Tender No: APSFL/ Last Mile SP/82/2016 Dt:11/06/2016. June Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, Plot No.5, 6, 15&16, 1st Floor,

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1 Request for Proposal For Empanelment of Service Providers for Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity for Government Offices from the PoP of AP Fibre Grid (On rate contract) Tender No: APSFL/ Last Mile SP/82/2016 Dt:11/06/2016 June 2016 Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, Plot No.5, 6, 15&16, 1st Floor, KKR Square (Opp: Hotel Jubilee Ridge), Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , India

2 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Disclaimer The information contained in this Tender or subsequently provided to Bidders, whether verbally or in documentary or any other form by or on behalf of the Authority or any of its employees or advisers, is provided to Bidders on the terms and conditions set out in this Tender and such other terms and conditions subject to which such information is provided. This Tender is issued by Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited. This Tender is not an agreement and is neither an offer nor invitation by the Authority to the prospective Bidders or any other person. The purpose of this Tender is to provide interested parties with information that may be useful to them in the formulation of their Bid pursuant to this Tender. This Tender includes statements, which reflect various assumptions and assessments arrived at by the Authority in relation to the Selection of Consultants. Such assumptions, assessments and statements do not purport to contain all the information that each Bidder may require. This Tender may not be appropriate for all persons, and it is not possible for the Authority, its employees or advisers to consider the objectives, technical expertise and particular needs of each party who reads or uses this Tender. The assumptions, assessments, statements and information contained in this Tender, may not be complete, accurate, adequate or correct. Each Bidder should, therefore, conduct its own investigations and analysis and should check the accuracy, adequacy, correctness, reliability and completeness of the assumptions, assessments and information contained in this Tender and obtain independent advice from appropriate sources. Information provided in this Tender to the Bidders is on a wide range of matters, some of which depends upon interpretation of law. The information given is not an exhaustive account of statutory requirements and should not be regarded as a complete or authoritative statement of law. The Authority accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise for any interpretation or opinion on the law expressed herein. The Authority, its employees and advisers make no representation or warranty and shall have no liability to any person including any Bidder under any law, statute, and rules or regulations or tort, principles of restitution or unjust enrichment or otherwise for any loss, damages, cost or expense which may arise from or be incurred or suffered on account of anything contained in this Tender or otherwise, including the accuracy, adequacy, correctness, reliability or completeness of the Tender and any assessment, assumption, statement or information contained therein or deemed to form part of this Tender or arising in any way in this Bidding Process. The Authority also accepts no liability of any nature whether resulting from negligence Or otherwise however caused arising from reliance of any Bidder upon the statements contained in this Tender. The Authority may in its absolute discretion, but without being under any obligation to do so, update, amend or supplement the information, assessment or assumption contained in this Tender. The issue of this Tender does not imply that the Authority is bound to select a Bidder or Bidders, as the case may be, for the program management and the Authority reserves the right to reject all or any of the Proposals without assigning any reasons whatsoever. The Bidder shall bear all its costs associated with or relating to the preparation and submission of its Proposal including but not limited to preparation, copying, postage, delivery fees, expenses associated with any demonstrations or presentations which may be required by the Authority or any other costs incurred in connection with or relating to its Proposal. All such costs and expenses will remain with the Bidder and the Authority shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for i P a g e

3 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. the same or for any other costs or other expenses incurred by a Bidder in preparation or submission of the Bid, regardless of the conduct ii P a g e

4 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Contents Undertaking for Participating in the Bid process... viii Definitions... ix 1. Tender Schedule Project Background Scope of Work Commissioning Phase Maintenance Phase Prequalification Criteria Technical Evaluation Criteria Tender Terms & Conditions General Clarifications in the Tender Amendments to the Tender Language of the Bid Bid Currency Contacting Tender Inviting Authority Force Majeure Arbitration Cost of bidding Tender Document Fees Earnest Money Deposit Letter of Authorization Two Part Bidding Bid Closing Date and Time Mode of Submission of Bids Modification and withdrawal of Bids iii P a g e

5 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid Technical Bid Opening Tender Validity Initial Scrutiny Clarifications by APSFL Suppression of facts and misleading information Technical Bid Evaluation Price Bid Evaluation Negotiations APSFL reserves the right to Empanelment Process Letter of Acceptance Payment of Security Deposit (SD) Execution of Contract Release of Purchase Order Refund of EMD Release of SD Forfeiture of EMD and SD Termination of Contract Execution of Work Order Assigning of Tender whole or in part Liquidated Damages (LD) Penalty for Non-Fulfilment of Tender Other Conditions Arbitration and Jurisdiction Service Level Agreement Service Level Agreement (SLA) Exclusions iv P a g e

6 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. 8. Fibre Specifications Fibre Cable PLC Splitter Annexure I - Model Form of Contract... 1 Annexure II - Bank Guarantee Format... 8 Annexure III - Bid Cover Letter Annexure IV - Checklist Annexure V Profile of the Bidder & Prequalification Annexure VI Technical Criteria Checklist Annexure VI Technical Compliance Annexure VII Manufacturer s Letter of Guarantee Annexure VIII List of Districts (Order of preference) Annexure VIII Price Bid Form v P a g e

7 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Abbreviations AMC APSFL CPE CST EMD FOR ICT INR IPR ISO ISP IT LCO LD LoI LoA MSO NOC OEM OFC PoP PSU RFP SD SLA SPOC VAT Annual Maintenance Contract Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited Customer Premise Equipment Central Sales Tax Earnest Money Deposit Free On Road / Rail Information and Communication Technology Indian Rupees Intellectual Property Rights International Organization for Standardization Internet Service Provider Information Technology Local Cable Operator Liquidated Damage Letter of Intent Letter of Acceptance Multiple System Operator Network Operations Centre Original Equipment Manufacturer Optical Fibre Cable Point of Presence Public Sector Unit Request for Proposal Security Deposit Service Level Agreement Single Point of Contact Value Added Tax vi P a g e

8 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Acknowledgement This document shall be returned duly signing each page by the authorized person accepting the terms and conditions. It is expressly understood that the party has subscribed to this document with an express understanding that they will use this document only for the sole purpose of participating in the Qualification process for the Empanelment of Service Providers for Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity for Government Offices from the PoP of AP Fibre Grid and must not be used for any other purpose. This document must not be passed to a third party except professional advisers assisting with this Proposal submission. The document may not be reproduced or communicated, in whole or in part, and its contents may not be distributed in written or oral form without written permission from the issuing authority. Sd/- Managing Director Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, Plot No.5, 6, 15&16, 1st Floor, KKR Square (Opp: Hotel Jubilee Ridge), Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , India vii P a g e

9 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Undertaking for Participating in the Bid process (To be submitted in Bidder s Letter Head) To The Managing Director Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited Plot No.5, 6, 15&16, 1st Floor, KKR Square (Opp: Hotel Jubilee Ridge), Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , India Sir, Sub: Undertaking for participating in APSFL s Service Provider Tender - Reg. Ref: Tender No. I/We have gone through the tender documents and abide by them in all respects. I/We hereby confirm that our firm was not blacklisted by any State Government/ Central Government/ Public Sector Undertakings during the last five years. We also hereby confirm that our EMD/SD was not forfeited by any State Government / Central Government / Public Sector Undertakings during the last five years. I/We hereby declare that all the information furnished by us in this bid are true to the best of my/our knowledge and we understand and accept that if at any stage, the information furnished is found to be incorrect or false, we are liable for disqualification from this tender and also are liable for any penal action that may arise due to the above. I/We certify that only new components will be used for the last mile connectivity. I/We certify that we are liable and responsible for any disputes arising out of Intellectual Property Rights. In case of violation of any of the conditions above, I/We understand that I/ We are liable to be blacklisted by APSFL for a period of five years. Yours faithfully for Name, Signature Designation Seal viii P a g e

10 Empanelment of Service Providers for Last mile fibre connectivity to Government offices from the PoP of AP fibre Grid. Definitions Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL), is a PSU 100% owned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The corporation has been established primarily to undertake the works of AP Fibre Grid. APSFL intends to provide last mile connectivity to all Government institutions. As part of the procurement activities, APSFL invites bids for the Empanelment of Service Providers for Commissioning & Maintenance of Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity from the PoP of AP Fibre Grid or nearest splitter. Short Titles used in the Tender Document: 1. Bidder: Bidder means the party who makes a formal offer in pursuance of the tender floated. 2. Successful Bidder: Successful Bidder means the Bidder who becomes successful through the tender process. 3. Day: A day means a calendar day. 4. List of Districts: Anantapur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur, Kadapa, Krishna, Kurnool, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, West Godavari 5. List of PoPs can be downloaded from the APSFL website 6. Purchaser: Purchaser means the end-user for whom the procurement is indented through the tender. ix P a g e

11 1. Tender Schedule Proposals in the prescribed format are invited from suitable Bidder(s) for Empanelment of Service Providers for Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity for Government Offices from the PoP of AP Fibre Grid The tender details are as provided below:- 1. Name of the Managing Director Authority Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, Plot No.5, 6, 15&16, 1st Floor, KKR Square (Opp: Hotel Jubilee Ridge), Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , India 2. Tender Number APSFL/ Last Mile SP/82/2016 Dt:11/06/ Title of the Assignment Request for Proposal for Empanelment of Service Providers for Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity for Government Offices from the PoP of AP Fibre Grid 4. Release of RFP RFP can be downloaded from APSFL website from onwards from 5. Contact Person & number 6. Bid Processing Fees (Non-Refundable) 7. EMD(Earnest Money Deposit) ED / Commercial, Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, Plot No.5,6,15&16, 1st Floor, KKR Square, Kavuri Hills, Phase-I, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad , Telangana, India. Tel: / 63 / 65 edc.apsfl@ap.gov.in INR 25,000 (In the form of a Demand Draft issued by one of the Nationalized/ Scheduled Banks in India in favour of Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, payable at Hyderabad ) INR 10,00,000 (In the form of a Demand Draft issued by one of the Nationalized/ Scheduled Banks in India in favour of the Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited, payable at Hyderabad ) or in the form of a Bank guarantee EMD should be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of submission of the bid. 8. Date & time of Prebid meeting 9. Last Date & Time for Submission of 1 P a g e Pre-Bid meeting will be held on 3:00 PM at the address mentioned in (1) Sealed tender may be submitted not later than 4:00 PM at the address mentioned in (1).

12 Proposal 10. Date & Time for Opening of Technical Proposals Technical proposal will be opened on 5.00 PM at the address mentioned in (1). 11. Method of Selection Least Cost Method (L1). 12. Validity of Proposal The proposal shall remain valid for a period of minimum 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from the last date of submission 13. Procedure For Bid Submission Hard copy submission 2 P a g e

13 2. Project Background Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) has been incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 in October 2015, to undertake the works of AP Fiber Grid, its operations & maintenance and its business activities. It is a fully owned entity of the Government of AP under the control of Energy, infrastructure & Investment (E, I&I) department. APSFL aims to provide the high quality & affordable digital services to households, Government and Business.. Fiber Grid is one of the 5 Grids identified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to accelerate socio-economic growth of the State. Fiber Grid is primarily aimed at harnessing the power of information resource and enabling provision of qualitative and cost-effective IT, Communication (data, voice & video) related services to the citizens of A.P. Vision of AP Fibre Grid is as follows: To establish a highly scalable network infrastructure, accessible on a non-discriminatory basis, to provide on demand, affordable and end-to-end broadband connectivity of 10 Mbps for ALL households and 1 to 10 Gbps for ALL institutions & Multi-Dwelling Units by 2018, to enable realization of the Vision of Digital Andhra Pradesh, in partnership with the Government of India and the private sector In line with the vision, a dual phased approach has been undertaken to deliver the project mandate in AP. Phase I Aerial Fibre Grid Network will create an aerial fiber network up-to Mandal Level by leveraging assets of Electricity companies. Phase II - Underground Fibre Network is envisioned to create an underground fibre network covering the entire State upto Gram Panchayats level. Phase-I of the Project (Aerial fibre grid project), which is presently under implementation is creating an overhead fibre network across AP State. The fibre is being laid overhead using the network of electricity poles across the State. Approximate length of fibre to be laid as part of this project is 22,400 kms. Phase-I project components include laying aerial optical fibre across the State upto mandal level, so that the State, District, Zonal and Mandals are connected with each other using ring topology as much as possible. In addition, the last mile connectivity is to be made available through a network of Local Cable Operators that have the capability to provide bandwidth. Points of Presence (PoPs) are to be created at the State, District and Mandal level. The objectives of the PoPs is to enable the customers / ecosystem partners like Local Cable Operators etc. to have easy access to the network. A total of approx PoPs are created across the state. Phase 1 AP Aerial Fiber project implementation works are under active progress and commercial services are scheduled to commence by the end of July P a g e

14 The specifications and open standards for Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) under this network, which can deliver all the three services i.e. Triple play Cable TV, high-speed broadband and Telecom, have already been released. Online enrolment of MSOs/LCOs for business association with APSFL have been opened on 14th March 2016 and received enthusiastic response with around 700 MSOs/LCOs enrolled so far. The APSFL has obtained the required licenses to carry on its business activities Internet Service Provider (ISP-B), National Long Distance and Unified Service Access License from the Dept. of Telecom, Govt. of India on 8th March In the context of this project, Authority intends to empanel vendors for commissioning & maintenance of Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity to Government Offices (Departments, schools, Hospitals etc.) to deliver the services of AP Fibre Grid. It is proposed to empanel 4 to 6 agencies. Empanelment does not confess any right to the agencies for providing the proposed solution. APSFL reserves the right to procure from outside agencies depending on the situation. 4 P a g e

15 3. Scope of Work Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited intends to provide last mile optical fibre connectivity through the AP Aerial Fiber Network to the government offices (Departments/schools/hospitals etc.), including the supply of Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) to enable the intended services such as Triple play internet, telephone, IPTV or CATV and value added services. Through this RFP, APSFL intends to empanel service agencies to provide last mile connectivity and complete the work during the period August 2016 to August The proposed number of government institutions that are to be connected in a District are approximately The District wise list of government institutions that are to be connected will be consolidated by APSFL on periodical basis (Monthly) to allocate the work to the empaneled service providers as per the terms & conditions spelt out in the RFP. AP FibreNet has 2449 PoPs (approx..) that are being set up at District Headquarter, Mandal Headquarter, Zonal Headquarter and Substations in 13 Districts. List of PoPs can be downloaded from APSFL website. The average distance to the offices is approximately 3 km. The scope of work covers two phases as follows: 1. Commissioning Phase 2. Maintenance Phase Commissioning Phase The scope of work shall comprise of survey, supply of fibre including all the accessories, live line installation and commissioning of 2 core optical fiber cable on the existing power distribution poles. The fibre to be terminated at the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) at the offices. The CPE will be provided by APSFL and the installation & commissioning of the CPE to be done and testing of the fibre laid from the PoP to the CPE to be done towards the successful commissioning of the last mile to the Government office. Field/Route Survey 1. After the allocation of the offices by APSFL, the service provider has to carry out the route /field survey and submit the feasibility report for approval/clearance from APSFL to commence the work. 5 P a g e

16 2. The feasibility report should include the Bill of Materials (BoM) based on the route/field survey, to enable APSFL to issue the work order. The GIS mapping to be submitted on the filed survey, wherever it is required as requested by APSFL. 3. In order to utilize the OLT at the PoP effectively, optical splitters may be required to connectivity and hence the requirement of the splitters to be assessed during the survey. Fiber Implementation 1. Supply, delivery to site, unloading, storing, and handling of 2 core Optical Fiber cable along with fittings and associated items as required, including the splitters as per the approved survey report. 2. Live line installation and commissioning 2 core optical fiber cable on the existing power distribution poles from the nearest AP Aerial Fiber PoP to Government offices. The fibre loop of 2 to 3 meters shall be available every 200 meter. 3. Service provider has to connect at least 5 offices per day/district. This implementation timeline will be revised in case of difficult terrain/hilly area/crossing water bodies or on a case to case basis. CPE installation & Commissioning of last mile 1. Installation of CPE at the Government office in coordination with NOC team of AP FibreNet. 2. Testing of the link from the PoP to the CPE end Maintenance Phase After the commissioning, the maintenance of the last mile as per the Service Level Agreement (SLA) should be maintained during the two years of maintenance phase from the date of commissioning. Periodical Maintenance 1. The service provider shall carry out periodical maintenance of the last mile connectivity commissioned and shall submit the report on half yearly basis during this phase. 2. If any issue is reported by the end user/government office with regard to the services, then the issue will be reported to centralized help desk of NOC of AP FibreNet and if there is any issue in the last mile connectivity, the issue will be forwarded to the service provider. These issues should be rectified so as to restore the services as per the SLA. Issues pertaining to the CPE, will be handled by the CPE vendor. 6 P a g e

17 4. Prequalification Criteria The Bidders should have the following Prequalification criteria for participating in the Tender. The Bidders should enclose documentary evidence for fulfilling the Eligibility in the Technical Bid. If a bidder fails to enclose the documentary proof for eligibility, their bid will be summarily rejected. SL No. Criteria Documentary Proof to be submitted 1. T he Bidder should be a Company registered in India under the Indian Companies Act 1956 or a Registered Partnership Company / Firm or a Sole Proprietary Firm and existing for the past 5 years as on 31/03/2016 In case the Bidder is a Registered Company in India, they should produce the copy of the Certificate of Incorporation. In case the Bidder is Registered Partnership Company / Firm, they should produce the copy of Registered Partnership Deed. In case the Bidder is a Sole Proprietary Firm, they should produce the copy of VAT Registration Certificate/ Service Tax Registration Certificate The Bidder should have been in operational existence in the relevant field for at least the last five (5) financial years as on The bidder should have valid Service tax and VAT registration in India The bidder should not have been blacklisted by any Govt. department or any PSU in India as on the date of bid submission The Bidder should have an Annual Turnover of INR 5 Crores and above in the last successive two Audited Financial years. Copy of relevant work order(s) and certificate(s) with details from the client(s) stating that the work(s) has been completed/ongoing Certified copy of valid service tax and VAT registration certificates issued by competent authority in India Self-declaration by the bidder duly signed by the authorized signatory Copies of the Audited Balance sheets and Profit and Loss account for the last 2 audited Financial years.( & or & ) 6. Bidder should have positive Certificate from the statutory auditor for 7 P a g e

18 SL No. Criteria net worth for the last three successive audited financial years Documentary Proof to be submitted having positive net worth for the last three successive audited financial years. ( , , or , , ) 8 P a g e

19 5. Technical Evaluation Criteria S. No. Past Technical Experience of the Bidder Documents to be submitted Maximum Score Experience in laying / pulling and installing Optical Fiber Cable in India in the last five years. Optical fibre laying/pulling for underground/aerial through electrical lines HT/LT will be considered for award of marks. Indoor laying will not considered. Copy of relevant work order(s) and certificate(s) with details from the client(s) stating that the work(s) has been completed/ongoing 1. The average Km commissioned in the last five years will be taken for award of marks as below: 20 A 100 Km to 500 Km 5 Marks B C 500 Km to 1,000 Km > 1,000 KM 10 Marks 20 Marks Experience in commissioning & maintenance of products such as set top box/cpe for delivery of cable TV/DTH/IPTV/Triple play services/telephony/internet services in India in the last five years. The average value of the work orders in the last five years shall be minimum 50 lakhs. The Bidder should have the knowledge on commissioning & maintenance of the last mile fibre connectivity and shall submit a detailed plan/methodology to comply with the requirement of 5 last mile connectivity target per day/per District. Copy of relevant work order(s) and certificate(s) with details from the client(s) stating that the work(s) has been completed/ongoing 50lakhs to 1Crore-10 Marks >1Crore- 15 Marks Bidder shall furnish a detailed plan/methodology covering the field organization chart, indicating the deployment plan and key personnel to be deputed at site and the tools & equipment P a g e

20 required/arranged by them. TOTAL SCORE 50 The Bidder should score a minimum marks of 35 to become eligible for qualify in the technical bid. 10 P a g e

21 6. Tender Terms & Conditions 6.1. General The Bidders are requested to examine the instructions, terms and conditions and specifications given in the Tender. Failure to furnish all required information in every respect will be at the Bidder's risk and may result in the rejection of bid. It will be imperative for each Bidder(s) to familiarize itself/ themselves with the prevailing legal situations for the execution of contract. APSFL shall not entertain any request for clarification from the Bidder regarding such legal aspects of submission of the Bids. It will be the responsibility of the Bidder that all factors have been investigated and considered while submitting the Bids and no claim whatsoever including those of financial adjustments to the contract awarded under this tender will be entertained by APSFL. Neither any time schedule nor financial adjustments arising thereof shall be permitted on account of failure by the Bidder to appraise themselves. The Bidder shall be deemed to have satisfied itself fully before Bidding as to the correctness and sufficiency of its Bids for the contract and price quoted in the Bid to cover all obligations under this Tender. It must be clearly understood that the Terms and Conditions and specifications are intended to be strictly enforced. No escalation of cost in the Tender by the Bidder will be permitted throughout the period of Agreement or throughout the period of completion of contract whichever is later on account of any reasons whatsoever. The Bidder should be fully and completely responsible to APSFL and State Government for all the deliveries and deliverables Clarifications in the Tender A prospective Bidder requiring any clarification in the Tender may notify APSFL by letter or by Fax or by to md@apsfl.in with a copy to edc.apsfl@ap.gov.in. We encourage paper free e- mail communication. The bidder shall submit any queries related to the Bid document in the following format. The queries should necessarily be in the below given format: S. No. Section in RFP Document Page Reference in the RFP Document Clause No. & clause as per RFP Clarification Sought 11 P a g e

22 The responses to the clarifications will be notified in the websites by means of Corrigendum to the Tender Document Amendments to the Tender A Pre-bid meeting will be held for addressing the clarifications on the date and time mentioned in the Tender Schedule or any other date to be decided by APSFL. The Bidders are requested to participate in the Pre-bid meeting and get the clarifications. Before closing of the Tender, clarifications and amendments if any will be notified in the websites mentioned in the Tender Schedule. The Bidders should periodically check for the amendments or corrigendum or information in the websites till the closing date of this Tender. APSFL will not make any individual communication and will in no way be responsible for any ignorance pleaded by the Bidders. Before the closing of the Tender, APSFL may amend the Tender document as per requirements or wherever APSFL feels that such amendments are absolutely necessary. Amendments also may be given in response to the queries by the prospective Bidders. Such amendments will be notified in the websites mentioned in the tender schedule. APSFL at its discretion may or may not extend the due date and time for the submission of bids on account of amendments. APSFL is not responsible for any misinterpretation of the provisions of this tender document on account of the Bidders failure to update the Bid documents on changes announced through the website Language of the Bid The bid prepared by the Bidder as well as all correspondence and documents relating to the bid shall be in English only. The supporting documents and printed literature furnished by the bidder may be in another language provided they are accompanied by an accurate translation in English duly notarized, in which case, for all purposes of the bid, the translation shall govern. Bids received without such translation copy are liable to be rejected Bid Currency Price should be quoted in Indian Rupees (INR) only and Payment shall be made in Indian Rupees only Contacting Tender Inviting Authority Bidders shall not make attempts to establish unsolicited and unauthorized contact with APSFL /Tender Committee after the opening of the Tender and prior to the notification of the Award and any attempt by any Bidder to bring to bear extraneous pressures on the Tender Accepting Authority shall be sufficient reason to disqualify the Bidder. Notwithstanding anything mentioned above, APSFL may seek bonafide clarifications from Bidders relating to the tenders submitted by them during the evaluation of tenders. 12 P a g e

23 6.7. Force Majeure Neither APSFL nor the Successful Bidder shall be liable to the other for any delay or failure in the performance of their respective obligations due to causes or contingencies beyond their reasonable control such as: Natural phenomena including but not limited to earthquakes, floods and epidemics. Acts of any Government authority domestic or foreign including but not limited to war declared or undeclared, priorities and quarantine restrictions. Accidents or disruptions including, but not limited to fire, explosions, breakdown of essential machinery or equipment, power and water shortages Arbitration In case of any dispute, the matter will be referred to a sole Arbitrator to be appointed by the Managing Director of APSFL under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act The arbitration shall be held in Hyderabad, India and the language shall be English only. Subject to the above, the Courts at Hyderabad alone only shall have jurisdiction in the matter Cost of bidding The Bidders should bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of Bids. APSFL will in no way be responsible or liable for these charges/costs incurred regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process Tender Document Fees The Tender Documents may be directly downloaded from APSFL website. Bidders who wish to participate in the tender process should submit the tender document fees as mentioned in the Tender Schedule in the form of a Demand Draft or Banker's Cheque drawn in favour of Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited payable at Hyderabad Earnest Money Deposit An EMD amount as specified in the Tender Schedule should be paid by way of Demand Draft or Banker's Cheque drawn in favour of Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited payable at Hyderabad or in the form of a Bank Guarantee. The Demand Draft or Banker's Cheque should be deposited physically along with the bid. The EMD of the unsuccessful Bidders will be returned at the expense of the Bidders within a reasonable time consistent with the rules and regulations in this behalf. The EMD amount held by APSFL till it is refunded to the unsuccessful Bidders will not earn any interest thereof. The EMD amount of the Successful Bidder can be converted as part of the Security Deposit (SD) for successful execution of the work and will be returned only after the successful fulfilment of the Contract. 13 P a g e

24 The EMD amount will be forfeited by APSFL, if the Bidder withdraws the bid during the period of its validity specified in the tender or if the Successful Bidder fails to sign the contract or the Successful in bidder fails to remit Security Deposit within the respective due dates Letter of Authorization A letter of Authorization from the Board of Directors / appropriate authority authorizing the Tender submitting authority or a Power of Attorney should be scanned and submitted in the Tender, otherwise the Bids will be summarily rejected Two Part Bidding Bidders should examine all Instructions, Terms and Conditions and Technical specifications given in the Tender document. Failure to furnish information required by the Bid or submission of a Bid not substantially responsive in every respect will be at the Bidders risk and may result in rejection of Bids. Bidders should strictly submit the Bid as specified in the Tender, failing which the bids will be non-responsive and will be rejected. Technical Bid (Technical bid cover) The Technical Bid format as given in the Tender shall be filled, signed and stamped on all pages. Errors if any shall be attested by the Bidders. The Technical Bid shall not contain any indications of the Price otherwise the Bid will be summarily rejected. The Technical Bids shall be typed, signed and stamped in all pages by the authorized signatory of the Bidder. Any alternations, deletions or overwriting shall be attested with full signature of the authorized signatory. The Technical Bid with supporting documents and the tender fee & EMD cover should then be put in a separate cover and sealed appropriately. The Technical Bid cover should be super scribed as Technical Bid for Tender No. for Empanelment of Service Providers for Commissioning and Maintenance of Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity to Government Offices from PoP of AP Fibre Grid on rate contract. The FROM Address and TO Address should be clearly written in the cover otherwise the Bid is liable for rejection. The bidders should submit duly filled checklist as part of the technical bid The bidders should submit the details of make and model of the items offered against the tender requirement. Price Bid (Price Bid cover) All the Price items as asked in the Tender should be filled in the Price Bid Format as given in the Tender. The price quoted by the Bidder shall include cost and expenses on all counts viz. cost of equipment, materials, tools/ techniques/ methodologies, manpower, supervision, 14 P a g e

25 administration, overheads, travel, lodging, boarding, in-station & outstation expenses, etc. and any other cost involved in the supply and commissioning. The Price Bid Form should not contain any conditional offers or variation clauses, otherwise the Bids will be summarily rejected. The Prices quoted shall be only in INDIAN RUPEES (INR) only. The tender is liable for rejection if Price Bid contains conditional offers. The Price Bid shall be typed and shall be signed by the authorized signatory in all pages. Any alterations, deletions or overwriting shall be attested with full signature of the authorized signatory. The cost quoted by the Bidder shall be kept firm for a period specified in the Tender from the date of opening of the tender. The Bidder should keep the Price firm during the period of Contract including during the period of extension of time if any. Escalation of cost will not be permitted during the said periods or during any period while providing services whether extended or not for reasons other than increase of taxes (VAT/Service tax/cst) payable to the Governments in India within the stipulated delivery period. The Bidders should particularly take note of this factor before submitting the Bids. The Price Bid shall be placed in a separate cover (Price Bid) and sealed appropriately. The Price Bid cover shall be superscribed as Price Bid for Tender No. for Empanelment of Service Providers for Commissioning and Maintenance of Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity to Government Offices from of PoP of AP Fibre Grid on rate contract. The FROM address and TO address shall be written without fail otherwise the Price Bid is liable for rejection. Outer Cover The Technical Bid cover including tender fee & EMD (Technical Bid Cover and Price Bid cover (Price bid cover) shall then be put in a single outer cover and sealed appropriately by use of sealant. The outer cover shall be superscribed as Tender No. for Empanelment of Service Providers for Commissioning and Maintenance of Last Mile Optical Fibre Connectivity to Government Offices from of PoP of AP Fibre Grid on rate contract. The FROM address and TO address shall be written without fail otherwise the Technical Bid is liable for rejection Bid Closing Date and Time The Bids should be submitted not later than the date and time specified in the Tender Schedule or Corrigendum if published Mode of Submission of Bids The Bids should be submitted strictly as specified in the Tender document. The Bids should reach APSFL on or before the due date and time. The Bids will not be received personally. 15 P a g e

26 If the Bidder prefers to submit the Bid by post, the Bidder should ensure that the Bid reaches to the Managing Director, APSFL on or before the due date and time. APSFL will not be liable or responsible for any postal delay or any other delay whatsoever. If any Bid is received after Due Date and Time or unsealed or disorderly submitted or received by Facsimiles (FAX), the Bid will be treated as non-responsive Modification and withdrawal of Bids The Bids once submitted cannot be modified or amended or withdrawn. No documents would be supplemented after submission of Bids Technical Bid Opening The Technical Bid will be opened on the date and time as specified in the Tender schedule in the presence of those Bidders, who choose to be present against production of an authorization letter from the Bidding authority. A maximum of two representatives for each Bidder would be allowed to attend the Tender opening Tender Validity The offer submitted by the Bidders should be valid for a minimum period of 180 days from the date of opening of the Tender. The Contract will be valid for 1 year from the date of signing of the contract or agreement/date of release of the first Purchase order. However APSFL reserves the right to extend or short close the Tender validity period if situation warrants to benefit the Government Initial Scrutiny Initial Bid scrutiny will be conducted and incomplete details as given below will be treated as non-responsive. If Tenders are; 1. Not submitted in two parts as specified in the Tender 2. Received without the Letter of Authorization 3. Received without tender fee and EMD amount 4. Are found with suppression of details 5. with incomplete information, subjective, conditional offers and partial offers 6. Submitted without support documents as per the Prequalification Criteria and Evaluation Criteria 7. Non-compliance of any of the clauses stipulated in the Tender 16 P a g e

27 8. lesser validity period All responsive Bids will be considered for further evaluation. The decision of APSFL will be final in this regard Clarifications by APSFL When deemed necessary, APSFL may seek bonafide clarifications on any aspect from the Bidder. However, that would not entitle the Bidder to change or cause any change in the substance of the Bid or price quoted. During the course of Technical Bid evaluation, APSFL may seek additional information or historical documents for verification to facilitate decision making. In case the Bidder failed to comply with the requirements of APSFL as stated above, such Bids may at the discretion of APSFL, shall be rejected as technically non-responsive Suppression of facts and misleading information During the Bid evaluation, if any suppression or misrepresentation of is brought to the notice of APSFL. APSFL shall have the right to reject the Bid and if after selection, APSFL would terminate the contract, as the case may be, will be without any compensation to the Bidder and the EMD / SD, as the case may be, shall be forfeited. Bidders should note that any figures in the proof documents submitted by the Bidders for proving their eligibility is found suppressed or erased, APSFL shall have the right to seek the correct facts and figures or reject such Bids. It is up to the Bidders to submit the full copies of the proof documents to meet out the criteria. Otherwise, APSFL at its discretion may or may not consider such documents. The Tender calls for full copies of documents to prove the Bidder's experience and capacity to undertake the project Technical Bid Evaluation A Technical Committee will examine the Technical Bids against the Prequalification Criteria and Technical Evaluation Criteria given in the Tender document and all other terms & conditions in the tender. The evaluation will be conducted based on the support documents submitted by the Bidders. The documents which did not meet the eligibility criteria in the first stage of scrutiny will be rejected in that stage itself and further evaluation will not be carried out for such bidders. The eligible Bidders alone will be considered for further evaluation of technical criteria. The technical evaluation score of 35 marks will be the minimum score and the bidders who have scored 35 marks will be declared as Technically Qualified Bidders Price Bid Evaluation The Price Bids of the Technically Qualified Bidders alone will be opened and evaluated. The Price Bid should include all expenses towards this Tender. 17 P a g e

28 All the taxes indicated in the Price Bid will be taken for the Price Bid evaluation. The Price bid calls for the rate for the following items: 1. Unit rate for commissioning of last mile optical fibre on per km basis including installation of CPE and testing from PoP to CPE. 2. Unit rate for optical splitters (1:16, 1:8, 1:4, 1:2) As this is a rate contract, the following method of price evaluation will be adopted: 1. Failure to submit the price for all the items or partial offer will be liable for rejection of the bid itself. The decision of APSFL will be the final. 2. The bid cost of all the bidders will be arranged in ascending order such as L1, L2, L3, L4, etc. for each item. 3. The L2, L3 and L4 bidders will be asked to match the price of L1 to declare them as the shortlisted bidders, against each item. 4. All the Bidders, who have got shortlisted, will be the Successful Bidders. 5. If the Tender ends with only one Successful Bidder, the value of the order will be restricted to the capacity of the Bidder and remaining quantity will be re-tendered Negotiations Negotiations will be conducted with all the Successful Bidders for improvement in the Scope of Work, Specification, further reduction in price and advancement of delivery schedule. No dispute can be raised by any Bidder who Bid has been rejected and no claims will be entertained or paid on this account APSFL reserves the right to 1. Negotiate with the Bidder whose offer is the lowest evaluated price for further reduction of prices. 2. Insist on quality / specification of materials to be supplied. 3. Modify, reduce or increase the quantity requirements to an extent of the tendered quantity 4. Change the list of areas of work from time to time based upon the requirement of the purchase. 5. Ask other qualified Bidders to match the L1 price as this is a rate contract tender. 6. If delivery performance of the Bidder is not as per the Schedule, then APSFL reserves the right to reallocate the quantity to other Bidder. 7. APSFL reserves its right to withhold any amount for the deficiency in the service aspect of the ordered items supplied to the customers. 18 P a g e

29 6.26. Empanelment Process A bidder should quote for all Districts and the quoted rate shall be same for all Districts. The Successful bidders (up to L4) shall be selected based on the life cycle cost quoted by the bidder per District. Orders will be placed as per APSFL requirements on the empaneled vendors as stated below: The quantity of work that will be allocated to the successful bidders will be based on their ranking (L1, L2, L3, L4). Each vendor shall take the work at minimum four Districts. The total quantity for the short listed vendor is specified in %, which will be applicable during the one year empanelment period. 19 P a g e Sl. Ranking No 1 L1 50% 2 L2 25% 3 L3 15% 4 L4 10% The empanelment will be valid for a period of 12 (twelve) months in the first instance. It may be extended further depending upon the need for continuity & the performance of the empaneled service provider(s) and based on mutually agreeable terms and conditions and APSFL reserves the right for such extension. In the event of an empaneled Company or the concerned division of the Company is taken over /bought over by another company, all the obligations and execution responsibilities under the agreement with the APSFL, should be passed on for compliance by the new company in the negotiation for their transfer. In case any selected L1 bidder refuses to sign empanelment within seven days of communication from APSFL, the offer would be treated as withdrawn and the bidder s EMD will be forfeited and offer will be extended to other bidders. If other bidders refuse to sign the empanelment after matching the prices quoted by the lowest bidder, their EMD will be forfeited and offer will be extended to other qualified bidders. The defaulting bidder may also be debarred from participating in APSFL tenders for a period of three years. In case of empanelled bidder is found in breach of any condition(s) of tender or supply order, at any stage during the course of supply / installation or warranty period, the legal action as per rules/laws, shall be initiated against the bidder and EMD/Security Deposits shall be forfeited.

30 In the event of termination of this contract due to failure of the bidder to meet the terms and conditions stipulated herein, the bidder will not be able to work with APSFL for the next 3 years and the empanelment will stand cancelled effective from the date of termination. The bidder should not assign or sublet the empanelment or any part or it to any other vendor in any form. Failure to do so shall result in termination of empanelment and forfeiture of Security deposit, APSFL may, at any time, terminate the empanelment by giving written notice to the empanelled vendor without any compensation, if the empanelled vendor becomes bankrupt or otherwise insolvent, provided that such termination will not prejudice or affect any right of action or remedy which has accrued or will accrue thereafter to APSFL Letter of Acceptance The final acceptance of the tender is entirely vested with APSFL who reserves the right to accept or reject, any or all of the tenders in full or in parts without assigning any reason whatsoever. The Tender Accepting Authority may also reject all the tenders for reasons such as change in Scope, Specification, lack of anticipated financial resources, court orders, calamities or any other unforeseen circumstances. After acceptance of the Tender by APSFL, the Successful Bidder shall have no right to withdraw their tender or claim higher price. After acceptance of the Tender by APSFL, a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) will be issued to the Successful Bidder(s) by APSFL. Under this rate contract, APSFL has the right to issue LoA to more than one bidder Payment of Security Deposit (SD) The successful Bidder will be required to remit a Security Deposit (SD) equivalent to the value of EMD in the form of unconditional irrevocable Bank Guarantee valid for a period equivalent to the delivery period from the date of acceptance of the tender on receipt of confirmation from APSFL. The EMD shall be paid within 10 days from the date of issue Letter of Acceptance (LoA) by APSFL. The SD furnished by the Successful Bidder in respect of the tender will be returned to them after successful fulfilment of work. The Security Deposit will be refunded to the Successful Bidder only after successful completion of the all the Purchase Orders. The Security Deposit held by APSFL till it is refunded to the Successful Bidder will not earn any interest thereof. The Security Deposit will be forfeited if the Successful Bidder withdraws the Bid during the period of Bid validity specified in the Tender or if the Bidder fails to sign the contract Execution of Contract The Successful Bidder should execute a Contract in the INR 20 non-judicial Stamp Paper bought in Andhra Pradesh only in the name of the Bidder within one week from the date of Letter of Acceptance issued by APSFL with such changes/modifications as may be indicated by APSFL at the time of execution on receipt of confirmation from APSFL. The Successful Bidder shall not assign or make over the contract, the benefit or burden thereof to any other person or persons or body corporate for the execution of the contract or any part thereof without the prior written consent of APSFL. APSFL reserves its right to cancel the 20 P a g e