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CAREN 2013
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CAREN 2013

Monday, 1 April 2013, 10:21

CAREN 2013

The CAREN (Central Asia Research and Education Network) project is seeking point to point connectivity to form an international data network serving the Central Asian national research and education networks (NRENs) and their users, co-funded by the European Commission and the participating NRENs.

UK-Cambridge: Telecommunications services

2013/S 064-107792

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe Limited
City House, 126-130 Hills Road, Att:http://www.dante-procurement.net
Contact point(s): www.dante-procurement.net
CB2 1PQ Cambridge
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 1223371300
Fax: +44 1223371371

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: www.dante.net

Electronic access to information: http://www.dante-procurement.net

Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

Other: UK Limited Company
I.3)Main activity

Other: Research and Education Networks
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

CAREN 2013.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 5: Telecommunications services
NUTS code
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract
II.1.4)Information on framework agreement
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

The CAREN (Central Asia Research and Education Network) project is seeking point to point connectivity to form an international data network serving the Central Asian national research and education networks (NRENs) and their users, co-funded by the European Commission and the participating NRENs. Currently the CAREN project is providing connectivity for the NRENs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. A second phase of the CAREN project is being finalised which seeks to increase capacity and the geographical coverage initially up to late 2014 and planned to be extended for further periods subject to EC co-funding approvals.
To support this new phase this tender seeks to provide:
1. Intra-regional connectivity between the 5 NRENs in the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Link capacities are likely to be in the range 34Mbps to 1000Mbps.
2. Connectivity between the 5 NRENs in 1 above and the GÉANT network in Europe (www.geant.net) or the TEIN4 network in Asia (http://www.teincc.org/tein4/) either directly or via geographically intermediate points that can contribute to cost effective inter-regional connectivity for Central Asia. Link capacities are likely to be in the range of 100Mbps to 2500Mbps.

Contracts will be awarded for an initial term of 12 months with options invited for two one year renewals.
The scale and topology of the CAREN network will be determined in the light of the results of the tender. The tender will seek co-location space and services for any additional network Points of Presence that are required.
Any organisation interested in receiving the tender documentation and being eligible to participate in later stages of the tender must formally express interest to at the DANTE eProcurement portal. by 17:00 on Friday, 3.5.2013.
Organisations that express interest by the closing date will receive an Invitation to Participate in a Competitive Dialogue (IPCD) document setting out more detail of our requirements, and inviting them to provide initial responses. At the same time respondents will be required to provide information about their economic and financial standing and confirm their eligibility to participate. It is intended that dialogue meetings will be held with some or all of the respondents, prior to issuing the formal Invitation to Tender document. The IPCD document will set out this process in more detail. Expressing interest does not imply any commitment on the part of the responding organisation.
Tender related documents will only be made available using DANTE eProcurement portal at http://www.dante-procurement.net . In order to get access to the procurement portal suppliers must first register an account at the procurement portal. Should you need some help with using the eProcurement portal, please send an e-mail message to procurement@dante.net

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

64200000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes
II.1.8)Lots

This contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: yes
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
II.2.2)Information about options

Options: no
II.2.3)Information about renewals

This contract is subject to renewal: no
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Duration in months: 12 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

None.
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

None.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4)Other particular conditions

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no
III.2)Conditions for participation
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Participation in this procurement is open to all natural persons who are nationals of or legal persons established in an EU Member State or one of the beneficiary countries of this programme or of Hong Kong, Korea or Russia. Eligibility is also open in certain other cases as set out in: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?chapterId=2.3.1.&id=41

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Organisations that express interest in this tender will be required to provide this information as part of their response to the Invitation to Participate in Competitive Dialogue (IPCD) document they will receive.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: Economic operators should confirm that none of the reasons for exclusion in Article 45 of directive 2004/18/EC applies to their organisation.

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Organisations that express interest in this tender will be required to provide this information as part of their response to the Invitation to Participate in Competitive Dialogue (IPCD) document they will receive.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Candidates will be required to demonstrate in their IPCD response that they have adequate financial resources at their disposal.
III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Organisations that express interest in this tender will be required to provide this information as part of their response to the Invitation to Participate in Competitive Dialogue (IPCD) document they will receive.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
Candidates will be required to demonstrate in their IPCD response that they have adequate technical resources at their disposal.
III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts
III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: no

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure

competitive dialogue
IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated yes
IV.2)Award criteria
IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction will be used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

no
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

3.5.2013 – 12:00
IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: no
VI.2)Information about European Union funds

The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: yes
Reference to project(s) and/or programme(s): 2008/162406 – CAREN.
VI.3)Additional information
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: DANTE will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No 5) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:

28.3.2013
Requirement: CAREN 2013