Specifications include, but are not limited to: 1) Consulting including: a) Evaluation of proposed testing methodology and procedure, and recommendation of alternatives if necessary b) recommendation of appropriate smartphones/hardware for the project, c) support for installation and configuration of the smartphone application, d) identification of the result of test fields of the proposed application that appropriately indicate the presence of reliable voice service. e) Identification of appropriate test methodology to measure voice and data service. f) The State will have at least two simultaneous testing sets, and both may be in operation, so the bidder must be able to support all test equipment simultaneously. 2) Smartphone software application. a) Either Android or IOS. (Priced out separately). b) The app must support a test sequence consisting of: i) Actual voice call to the State of Vermont provided test number. ii) upload speed iii) download speed iv) latency (ping) v) OPTIONAL: (1) SMS/MMS text testing may also be included. (2) For each sequence the app must also collect start and stop locations. Other parameters may be included such as: (a) signal strength, technology class, and band class. (b) These optional parameters should not have an impact on proposal pricing. (c) The Department intends to partner with several organizations with non-technical users. The start/stop test sequence must be simple, and perform drive testing with limited user monitoring and intervention. (i) Automated/remote start/stop for all handsets would be preferred. (such as a separate control/monitor device) (d) For the tests of Firstnet service, the application must also record, for each test, whether Band class 14 is employed for the test. 3) Post-testing Data Processing: a) Collect results datasets from smartphones and process the data to produce the deliverables. b) Automated over-the-air or manual data collection (automated is preferred) c) Produce deliverables, including i) Listing of the set of results of test fields that most appropriately indicate the estimated presence of reliable voice and data service. ii) Test results. All individual results from all handsets iii) Processed results. (1) Separate, voice and data, datasets for each carrier, depicting points and polygons in which any tests were conducted, delivered via a ArcGIS compatible geodatabase. (2) The State has a preference for the polygons to be H3 resolution 8 hexagons, but other resolutions will be considered if they can be more readily processed with commercial off-the-shelf solutions. (3) An example geodatabase deliverable can be found here. One the Department Mobile Wireless Drive Test web page. d. Daily, Weekly, and/or Monthly progress indication, including locations covered by road segment and hexagon. - Not necessarily full test results, but a map showing areas of successful data capture. i.Weekly is required, ii.nightly is preferred. 4) The initial bid should be priced as a 12-month project. Please include optional quarterly pricing thereafter, as a separate line item for up to four quarters.
