FCDL Comment:
DR1:Documentation provided during the review demonstrates that the cost of the proposals evaluated during your competitive bidding process included costs of both eligible, ineligible, and unposted products and services. FCC rules require applicants to carefully consider all bid solutions and choose the most cost effective solution with price of only the eligible products and services being the highest weighted factor in the bid evaluation process. The cost of ineligible and unposted products and services can be included in the bid evaluation as long as it is a separate factor and is not included with the eligible portion of the products and services as the primary factor. Because you included the cost of ineligible and unposted products and services in your evaluation of the price of each proposal, funding will be denied. ||DR2:The description for the products and services on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for all of the products and/or services in the FRN contains a particular manufacturer’s name, brand, products and/or services without also specifying “or equivalent”. This is a competitive bidding violation because there is no indication that the RFP is also allowing a service provider to submit a bid for equivalent products and/or services. This undermines the competitive bidding process by eliminating the opportunity for the applicant to purchase an equivalent or better product that may be less expensive or to choose a less expensive service provider.||DR3:FCC Rules require applicants to carefully consider all bids submitted by service providers and to choose the most cost effective solution. Documentation provided demonstrates that the applicant did not consider all of the bids that were submitted. Therefore, the applicant has violated the competitive bidding program rules.||MR1:Based on the applicant’s request, the One-time Eligible Cost of the FRN’s Item 21 was changed from $330,336.00 to $306,318.00.