Unless indicated otherwise in this tender notice or attached documents, all prices must be extended and totalled.
New Brunswick Manufacturer Preference
By stating YES in the input box,
I confirm that I am a Manufacturer of goods
with a place of business in New Brunswick as defined below and am therefore eligible to be considered for the NB Manufacturer preference as defined in this solicitation document. If the input box is left incomplete the bid may be ineligible for the New Brunswick Manufacturer preference.
Place of business means an establishment where a manufacturer regularly conducts its activities on a permanent basis, is clearly identified by name and is accessible during normal business hours.
New Brunswick Vendor Preference
By stating YES in the input box,
I confirm that I am a Vendor of goods or services
with a place of business in New Brunswick as defined below and am therefore eligible to be considered for the NB Vendor preference as defined in this solicitation document. If the input box is left incomplete the bid may be ineligible for the New Brunswick Vendor preference.
Place of business means an establishment where a vendor regularly conducts its activities on a permanent basis, is clearly identified by name and is accessible during normal business hours.
INFORMATION PROCESSING AND RELATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
ADP SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
*****Amendment 6*****
This amendment has been created to respond to proponent inquiries.
All other information remains the same.
Question 1. 1. Would it be possible to request a 2-week extension from the current revised Feb 2nd closing date?
Response 1. The Department is not willing to extend beyond February 2, 2024.
*****End of Amendment 6*****
*****Amendment 5*****
This amendment has been created to respond to proponent inquiries.
All other information remains the same.
Question 1. 1. Are we connecting to a PBX or to an SBC in front of their PBX?
Response 1. An SBC is available for connection.
Question 2. What type of PBX are they using?
Response 2. It is an IP PBX system.
Question 3. Are there two PBX's? If so, are they working active-active or active-standby?
Response 3. Yes, there are two PBXs. These are in active-active configuration. The primary core is in Location "A". The active core to Location "A" is in Location "B".
Question 4. 4. If there are 2 PBXs, does each PBX need a unique SIP trunk capable of handling all their calling requirements?
Response 4 . The SIP trunks in Location "A" and Location "B" must be able to handle the call traffic sizing requirements as provided in the mandatory requirements.
Question 5. 5. "SIP service provides the capability and capacity to process unscheduled increased traffic in excess of", given this statement on page 10 of the RFP, is the customer looking for the ability of the SIP trunk to burst above 125 SIP sessions?
Response 5. It is left to the proponent to define how the required capability and capacity requirements are met.
Question 6. 6. If it is only one PBX, is it with GEO diverse HA servers and one virtual IP?
Response 6. There are two PBXs configured in an Active-Active arrangement.
Question 7. 7. Can we provide the SIP trunks to an alternative data center in the Atlantic region?
Response 7. No.
*****End of Amendment 5*****
*****Amendment 4*****
This amendment has been created to respond to proponent inquiries.
All other information remains the same.
Question 1. Traffic Testing - how many numbers should be tested and how should the test be conducted- within the same trunk?
Response 1. The ITT does not require a specific quantity of phone numbers for testing. Testing of phone numbers enabled with the requirement to be able to create and remove DIDs from service. If the question is more to volume testing, the ITT defines the requirements for concurrent sessions.
Question 2. Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP) - is this mandatory?
Response 2. MSRP is a mandatory protocol.
Question 3. What is the application for MSRP?
Response 3. The application of MSRP is not defined in the ITT. The ITT defines that proponents must support MSRP. If it helps, MSRP is applied as protocol for transmitting a series of related instant messages in the context of a session. A use case could be the application of the protocol as a means to supply additional information in text format that is relevant to parties within the SIP session.
*****End of Amendment 4*****
*****Amendment 3*****
This amendment has been created to respond to proponent inquiries.
Question 1. In Appendix A Mandatory Requirements on page 11- Ability to support Hookflash feature. Proposals must include: Hookflash (also known as Hook Flash). Can you define this requirement?
Response 1.
A. User A and user B are active with a call.
B. By pressing hookflash, user A initiates a call hold.
C. SIP sends a call hold indication to user B.
D. User A can now initiate another active call (user C), transfer the active call (call transfer), or respond to a call-waiting indication.
Question 2. On page 6, (h) Mandatory Submission Requirements: Submissions should include a detailed "Exit Strategy" to define the requirements required for completion.
Can you provide clarification on what is meant by Exit Strategy? Is this if the implementation needs to be backed out?
Response 2. The exit strategy is defining how the current routing of the phone numbers to their legacy end point devices are transitioned to the SIP service for processing. For example - what steps need to be taken to request porting, what planning needs to be done for porting of traffic, what planning needs to be done for any outage windows during the porting activities etc.
All other information remains the same.
*****End of Amendment 3*****
*****Amendment 2*****
This amendment has been created to respond to a request to extend the closing date.
The closing date and time has been extended to: February 2, 2024 at 1:30 pm (13:30 HRS) Atlantic Standard Time.
All other information remains the same.
*****End of Amendment 2*****
*****Amendment 1*****
This ITT requests proponents complete and notarize a Confidentiality Agreement for all parties privy to the information contained in the "Porting and Demarcation" document for the purpose of preparing the proponent's Bid Submission.
This Confidentiality agreement is specific to the association with the Department and this ITT. Proponents are requested to complete and notarize the Confidentiality Agreement to obtain the Porting and Demarcation document.
All other information remains the same.
*****End of Amendment 1*****
Service New Brunswick (SNB) through its Strategic Procurement Branch will coordinate the tendering process for Session initiation Protocol (SIP) Services on behalf of the Department of Justice and Public Safety.
This is a tender notice only. In order to submit a bid, you must obtain official tender documents from the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, another authorized tendering service or as indicated in the tender notice.
Solicitation documents will be provided in either of the Province of New Brunswick's two official languages; English or French upon request.
Instructions for Bid Submission
1. Effective April 15, 2020, Service New Brunswick is no longer accepting paper bids,
and the Central Tendering Branch is closed to the public. Public tender openings are
no longer taking place; however, results continue to be posted on NBON.
2. Bids will only be accepted by electronic transmission as follows:
a. By e-bidding through NBON (when e-bidding is possible); OR
b. By fax to: (506) 444-4200 (fax to dedicated mailbox).
Note: Proposals in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) will not be accepted by fax; OR
c. By email to NBBids@snb.ca or SoumissionsNB@snb.ca (do not submit bids to any other email).
Click here
Instructions for Bid Submission for important instructions on how to submit bids by email.
d. Please refrain from submitting your bid through multiple electronic channels
to avoid duplicate bids.
3. All bids must be properly signed by an authorized person.
a. For bids submitted by email or fax: typed signatures (in any font)
that are not on the bid itself (i.e. in the body of the email or on the
fax cover sheet) will NOT be accepted.
4. All bids must be legible, properly completed and contain the proper solicitation number.
5. The proponent is solely responsible for ensuring that the bid submission
in its entirety, including all attachments, is received before Closing Date and Time
as indicated on the solicitation documents.
a. The proponent bears all risk associated with delivering its bid by electronic
submission, including but not limited to delays in transmission between the Proponent's computer and the Province's Electronic Mail System, NBON or fax.
b. The date and time of official receipt of the bid will be the time of receipt
recorded in the NBON system (for e-bids) or the time of receipt in the Province's
Electronic Mail System (for fax and email bid submissions).
6. All bids must be stated in Canadian Funds. Sales taxes should not be included in
the unit, extended or total prices.
7. All tenders must be F.O.B. destination, freight prepaid.
8. This Invitation is being conducted under the provisions of the Procurement Act
and Regulation 2014-93 as of the date of the issuance of the Invitation.
Direct Deposit
The Province of New Brunswick is now using Direct Deposit as the standard method of issuing payments. Suppliers are required to provide bank account information and an email address for the notice of remittance. Please send the completed Direct Deposit Form to Service New Brunswick (e-mail address and mailing address are indicated on the form).
Please click on the link below to view the Direct Deposit Form.
https://www2.snb.ca/content/dam/snb/Procurement/DirectDepositVirementDirect.pdf
A bidder must obtain official solicitation documents from a distribution service, authorized by the Minister of Service New Brunswick, in order to submit a bid. The current authorized distribution services are the
New Brunswick Opportunities Network (NBON) (operated by Service New Brunswick, Province of NB),
BIDSAlert (operated by Tendering Publications Ltd.) and
MERX (operated by Mediagrif Interactive Technologies). Bids should be submitted on the official bid documents
obtained from these authorized distribution services.
The province of New Brunswick reserves the right to negotiate pricing, value added and other savings opportunities with the successful proponent at time of award and throughout the contract.
The Atlantic Provinces Standard Terms & Conditions for Goods and Services apply to this procurement and are considered to be incorporated into this document. By submitting a bid, you agree and accept these terms and conditions. Current "Atlantic Provinces Standard Terms and Conditions" are available on the New Brunswick Opportunities Network, the Council of Atlantic Premiers' Website or from an authorized service provider.
All suppliers engaged to deliver services on behalf of the Government of New Brunswick must ensure compliance with the
Official Languages Act in the delivery of those services. For more information, please refer to the
Official Languages Act.
COVID-19 Restrictions for Workers entering New Brunswick
All suppliers and workers entering the province of New Brunswick for work purposes must comply with the requirements established by WorkSafe NB and Public Health, including isolation requirements where applicable.
Click here for more information on these requirements.
QUESTIONS:
Written questions relating to this opportunity may be submitted to the address provided below via email by clicking on Questions. Please be sure to include the solicitation/tender number in the subject line.
EMAIL ADDRESS: bidquestionssoumissions@snb.ca
NOTE:
This email account is strictly for the receipt of questions on open opportunities. This email is not for the submission of bids.
COVID-19 Supplier Vaccination Policy
Suppliers must comply with all GNB health and safety policies and standards including, without limitation, all health and safety policies and standards related to COVID-19, as applicable. Go to www.gnb.ca/nbon to view the full policy and FAQs.
Under Canadian law (and international agreements), your Bid must arrive separately and independently, without conspiracy, collusion or fraud; see http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/home for further information.
Pay Equity
Does your organization have 50 or more employees?
The Government of New Brunswick is committed to encouraging and incentivizing the adoption of pay equity by employers doing business with government.
Prior to the award of procurements for goods and services valued over $1,000,000, suppliers, with fifty (50) or more employees will be required to complete the Pay Equity Learning Module developed by the Women's Equality Branch. Suppliers should provide a copy of their certificate of completion with their bid submission.
To complete the online module and obtain your certificate, please visit www.gnb.ca/payequity. For questions, please contact the Pay Equity Bureau toll free: (877) 253-0266 or by Email: peb-bes@gnb.ca.
All discounts quoted will be considered to be without limitations.
Award of contracts: no contract shall be awarded and no payment shall be made to a vendor unless authorized by the Minister or his delegates. The Minister may make an award to the preferred vendor conditional on the negotiation and acceptance of a detailed contract between the Province and the vendor. In such cases, should the detailed contract negotiations not be completed in a reasonable period of time, the Province reserves the right to discontinue negotiations with the vendor and
subsequently enter into negotiations with the second preferred vendor.
No right or duty, in whole or in part, of the vendor under a contract issued may be assigned or delegated without the prior consent of the Strategic Procurement Branch.
Unless indicated otherwise in this tender notice or attached documents, all prices must be extended and totalled.
All Suppliers engaged to deliver goods or services to the Government of New Brunswick must ensure compliance with the Designated Materials Regulation in the provision or delivery of those goods obligated under that Regulation. Please refer to
Recycle NB's website and the
Designated Materials Regulation for specifics.
PAYMENT OF INVOICES
Payment of invoices is the responsibility of the department or organization to whom the goods are shipped or services are supplied.
Where the estimated value of the goods or services to be procured is below the lowest applicable threshold value of any relevant trade agreement, Service New Brunswick reserves the right to give preferential treatment to a prospective supplier from New Brunswick. Should this right be exercised, the following order of priority will apply: a) firstly, New Brunswick manufacturers if the goods to be procured are manufactured in New Brunswick; and b) secondly, New Brunswick vendors.
When bid submissions are evaluated on price:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the lowest-priced acceptable bid and the bid receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will be limited to 10%. When the lowest-priced acceptable bid before preferential treatment is applied is a New Brunswick vendor, the price differential under which a NB manufacturer preference will be applied will be limited to 5%.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by making the award to the NB supplier.
When bid submissions are evaluated on a point system:
- Applicability of the preferences will be determined based on the price differential between the pricing component of the highest scoring acceptable bid submission and the pricing component of the bid(s) receiving the preferential treatment.
- The price differential under which a NB supplier preference may be applied will be limited to 10%. When the highest scoring acceptable bid submission before preferential treatment is applied is a New Brunswick vendor, the price differential under which a NB manufacturer preference will be applied will be limited to 5%.
- The preferential treatment will be applied by allotting a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points to New Brunswick manufacturers' total scores and 4% to NB vendors' total scores. If no bid from a New Brunswick manufacturer has been retained for preferential treatment, New Brunswick vendors may receive a maximum of an additional 5% of the total possible points rather than 4%.
The decision to apply a preference will be at the sole discretion of Service New Brunswick. To be eligible, suppliers must meet the definition of NB supplier as identified by the regulation under the
Procurement Act. NB manufacturers should indicate in their bid that they are a NB manufacturer to be considered for the NB manufacturer preference.
This procurement is subject to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
