Contact: Mr. Gabriel Grecu, Director General for Regulation, Bd. Libertatii, 14, 70060 Bucharest, Romania, Phone: 011-401-400-1734, Fax: 011-401-312-5642

S -- ROMANIA -- RURAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS PILOT PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Rural Telecommunications Pilot Project for Romania. 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 develop a feasibility study for a rural telecommunications pilot project to quantify rural telephony requirements and identify an appropriate means of providing rural service in Romania. The Grantee for this project is the Ministry of Communications in Romania. At the top of the Ministry's list of priorities is the development of rural telecommunications which could address the lack of a communications infrastructure in Romania's rural areas. With about 3,000 rural localities still having no telephone at all and a rural penetration rate of only 3%, the expansion of rural telecommunications is a major developmental need. The pilot project would be performed in two phases. Phase II would be contingent on successful completion of Phase I. The TDA grant would provide $254,650 for Phase I and $100,000 for Phase II. The U.S. company selected to perform the project would contribute $350,000, $50,000 in Phase I and $300,000 in Phase II, as an in-kind contribution and cost-share to complete the pilot network. Phase I will cover the following tasks: -- Investigate the current level of development in rural telecommunications, including: coverage areas, technologies used, and existing and proposed policies; -- Analyze the results of other studies on rural telecommunications policies, market analysis/demand, reference models, etc.; -- Perform an independent needs analysis evaluation; Identify population centers with rural telecom needs. Classify the communities by type of service that exists, technologies used, and the demand for new services; -- Investigate technology options such as basic wired telephony solutions, wireless, rural radio, public telephony, call centers; -- Assess technology issues such as standards, frequency allocation, and switch access; -- Develop a plan to serve the communities, detailing demand, technology, timing, and estimated investment requirements; and -- Develop a rural telecommunications pilot program to demonstrate the applicability of a specific technology. The team will issue specifications for the trial which will describe the technology to be trialed, identify the U.S. manufacturers of the equipment, propose the location, and define trial parameters for duration, resources, and final budget. The scope for Phase II will be decided as a result of Phase I. However, TDA will provide $100,000 towards the implementation of Phase II. It is estimated it will cost at least $400,000 to complete the pilot phase-the remaining funds will be contributed as a cost-share by the company selected to perform the study and project. TDA will review and approve the recommendations of Phase I, including the prospective scope of work and bill of materials, before approving Phase II. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a$354,650 grant to the Ministry of Communications 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 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 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 4:00 PM, January 12, 1997 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. (0311)

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