FCDL Comment:
DR1:As a result of the competitive bidding process, Cochise County Educational Technology Consortium (Cochise) entered into a contract with Zayo Group, LLC (SPIN 143023855) for Leased Lit Fiber with Special Construction on February 26, 2019. Program rules require that applicants conduct a fair and open competitive bidding process that accurately describes the types of products and services desired to enable all prospective bidders to submit bids. During the review, it was discovered that Cochise changed the number of sites needing service and requested an increase in the price of the services after the original contract was signed. Under FCC rules, substantial changes to the FCC Form 470 and/or RFP are not allowable without properly amending the FCC Form 470 and/or RFP, notifying potential bidders, and restarting the 28 day waiting period before selecting a service provider. Specifically, the FCC Form 470, Request for Proposal (RFP), or any documentation that provides additional information or modification to the original information in the FCC Form 470 and/or RFP, must be uploaded to the FCC Form 470 in the E-rate Productivity Center for all potential service providers to evaluate. If an applicant makes substantial changes to the FCC Form 470 or to other bidding documents, the applicant must post the updates in the E-rate Productivity Center and wait an additional 28 days prior to closing the bid process and selecting a service provider. Additionally, an analysis of the documentation provided during the review demonstrates that the RFP and contract did not allow pricing by number of sites, nor did Cochise rebid the contract to let other service providers offer similar bids with the change in number of sites. The FRN is denied since Cochise failed to notify prospective bidders of a substantial change or rebid the products and/or services, and increased the price of services after the contract was signed, which is not allowable under FCC rules.||MR1:In consultation with the applicant, All Saints Catholic School 16072499 has been added to FRN 2099021500 Line Item Number (s) 1 and 2.