SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Jordan: Fixed Line Technical Assistance
- Notice Date
- 9/6/2002
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- United States Trade and Development Agency, TDA, TDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA, 22209-2131
- ZIP Code
- 22209-2131
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-0210028B
- Point of Contact
- Evangela Kunene, Procument Data Manager, Phone 703-875-4357, Fax 703-875-4009,
- E-Mail Address
-
ekunene@tda.gov
- Description
- POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. Jordan: Fixed Line Technical Assistance. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to provide Technical Assistance related to the planned liberalization of fixed-line telecommunications services in Jordan. The Government of Jordan has taken key steps to commercialize and privatize its telecommunications sector. In 1995, a new telecommunications law created the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission responsible for regulating the sector, and corporatized the state-owned telecommunications provider, creating the public shareholding company Jordan Telecommunications (JT). The decision to license other operator(s) of fixed-line services presents several difficulties to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT). The economic and demographic characteristics of Jordan will influence the economic viability of further providers of the service. At the same time, technological developments elsewhere in the world suggest that traditional fixed-line service, and measures such as traditional fixed-line teledensity, may no longer apply, or apply with less force than they did in the past. The increasing popularity of mobile, GSM telephony is, in some cases, seen as a substitute for the fixed-line. Its ease of deployment and popularity, combined with its potential means of access to data services, suggest that mobile telephony may be a means to more effectively spread telecommunications services to a wider population in developing economies. Recent experience elsewhere in the developed world suggests that the business plan for the provision of traditional fixed-line telephony is under threat. Typically high international tariffs are being reduced, and even long-distance (or toll) revenues are shrinking for providers of those services. In the developing world, tariff rebalancing has meant that the tariffs for local calls must increase to offset the loss of international revenues, which is the case in Jordan. Recent adjustments in the basket of services that represent the obligations of JT show that the fixed cost of a line (monthly subscription) has increased, the number of free calls has decreased slightly, and metered, per-minute charges for local calls have marginally decreased. The overall effect has been to increase slightly the cost of local service, to offset the decrease in international revenue due to reduction in international tariffs. The picture is further clouded by the widespread use of voice over internet protocol, which is believed to result in a significant loss of international revenues to JT. Simultaneously, experience has shown that unmetered access to a telephone line is the key to greatly increased internet access, while the business plan for unmetered access is unproven. The challenge for providers of these services in Jordan will be considerable, as will the challenge for MoICT to ensure that subscribers enjoy the benefits of competition in their provision. The objective of the Technical Assistance is to examine the planned liberalization of fixed-line telecommunications services in Jordan. The tasks for the Technical Assistance are summarized as follows: 1) legal and regulatory assessment, 2) technical/technology assessment, 3) economic and market assessment, 4) financial analysis, 5) environmental assessment, 6) risk assessment, and 7) final report. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $417,252 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mailroom before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 3:00 P.M., Monday, October 21, 2002 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.
- Record
- SN00160351-W 20020908/020906214120 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |