B -- ISKON WIRELESS AND DATA TRANSMISSION PROJECT

Notice Date

December 21, 2000

Contracting Office

USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

February 6, 2001

Point of Contact

POC -- Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009

Description

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 the Ikson Wireless and Data Transmission Project. Iskon presently holds a 17% market share as a licensed Internet services provider in Croatia. The state-owned telecommunications company, HT, currently holds 79% through its subsidiary HiNet. Since receiving its ISP operating license from the Croatian government in early 1998, Iskon has steadily expanded its subscriber base to over 20,000 dial-up customers, 800 small businesses and 70 large firms, such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Peat Marwick, Croatia Airlines and Croatian National Television. There are presently 100,000 Internet services subscribers in Croatia, but with 1.2 million households, the ultimate potential size of the market is 800,000 users. HT possesses a monopoly in all fixed telecommunications networks until 2003. Although limited competition for telecommunications services exists, such as in the ISP sector, Iskon faces the difficulty of "last mile" interconnections. Currently both Iskon and Global Net must use HT's lines for connection. Therefore Iskon faces two problems: HT could increase its fees for connection and HiNet knows who registered with Iskon and has been known to offer better rates for Iskon customers. To compete with HiNet, Iskon decided to go wireless for the "last mile." The company hopes to expand its coverage to 12 cities over the present 5. Iskon has already identified suitable sites in each of the 12 cities and is in the process of working out commercial arrangements to secure the sites. Additionally, Iskon intends to expand into voice over IP services, high speed data transfer services, secure data transmission and connectivity to Ikson's backbone network. For each of these services, having its own "last mile" solution is a necessity. Of the three technology options available (Multi-Channel Multipoint Distribution Service, Wireless Local Loop and Local Multipoint Distribution Service), Iskon intends to use the Multi-Channel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) system. Sprint is using this technology for its nationwide rollout for its new wireless Internet system. It is widely used in the U.S., but not yet in Europe. Iskon intends to implement this project in two phases. The first phase will replace leased lines for 1000 prime users over an 18 month period. During the second phase, Iskon will add an additional 3,000-4,000 customers in the 12 cities, as well as complete the build-out of its fixed local loop network. As such, Iskon's existing nationwide IP backbone will be extended to include wireless network installations. To achieve its goals, Iskon will need help in the following areas: Technical expertise for validating previous technical assumptions pertaining to both international connectivity and "last mile" solutions, evaluating cutting-edge technical alternatives, and developing equipment specifications for the preferred options. Highly focused technical assistance in planning for an expanded backbone and possible advanced wireless network deployment. Preparation of a long range strategic business plan beyond the planning horizon of Iskon's current plan, taking into consideration the opportunities of deregulation and unbundling of the Croatian telecommunications sector in 2003. Preparation of an information memorandum or investment prospectus intended to be utilized in attracting a strategic business partner/major investor. Expert local legal assistance to help Iskon prepare its formal application to the Telecommunications Institute for a nationwide wireless license. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $192,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The Study has been estimated by TDA to cost US$240,000. The TDA Grant funding of US$192,000 will cover only a portion of that amount. The Grantee, through Adriatic Net Investors (ANI), its key investor, will contribute the remaining US$48,000 for the Study. A breakdown of the cost share is as follows: Local Legal Advisor $30,000 Technical and Clerical Support $6,000 (80 hours, In-kind) Wireless Equipment Expert $10,000 Local Transportation $1,000 (In-kind) Communication $1,000 (In-kind) Total: $48,000 Under this arrangement, the Grantee will provide the in-kind services directly to the Contractor, providing car, driver, telephone, fax and administrative support while the Contractor is in Croatia. ANI will be billed directly for the Local Legal Advisor and the Wireless Equipment Expert, and will be responsible for the payment of these invoices. ANI will select the Local Legal Advisor and the Wireless Equipment Expert to work with the Contractor. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission 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 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, local time, February 6, 2001, 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

Loren Data Corp. 20001226/BSOL003.HTM (W-356 SN5094W0)