Title
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A RENEWAL CONTRACT WITH BLUEBIRD MIDWEST LLC FOR DEDICATED INTERNET SERVICES; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Brief Description: This request will enable Velocity Broadband to renew their 36 month State Bid DAS MSA0004-2 contract with Bluebird Midwest LLC (formally Everstream Solutions) for a 10 Gig dedicated internet circuit.
Body
Legislative History
Res. No. - 23-50 - Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an amendment to the contract with Everstream Solutions, LLC for increasing bandwidth capability. - Passed 4/18/23
Purpose & Explanation
Velocity Broadband currently utilizes Bluebird Midwest LLC (formally Everstream Solutions) as one of three upstream internet providers with a data rate of 10Gig. Staff would like to continue using Everstream as part of its upstream providers as they have historically provided a quality service. The renewal would remain at a 10Gig data rate on a 36 month term, for $1,504 per month, not to exceed $54,144.00 over the length of the contract. This rate is below state term vendor pricing as listed on Ohio DAS MSA0004-2 which is listed at $3,599.00.
Due to the limited availability of comparable providers in the area, along with the 3-6 month setup time often required for new service installations, State Term Pricing has proven to be the most practical and effective purchasing vehicle for these services.
Staff did seek pricing from multiple vendors and ultimately elected to renew service with Bluebird and Zayo while also adding a new circuit from Cogent to further diversify our upstream connectivity.
Due to recent acquisitions and consolidation within the telecommunications industry, the number of providers able to offer service in our area is limited. As part of our long-term planning, we are also evaluating the option of leasing dark fiber to a larger metropolitan area to expand our access to additional carriers and improve future pricing and redundancy options.
The vendors we evaluated and their pricing are as follows, highlighted vendors are used by the City:
- Cogent - $3,162.56/month - New service to the City. Pricing is higher as Cogent must complete construction and establish a local connection to our network.
- Zayo (formerly Crown Castle) - $2,900/month - Renewal of an existing service. Costs are lower because the infrastructure and circuit are already in place.
- Bluebird (formerly Everstream) - $1,504/month - Renewal of an existing service and, by a significant margin, the most cost-effective option currently available to us.
- Spectrum - No proposal received. Spectrum did not provide pricing for the 10 Gigabit service requested.
- Uniti (formerly Kinetic) - Not evaluated. We did not see pricing directly from Uniti, as we anticipated Cogent would utilize Uniti’s local fiber infrastructure as the delivery method for service into Hudson.
Based on the proposals received, renewing with Bluebird and Zayo, while adding Cogent, provided the best balance of cost, carrier diversity, and network resiliency.
Legal Authority for Proposed Legislation
Pursuant to Charter Section 6.04, Contracts & Purchasing:
Competitively bid and advertised for two consecutive weeks; bid tab attached: [Yes/No/NA])
X Joint or Cooperative Purchase Program
Professional Services
Other [provide explanation]
Fiscal Impact
X Currently Budgeted (510-7520-52322, $54,144)
Supplemental Appropriation Required (Account #, $)
Appropriation Not Required
Does this legislation require use of an emergency clause?
X Yes - Quotes were delayed due to the merger of Everstream/Bluebird, pushing the renewal up against its due date.
No
Recommendation
Suggested Action
Staff recommends City Council approves this resolution to enable the City Manager to enter into a renewal agreement and maintain the current services Velocity Broadband is using from Bluebird Fiber.
Submitted by,
Thomas J. Sheridan, City Manager
Jeffery Knoblauch, Assistant City Manager, Finance Director
Paul Leedham, Chief Innovation Officer - IT Director
Will Ersing, Assistant IT Director