| FCDL Comment: |
DR1:Applicants are required to conduct a fair and open competitive bid process. During the review, it was determined that the applicant did not evaluate bids based on total price of solution. Therefore, this FRN is denied.||DR2:FCC Rules require applicants to evaluate the cost effectiveness of all bids received and to choose the most cost effective solution. Documentation provided failed to demonstrate that the selected solution Self-provisioned Fiber (with Special Construction) from 143050324 - Vero Fiber Networks is the most cost effective option in comparison to Self-Provisioned Network from V1 Fiber or Services over Third Party from UPN based on the vendor responses to the FCC Form 470 associated with this FRN. This FRN is denied as the applicant did not select the most cost effective solution.||MR1:Per FCC Order 14-189, to prevent warehousing of excess fiber capacity, applicants may only receive funding for special construction charges for a Self-provisioned network if it constructed and lit within the same funding year. If excess strands are being installed that will not be lit during the current FY and will remain dormant until lit for the applicant's exclusive future use; the applicant must provide a cost allocation for the cost of the unlit strands. Per DA 20-455, excess strands may be installed to share with an ineligible entity that will pay its fair share of network costs, so long as the applicant submits written documentation with its funding request demonstrating the reasonableness of its allocation methods. The applicant provided the following cost allocation calculation $4,318,954.04. During the Fiber Review, it was determined that the calculation should be $4,318,961.25. Therefore, this FRN has been modified from $10,573,990.96 to $10,573,983.75 to account for the fiber strands that will not be lit during this FY or that will be used by an ineligible entity that will pay its fair share of network costs. |