Cellular Phone Equipment and Cellular Service

Request for Proposals
Cellular Phone Equipment and Cellular Service
1. Request for Proposal
* Notice is hereby given that City of Ferguson is seeking proposals for services for Cellular Phone
Equipment and Cellular Service. Interested firms are invited to submit their qualifications for
consideration. The submittal should contain, at a minimum, the information included in this
Request for Proposal (RFP).
* Proposals should be submitted electronically to: jseastrom@fergusoncity.com Proposals should
be clearly marked for the project you are submitting for: Citywide Managed Fiber Network and
Internet Services.
* Proposal Deadline: 11:00 AM October 16th, 2026 local time. Proposals received after the
deadline will not be opened.
* All inquiries related to this RFP are required to be made to:
* Jared Liebers, IT Specialist, by email at jliebers@fergusoncity.com
* Brett Farnam, Ferguson Police IT Director, by email at bfarnam@fergusoncity.com
2. Project Overview & Objective
The objective of this RFP is to obtain reliable, secure, and resilient cellular phone equipment and cellular
service capable of meeting the current and future needs of the City of Ferguson, including general
municipal operations and First Responder communications. The selected provider must be able to
support routine voice and data use, cellular backup connectivity for mobile data terminals, major-
incident communications, and enhanced security and priority service requirements.
The City seeks a provider that can furnish and support cellular devices and service plans while also
providing centralized account management, detailed billing, priority and preemption capabilities,
dedicated public-safety network resources, deployable emergency coverage options, and flexible
support for City-owned and employee-owned devices.
3. Service Scope
The selected provider will be expected to provide cellular equipment, service, account management,
billing, support, and related public-safety connectivity capabilities for participating City departments and
qualified employees. The City anticipates that services may include smartphones, tablets, cellular-
enabled mobile data terminals, hotspots, and other compatible devices as required by City operations.
Final quantities, line assignments, device types, and departmental allocations will be established by the
City during contract implementation and may change during the term of the agreement. Vendors should
describe how lines, devices, and service levels can be added, removed, or modified during the contract
term and identify any associated fees or limitations.
4. Estimated Equipment Needs
The City currently estimates the following equipment and service needs. These quantities are provided
for bidding and planning purposes only and are not guaranteed minimum or maximum quantities. Actual
quantities may increase or decrease before award and throughout the contract term based on staffing,
operational needs, replacement cycles, grant-funded purchases, and other City requirements.
* Smart Phones
37 - 5G LTE Smartphones
o

* SIM/AIR Cards
47 - 5G LTE SIM Cards/Air Cards: Primarily for laptops and Microsoft Surface devices.
o
8 of these are for Existing City-Owned CradlePoint Devices: The City intends to
retain the existing CradlePoint hardware and migrate/port the associated cellular
service to the successful bidder rather than purchase replacement devices. The
bidder shall confirm compatibility with the proposed network and identify all
requirements for SIM replacement, activation, provisioning, APN configuration, or
other changes necessary to place the existing devices into service on the bidder's
network.
2 of these are for Existing Drone Cellular Modems: The City intends to retain these
existing cellular modems and utilize the same class of SIM/data service proposed
for the CradlePoint devices. The bidder shall provide compatible SIM access and
all necessary activation and provisioning to migrate these devices to the proposed
service.
* Hotspot Device
6 - 5G LTE Wi-Fi Hotspot Devices
o
The successful bidder must be able to accommodate the addition, removal, replacement, or
reassignment of devices and service lines during the contract term. Vendors shall identify any minimum
line commitments, quantity-based pricing thresholds, activation or deactivation fees, or other conditions
that could affect the City when quantities fluctuate. Unless otherwise disclosed in the proposal, unit
pricing and service rates should remain consistent with the awarded pricing structure as devices or lines
are added or removed.
5. Key Technical & Service Requirements
In order to meet the current and future demands of local government and First Responder-based cellular
service, including usage during major incidents, cellular backup data connectivity, and overall network
security, vendors must demonstrate the ability to meet the following capabilities:
* Web-Based Device Management: Provide web-based management tools for all City devices and
service lines.
* Detailed Monthly Billing: Provide monthly billing with a breakdown by department and device,
including itemized usage and detailed reporting.
* Device Naming: Provide a means of assigning names to devices or lines so that the assigned name
appears on the monthly billing statement for easier identification and reconciliation.
* Equipment Price Agreements: Provide both two-year and three-year price agreement options for
purchases of new cellular equipment.
* Public Safety Network Access: Provide 4G LTE and 5G cellular service with public-safety-specific
network capabilities designed to maintain reliable communications during periods of network
congestion and major incidents. Vendors shall identify any dedicated spectrum, priority spectrum
access, public-safety network resources, or equivalent capabilities included with the proposed
service
* Always-On Priority and Preemption: Provide always-on priority and preemption for calls, text
messages, and data.
* Public Safety Network Architecture: The proposed service shall provide enhanced network
security, priority, reliability, and Quality of Service appropriate for public-safety operations. Vendors
shall describe the architecture used to separate, prioritize, or otherwise protect public-safety traffic

from standard commercial traffic, including dedicated core infrastructure, network slicing, logical
partitioning, dedicated spectrum, or other technologies utilized.
* Deployable Emergency Coverage: The provider shall maintain access to deployable cellular
network assets capable of establishing or supplementing localized cellular coverage during major
incidents, network outages, disasters, or planned major events. Vendors shall describe available
deployable assets, activation procedures, response times, satellite/backhaul capabilities, and any
associated costs.
* In-Building Coverage Support: Support high-power in-building cellular boosters when required.
* Unlimited, Unthrottled Service: Provide unlimited talk, text, and high-speed data with no throttling,
including data-cap throttling, data deprioritization, application or content throttling, hard-capped
hotspot throttling, or other fair-use throttling, regardless of individual service or overall account
usage.
* Advanced Security Controls: Provide cellular service utilizing advanced security controls beyond
those used for standard commercial networks.
* Qualified Employee Service: Make the same class of service available to qualified City of Ferguson
employees, with service paid for directly by the employee.
* BYOD Support: Support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) service for both City service and qualified
employee service, provided the device is compatible with the applicable network requirements.
6. Submission Requirements
Interested and qualified companies should submit a detailed response including, but not limited to, the
following:
* Company Qualifications & Experience: Describe the firm's experience providing enterprise and
public-safety cellular service to local governments, First Responders, or comparable organizations.
* Service & Equipment Pricing: Provide a clear pricing schedule for service plans, devices, activation,
upgrades, accessories, account changes, and any other recurring or one-time charges. Clearly
identify two-year and three-year equipment pricing options.
* Contract Terms: Identify available contract terms, renewal provisions, price guarantees, early
termination provisions, and any minimum purchase or line commitments.
* Coverage & Network Architecture: Describe coverage available to the City of Ferguson and
surrounding operational area, and explain how the dedicated core network, priority, preemption,
QoS, and redundancy are provided.
* Device & Account Management: Describe the web-based administrative portal, device naming
capabilities, line management functions, reporting tools, and user/administrator access controls.
* Billing & Reporting: Provide a sample or detailed description of monthly billing and reporting,
including the ability to separate costs and usage by department and device.
* Security: Describe the advanced security controls used for the proposed service, including how they
differ from standard commercial cellular service.
* Unlimited Data & Hotspot Terms: Confirm that proposed service includes unlimited talk, text, high-
speed data, and hotspot functionality without throttling or deprioritization based on individual or
aggregate account usage. Clearly disclose any technical limitations or exceptions.
* BYOD & Employee Service: Describe the process, eligibility requirements, device compatibility
requirements, billing method, and pricing for City BYOD lines and employee-paid service.

* Implementation & Transition Plan: Provide a proposed implementation schedule from contract
execution through activation and transition, including number portability, device deployment,
account setup, user support, and coordination with City staff.
* Support & Escalation: Describe customer support, public-safety support, account management,
technical escalation procedures, hours of operation, and response expectations for critical
incidents.
* References: Provide at least three references for comparable governmental or public-safety
customers, if available
7. Evaluation and Selection Process:
* The City of Ferguson will evaluate the submitted proposals based on factors such as technical
capabilities, service quality, pricing, and overall fit with the city's requirements.
* The City reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any irregularities in the best
interest of the City.
* If deemed necessary, a shortlist of firms will be notified for follow-up interviews.
* A recommendation selection will then be made and forwarded to the City Council for their
consideration. Final selection authority rests with the City Council.