The GTA will solicit new bids for the project in response to the uncertain prospects of MCI WorldCom, one of two bidders on the project known as the Converged Communications Outsourcing Project (CCOP). The other current bidder is Connect Georgia, a team led by BellSouth, AT&T, Electronic Data Systems and Lockheed Martin.
"It's in the interest of the state to have the most competitive bid process possible," said Larry Singer, Georgia's CIO and executive director of the GTA. "Reopening the bid process at this time is necessary because the conditions under which WorldCom pre-qualified for the bid are no longer valid."
A new request for proposals (RFP) will be issued by early August, Singer said, and vendor selection is expected in April 2003, while the contract's effective date remains July 1, 2003.
The GTA will not require pre-qualification of bidders on the new RFP, and slight modifications will be made in the RFP pricing models to reflect changing conditions in the telecommunications market place since the project was first conceived. A stringent assessment of bidders' financial condition and general business prospects will continue throughout the evaluation and negotiation process.
"Although the RFP will not substantially change, we are making modifications based on what we've learned from the process so far to encourage more competition and ensure better value for the state," Singer said. "Among those modifications is removing from the CCOP bid request components that are not integral to the creation of a converged telecommunications infrastructure and are not in the core competency of the systems integrators and telecommunications firms that are expected to bid on the CCOP."
The items to be removed include acquisition of a new state data center, conversion to digital broadcasting for Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Navigator highway camera system. The state will seek independent proposals for these items.
The new CCOP proposals will undergo an extensive evaluation by representatives from state, county and city government and other organizations. Technical and pricing aspects of the proposals will be evaluated separately and then combined to determine which offers the best value.
Services covered by the new CCOP RFP will include local, long distance and wireless phone service; high-speed online access; local area networks; personal computing equipment and support; and two-way interoperable radio and mobile data.
"Our goals for this project remain the same," Singer said. "We are seeking to provide a modern, converged and interoperable communications network for state and local government agencies, including schools, libraries and city or county offices throughout the state."
