Contact:Mr. Sittichai Songpiriyakit,SR Executive VP,Office of Corporate Policy & Planning,Telephone Organization of Thailand,89 Chaengwattana Road,Laksi Bangkok 10210 Thailand,Tel:662-273-0822,Fax:662-273-0988

B -- FEASIBILITY STUDY ON THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT NETWORK, THAILAND POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 The Grantee invites submission of Prequalification Statements from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for the Telecommunications Management Network. Based upon the Prequalification Statements, the Grantee will develop a short list of qualified firms which will be invited in writing to submit a formal Technical Proposal to carry out the study. Thailand's telecommunication system consists of ten operating telecommunication networks. The Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), the state owned telecom utility, operates eight independent telecommunication networks using equipment from eight different vendors. Telecom Asia and TT&T, the only two private telecom concessions in Thailand, operate two independent networks. Each of the ten networks have an Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) that monitors the individual network functions. However, none of these OMCs are interconnected and therefore do not communicate with each other. As a result, the system is riddled with inefficiencies that make it increasingly difficult for TOT to implement national expansion and modernization plans. In order to address this issue, TOT would like to implement a Telecommunications Management Network that would gather traffic information from all ten networks and manage communication flows nationwide. From a single location, the system would be able to control and supervise the operation and maintenance of various network elements, including equipment owned by TOT, Telecom Asia and TT&T, as well as switches operated or planned by TOT. This project is consistent with the recommendations made by a TDA funded telecommunication fundamental plan conducted by CGII of Atlanta, GA. The study has been completed and is awaiting final approval from TOT. The feasibility study for the project will require a Project Manager and Network Management Expert six weeks of effort each and will cost $63,000. The feasibility study consultant will be required to: review the 15 year TDA funded Fundamental Plan for telecommunications development in Thailand; prepare technical specifications for the system for all TOT switching equipment; prepare two sets of technical specifications for transmission networks, the first will address all TOT networks and the second will address all networks operated by the concessionaires; prepare two sets of integrated technical specifications for the National Network Management Center for TOT and the private companies; and travel to Thailand and present technical specifications to TOT. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $63,000 grant to the Grantees from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes the requirements for submission of the Prequalification Statements and the Technical Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission/desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, 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 mail room 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 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 Prequalification Statements as outlined in the RFP in English directly to the Grantee by 4:00 PM, December 1, 1997 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Prequalification Statements and the Technical Proposals 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 Prequalification Statements or Technical 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. (0297)

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