Q: Is it the intent for Marion Community Schools to initially decide on the base bandwidth needed at the time of contract and installation and then upgrade bandwidth if initial bandwidth installed is not sufficient during the term of the agreement? Example, 1Gig connection initially installed then upgrade to a full 10Gig connection sometime during the term of the agreement.

A: Our intent is to acquire a dedicated 1Gbps Internet connection with the capability to increase this capacity at any time up or down in 1Gbps increments throughout the term of the agreement.
 

Q: Will Marion Community Schools consider an extension of the proposal due date?

A: No.  We anticipate selection of a vendor as outlined within the timeline section of the posted 470 (01/09/2018).
 

Q: Can you tell me what gear (e.g. switches and routers) that you have at your locations? I would like to know what I am connecting to.

A: Vendor provides SFP+ Fiber optic transceivers capable of 10Gbps transmission bandwidth from point-to-point over service provider's fiber.  Marion Community Schools will post another 470 for category 2, network equipment upgrade.  We will be able to provide specific, detailed equipment information after selecting a proposal from vendors that choose to respond to this (estimated timeframe for this is within the month of January).
 

Q: Can you tell if there is available infrastructure (e.g. conduit) on your school property at each location that we can use to bring fiber into your telco room? I would like to know what we have to build vs what is already in place.

A: We will provide as much information regarding available infrastructure during the mandatory onsite meeting noted within the 470 and we will also be posting additional documentation to this page soon.