Connecting rural, remote, and hard-to-reach schools is a priority for Giga. Bidders are therefore expected to submit proposals that consider connecting schools that do not have electricity and are located ≥ 30 km from fiber optic nodes. In the bidders’ submissions, UNICEF requires that at least 20% of the list of proposed schools to connect should be schools with these hardship conditions.
Giga will only pay for the last-mile equipment necessary to connect schools and monthly service fees. Backhaul costs should be built into the monthly service provision cost. In case solution providers do not own backhaul infrastructure, they must clearly demonstrate they have one or more established partnerships with backhaul infrastructure owners and have specific agreements upon usage rates to accommodate the project requirements.
This request builds on a previous RFP issued in August 2021 by Giga and the Government of Sierra Leone to connect schools through sustainable business models.