Tender Opportunity
Unity CSP Ltd Trading as Unity Comms Ltd provides telecommunications services including telecoms, mobiles, and internet services. It currently operates its own network from its data centre in the North of England and other POPs (point of presence) throughout the UK.
Project Overview
The purpose of this RFP is to select a partner or number of partners to work on further developing our datacentre internet connectivity, enabling the data centre host additional regional and international connectivity Infrastructure and cabling systems. The project will see the development of cabling systems which will include utility ducting, fibre optic cabling, datacentre power, fibre optic and power equipment. These cable systems are a part of a larger effort by the network operator, to connect different regions through a self-healing optical-fibre rings with capacity of 160 Gbits/sec cabling system.
We are seeking to select a partner or number of partners to work on further developing our datacentre internet connectivity, enabling the data centre host additional regional and international connectivity Infrastructure and cabling systems.
Please follow the instructions below to request for the RFP. To receive the RFP a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) must be received before the issuance date. The NDA will be sent when you request for this RFP.
Minimum Requirements for Participation:
The selection will be conducted in multiple phases and the details will be provided in the RFP. Only firms that meet a minimum criterion listed below, including, but not limited to are as follows:
1) Proposed property location and facility characteristics: The Offeror shall provide a solution that is fully concurrently maintainable and comply with required standards.
2) Security and access control: Unity Comms Ltd is expected to manage and mitigate risks better by selecting a secure solution that meets the Unity Comms legal and security standards. The proposed facility must maintain a Service Operational Standard and Service Level Agreement, with an unqualified service auditor’s opinion covering at least physical security, environmental safeguards, incident management and operations monitoring control objectives.
3) Power, cooling, and environmental: Unity Comm’s business consists of mission critical network infrastructure. The business requires 24×7 continuous service availability. Unity Com’s requires the facility to have 99.999% Service Level Agreement (SLA) for power availability, and 99.99% SLA for powering cables to minimize any potential outages.
4) Network and cabling infrastructure: These cable systems are a part of a larger effort by the network operator, to connect different regions through a self-healing optical-fibre rings with capacity of 160 Gbits/sec cabling system. The point-of-presence infrastructure will be designed and built to accommodate a carrier level transport level network that will delivered STM-1 up to STM-16. Optical clear channels (wavelengths) are also available at 2.5- and 10-Gbit/sec levels.
This opportunity can be split into multiple Lots. Potential suppliers can apply for one or more lots.
Lot 1 Consultancy
Lot 2 Network Planning & Design
Lot 3 Power & Electrics work
Lot 4 Required Hardware equipment
Responding
Please ensure that in your response, you cover the following:
- Proposed approach & methodology including quality
- Pricing schedule / cost breakdown
- Which lot(s) you are applying
Responses are to be submitted to stephen.harrington@unity.world no later than 4pm on 14.04.23. Tenders received after this deadline will not be evaluated.
Unity CSP Ltd will not reimburse any costs incurred by tenderers in connection with the preparation and submission of their responses to this tender, and reserves the right to reject tenders which are not submitted in accordance with the instructions given in the tender documentation.
Unity CSP Ltd reserves the right to cancel the tender process at any point. Unity CSP Ltd is neither liable for any costs resulting from cancellation of this process nor for any costs incurred by any person or organisation taking part in the tender process. Successful applicants will be invited to agree and sign a standard contract with Unity CSP Ltd
Procurement Process Timetable
The key outputs and milestones below provide a framework that the successful bidder will be expected to follow. (ensure a reasonable period to allow submission)
| Key dates | Project Deadline |
| ITT advertised | 14/03/2023 (on website) |
| Expression of interest deadline | n/a |
| ITT documentation issued | As requested |
| Clarification questions to be submitted by | 31/03/2023 |
| Clarification responses sent to all bidders | 03/04/2023 |
| Tender return date and time | 14/04/2023 at 4pm |
| Evaluation completed | 19/04/2023 |
| Notification of results | 20/04/2023 |
| Contract awarded | 21/04/2023 |
Clarification questions will be grouped together and any relevant clarifications made during the Tender process will be communicated to all bidders involved in the process along with (where appropriate) the nature of the enquiry. Please note that Unity CSP Ltd has no obligation to answer questions posed.
Tenders received after the deadline will be rejected unless there are exceptional circumstances. In such a case, consideration of that Tender will be at the sole discretion of Unity CSP Ltd.
Evaluation / selection criteria
Unity CSP Ltd will evaluate all correctly submitted and eligible tenders with a view to selecting the most economically advantageous.
Tender submissions will be evaluated against the criteria below:
- Ability to meet the requirements (including resource) 30%
- Pricing 70%
The supplier or suppliers that best meets our requirements will be offered the contract.