N/A - Broadband Services Development Project

This is not a bid solicitation. This is an advance notice of an anticipated procurement for proponents to submit proposals for the Broadband Services Development Project for the County of Strathcona. This notice is intended to provide an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP). There is no guarantee that this Project or the anticipated procurements will proceed as planned and the timelines for the Project are not finalized and are subject to change. The awarded vendor or vendors will be responsible to design, build, install, commission, operate, and manage a complete network that will enable the provisioning of next-generation Internet access services to the West Industrial/Commercial and/or rural areas of the County. Though the realized extent and scope may vary between these two focus areas, the County’s objectives are to:
• have these networks deployed and operated on an open-access basis that will enable third-party Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to connect to the network and, on a non-discriminatory basis, provide their portfolios of next-generation retail Internet services to residential and commercial/industrial premises throughout the West Commercial/Industrial and rural areas of the County;
• ensure that minimal symmetric 1 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) Internet services are available in the West Commercial/Industrial area and that Internet services meeting the CRTC universal service objective of 50 Megabit per second (Mb/s) down and 10 Mb/s up are available to all rural residents; and
• leverage the County’s financial, engineering, marketing, and other strengths with the design, deployment, commissioning, and operational expertise of a private partner in a partnership that ensures a business case and relationship that’s sustainable over the longer term. In this, the County would like to retain some ownership and control over the infrastructure as well as share both the risk and rewards of so doing.