building where equipment is housed which receives communications signals (e.g. Internet, cable television broadcasts, telephone switches) for distribution to a local distribution network
CPI
Consumer Price Index Measure of changes in the purchasing-power of a currency and the rate of inflation. The consumer price index expresses the current prices goods and services in terms of the prices during the same period in a previous year, to show effect of inflation on purchasing power.
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CSA
Canadian Standards Association Association to develop and monitor standards which compliment industry accepted practices, manufacturer’s products/installation guidelines, and fibre optic network products/installation guidelines.
CSR
Customer Support Representative People within a company who interface with customers to address the customer’s needs such as ordering service, troubleshooting problems, etc.
DSL
Digital Subscriber Line A family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines.
EIA
Electronic Industries Alliance A standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers. They developed standards to ensure the equipment of different manufacturers was compatible and interchangeable.
Fibre Optic Cable
Fibre Optic Cable A cable that contains individual glass fibres, designed for the transmission of digital information, using light pulses.
FOCIS
Fibre Optic Connector Intermateability Standard It is a component standard written for manufacturers to follow to insure that their connector will be intermateable with other manufacturer's connectors of the same type.
FTE
Full Time Equivalent The ratio of the total number of paid hours during a period (part time, full time, contracted) by the number of working hours in that period Mondays through Fridays.
FTTP
Fibre To The Premises A fibre optic cable delivery medium that provides Internet access directly to a user or groups of users.
GIS
Geographic Information System A system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data.
GPON
Gigabit Passive Optical Network Fibre-optic network technology that operates in both asymmetric and symmetric configurations, and currently supports signaling rates as high as 2.488 Gbps with a maximum logical reach of approximately 37 miles. GPON supports as many as 32 or 64 splits, that is, splitters can divide the signal to serve as many as 32 or 64 premises from a single optical fibre.
GPS
Global Positioning System A space-based navigation system that provides location and time information
HDPE
High-Density Polyethylene A polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum used for pipes with a high strength-to-density ratio.
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HVAC
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems within a facility
ICEA
Insulated Cables Engineers Association A not-for profit professional association that produces technical standards for the manufacture and use of power cable, data, and control cable.
ICP
Internet Connection Point One of several locations that provide access to other networks that make up the World Wide Web.
IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission Its purpose is to develop, maintain and promote standards in the fields of information technology (IT) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
IPTV
Internet Protocol Television The delivery of programming by video stream encoded as a series of IP packets. IPTV is distributed by a service provider over the Internet and can be free or fee-based and can deliver either live TV or stored video.
ISO
International Organization for Standardization An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.
ISP
Internet Service Provider A company that provides individuals and companies access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and virtual hosting.
Loose Tube Cable
Loose Tube Cable A cable designed and constructed with non-metallic components, that is designed for underground applications. These are "dry" cables using water swellable powders to protect against water penetration.
MFNM
Matawa First Nations Management A tribal council with nine member Ojibway and Cree First Nations. Tribal Councils are institutions established as, “a grouping of bands with common interests who voluntarily join together to provide advisory and/or program services to member bands.”
Minimum Bend Radius
Minimum Bend Radius The minimum radius a fibre may be bent before optical losses are induced.
Multi-mode Fibre
Multi-mode Fibre An optical fibre whose core diameter is large compared with the optical wavelength and which, consequently, a large number of light modes are capable of propagation.
NECA
National Electrical Contractors Association NECA supports the electrical contracting industry through advocacy, education, research, and standards development.
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O&M
Operations and Management All personnel, material, equipment, and overhead associated with operations and management of a company.
ODTR
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer A device used for characterizing a fibre, wherein an optical pulse is transmitted through the fibre and the resulting backscatter and reflections are measured as a function of time.
OFSTP
Optical Fibre System Test Procedure Reference for testing and certifying fibre optic cables and networks
OLT
Optical Line Terminal The endpoint hardware device in a PON/GPON network. It has two primary functions: (1) converting the standard signals used by a service provider to the frequency and framing used by the PON/GPON system; and, coordinating the multiplexing between the conversion devices on the optical network terminals (ONTs) located on the customers' premises. The OLT contains a central processing unit (CPU), passive optical network cards, a gateway router (GWR) and voice gateway (VGW) uplink cards. It can serve up to 128 ONTs at a range of up to 12.5 miles by using optical splitters.
ONT
Optical Network Terminal An ONT is a media converter that is installed outside or inside the customer premise. The ONT converts fibre-optic light signals to copper/electric signals. Each ONT is capable of delivering multiple POTS (plain old telephone service) lines, Internet data, and video.
OSP
Outside Plant All the material, equipment, and resources needed to install and maintain all outside facilities such as fibre cable, buildings, etc.
OTDR
see ODTR
OTT
Over-The-Top content Refers to delivery of audio, video, and other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator (MSO) in the control or distribution of the content.
PBX
Private Branch Exchange A private telephone network used within an enterprise. Users of the PBX share a certain number of outside lines for making telephone calls external to the PBX.
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment Equipment worn to minimize exposure to serious workplace injuries and illnesses.
PRI
Primary Rate Interface Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) configuration intended primarily for use in subscriber lines similar to those that have long been used for voice-grade telephone service. The PRI configuration provides 23 B channels and 1 D channel. The B channels are used for voice or user data, and the D channel is used for any combination of data, control/signaling, and X.25 packet networking.
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PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network The world's collection of interconnected voice-oriented public telephone networks, both commercial and government-owned. It's also referred to as the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).
RFI
Request For Information A standard business process whose purpose is to collect written information about the capabilities of various suppliers. Normally it follows a format that can be used for comparative purposes.
RFP
Request For Proposal A solicitation, often made through a bidding process, by an agency or company interested in procurement of a commodity, service or valuable asset, to potential suppliers to submit business proposals.
SDR
Standard Dimension Ratio A method of rating a pipe's durability against pressure. The standard dimension ratio describes the correlation between the pipe dimension and the thickness of the pipe wall.
Single-mode Fibre
Single-mode Fibre An optical fibre with a small core diameter, in which only a single mode of light is capable of propagation.
SIP
Session Initiation Protocol A network communications protocol commonly employed for Voice over IP (VoIP) signaling. SIP is designed to support the calling features of traditional telephone systems. However, unlike the traditional SS7 technology for telephone signaling, SIP is a peer-to-peer protocol. SIP is also a general-purpose protocol for multimedia communications not limited to voice applications.
Splicing
Splicing A permanent junction between optical fibre splices. May be thermally fused or mechanically applied.
TIA
Telecommunication Industries Association Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) products
UPS
Uninterruptible Power Supply A device that allows a computer to keep running for at least a short time when the primary power source is lost. It also provides protection from power surges.
VISP
Virtual Internet Service Provider A company that provides, through the use of a wholesale ISP, individuals and companies access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and virtual hosting. Wholesale ISP services are usually “white labeled” under the company purchasing the services.
VOD
Video On Demand An interactive TV technology that allows subscribers to view programming in real time or download programs and view them later. A VOD system at the consumer level can consist of a standard TV receiver along with a set-top box.
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VOIP
Voice Over IP An IP telephony term for a set of facilities used to manage the delivery of voice information over the Internet. VoIP involves sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than by using the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network.
