POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. Email: [email protected]. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE CONTRACTS OFFICE. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PLACE: Humberto Salvo, General Manager, Empresa Nacional de Transmisión Eléctrica, S.A., Pista Juan Pablo II y Avenida Bolívar, Apartado Postal No. LM-143, Managua, Nicaragua, C.A.,Phone: 505-267-2688, Fax: 505-267-1620, e-mail: [email protected]. 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 provide Technical Assistance to the Empresa Nacional de Transmisión Eléctrica, S.A (ENTRESA), for the development of a comprehensive plan for designing and operating an optical transport network to provide a market alternative for the Nicaraguan telecom sector. ENTRESA is the state-owned electric transmission company in Nicaragua. ENTRESA, as part of their power modernization program, is installing new shield wires on their electric transmission towers to protect them from lightning strikes. ENTRESA’s new shield wires contain 12 to 24 embedded optical fibers and only a single fiber pair is required to control their electrical switching equipment. The remaining capacity, if made commercially available, would significantly increase Nicaragua’s national bandwidth for telecom and Internet services, would provide Nicaragua with direct access to international networks and should drive telecommunications and Internet prices down. The new spare fiber capacity made available in ENTRESA’s shield wire modernization program is a national asset, not only literally since ENTRESA is state-owned, but also figuratively from the standpoint of its potential to provide significant national bandwidth at lower cost as well as direct international connectivity via the Americas Region Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS). Circuit costs should decrease dramatically while reliability is significantly enhanced. This project should enable significant decreases in the cost of Internet services, leased lines and switched voice, data and multi-media services in Nicaragua, thus accelerating e-Commerce and trade capacity. It will provide backbone capabilities to support voice, data and multi-media over Internet Protocol (IP) in the future. It should also allow the country to attract international investors whose factories, laboratories, offices, call centers and facilities require high-speed, reliable and secure telecom services. While there does exist a high-capacity fiber-optic network on the Caribbean coast, the ARCOS Network, there are no telecommunications facilities available to connect Managua and the heavily populated pacific coast to this capacity (currently dependent upon an inefficient low-capacity microwave network from Costa Rica). In pursuit of developing this high-value connection, ENTRESA, the national energy transmission company, has budgeted US$3 million to extend fiber-optic cable along their currently existing electric transmission towers around Managua and from Managua to the Caribbean coast. While the commercial availability of the necessary physical infrastructure presents a significant opportunity to enhance the Nicaraguan telecommunications sector, that in itself is far from sufficient. The major hurdle in this project development is that ENTRESA has no experience in telecommunications. The objective of this technical assistance is to 1) assist ENTRESA in the design, development and evaluation of options for an efficient business model (dark-fiber provider; Joint Venture with carrier/operator; “carrier’s carrier structure”, etc.); and 2) development of an investment-quality Business Plan for ENTRESA that addresses the market, network design and financial aspects of the fiber business for whichever commercial model is selected and licensed. The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Technical Assistance include the following: Task 1: Perform Market Research and Analysis Task 2: Assess Telecom Sector Capabilities and Plans Task 3: Determine Stakeholder Objectives for Commercialization of ENTRESA Fiber-optic Capability Task 4: Evaluate ENTRESA’s Telecom Capabilities Task 5: Develop Business Model Alternatives for ENTRESA Task 6: Facilitate the Assessment and Selection of ENTRESA’s Operating Model Task 7: Develop Final Business Plan for ENTRESA’s Telecom Line of Business Task 8: Final Report The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $359,420 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the TOR, and a background Definitional Mission report are available from USTDA, at 1000 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, USTDA 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 USTDA 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 USTDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to USTDA 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, USTDA 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 USTDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this USTDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under USTDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the USTDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the USTDA-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 USTDA grant amount. Details of USTDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in Spanish and English directly to the Grantee by 12:00pm local Managua, Nicaragua time, April 20, 2004 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.

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