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Commissioners approve Cross Connect award for county broadband switch refresh; plan keeps Ubiquiti at secondary sites
Summary
After reviewing three proposals, the board awarded Cross Connect Engineering the broadband network switch upgrade and monitoring project, selecting Cisco-based equipment and seven years of licensing and support at a $226,883 budgeted cost.
Rio Blanco County’s Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a notice of award and agreement with Cross Connect Engineering on July 22 to refresh core and primary-tower network switches and install a unified monitoring system for the county broadband enterprise.
Eric (county broadband/IT staff) explained the county issued an RFP in April and received proposals from Cross Connect Engineering, High Point Networks and 1 Technology Corporation. Each proposer recommended different manufacturers: Cross Connect proposed Cisco, High Point proposed Extreme Networks and 1 Technology proposed Juniper. After evaluating functionality, future support and total cost, staff recommended Cross Connect’s Cisco-based solution and value-engineered the original Cross Connect proposal from roughly $327,000 down to a $226,883 package that includes seven years of licensing and support.
"The biggest driver is being able to have a unified monitoring system," Eric told commissioners, describing the county’s current mix of Juniper core switches, Brocade at primary towers and Ubiquiti at secondary towers. Cross Connect’s proposal was selected partly because it included training credits and a more comprehensive monitoring solution; the county will leave Ubiquiti switches in place at lower-powered secondary (solar-powered) tower sites and address them later if needed.
Commissioners asked about relative quality and lifecycle expectations of Cisco, Juniper and Extreme devices. Staff said Cisco pricing for the main switches in the chosen configuration was about $11,324 per unit and that Cross Connect’s proposal offered a seven-year warranty/licensing period versus a five-year option in other proposals.
The board voted unanimously to approve the award and authorized staff to proceed with ordering and aim for on-site installation in October, completing the work by year-end.
The contract will be funded from the county’s broadband-related SLRF and LHCF funds set aside for network upgrades. Staff noted this is intended as a long-term solution; county staff will continue to monitor secondary-tower needs and return to the board for future work on Ubiquiti sites.
