FCDL Comment:
E-rate program rules require a competitive bidding process where an applicant chooses a service provider only after defining all of the specific services eligible for support at each eligible entity. Only by doing so can applicants ensure that they are receiving the most cost-effective services because bidders have sufficient information to determine exact bid prices. Applicants are required to provide bona fide requests for service, so that potential providers can provide accurate bids. The FCC elaborated on the meaning of ?bona fide? in the Universal Service Order, where it stated that Congress ?intended to require accountability on the part of schools and libraries,? which should therefore be required to ?(1) conduct internal assessments of the components necessary to use effectively the discounted services they order; (2) submit complete description of services they seek so that it may be posted for competing providers to evaluate. Your Request for Proposal (RFP) requested bidders to list a percentage discount offered for the Cisco equipment also included in the RFP. You stated that the list of equipment provided in the RFP was an example of what might be ordered and not the actual equipment for each site. Only after the wining vendor was selected were they given a list of the actual equipment/services for each site. Because you failed to provide a bona fide request for services to all potential bidders, service providers could not provide accurate bids you violated the FCC?s requirements for fair and open competitive bidding process, and funding is denied. Additionally, the selection of the wining vendor was based on a highest percentage off the manufacturer?s list price and not based on the price of the actual eligible goods and services requested on your FRN, as such, the FRN is denied since the price of the eligible products and services was not the primary factor in your vendor selection.