Democratic Republic of the Congo: Mobile Gateway Hosting - Aggregator
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date: 09 Sep 2013
- Background (attach documents if necessary):
UNICEF DRC plans to utilize SMS technology to conduct various programs intended to have positive social impact in DR Congo. This shall involve receiving SMS from identified target groups as well as sending SMS to them, using a dedicated short code numbers.
- Purpose of Assignment:
Key to UNICEF’s goals, all SMS’s which are sent to the dedicated short code numbers shall not be charged. The short code numbers must be toll-free to the users of the short codes, and UNICEF and its partners shall meet the cost of the inbound and outbound SMS’s.
The Company shall provide hosting, maintenance and support for the mobile gateway at fixed rates for as long as UNICEF requests these Services. These Services can be terminated at any time. The Company will supply all equipment, materials, supplies and tools required to perform the Services.
SMS traffic for the short code will be routed through the company’s existing SMPP interconnections with the operators and forward to UNICEF servers. The Company will then receive SMS from the designated UNICEF’s servers and terminate these SMS to the mobile subscribers on all telecom networks. The HTTP protocol shall still be used as an interface through which UNICEF may deliver SMS to mobile subscribers.The Company will provide fixed rate charges for SMS usage including system generated traffic reports for incoming and outgoing SMS services, which will be cross checked with UNICEF databases for validation, and billed on a monthly basis.
The Company will specify and guarantee a minimum throughput capacity on all telecom networks.
The Company shall provide access to incoming and outgoing SMS queues to and from the Companies’ platform.
The Company shall ensure only SMS with higher priority are sent out to the telecom companies between 8.00pm and 6.00am (using the “priority flag” available in the SMPP protocol). SMS that are still queued on the company's server shall remain stored and sent out the following day.
The Company will report any faults to UNICEF without delay, using its automated alert system. The Company shall without delay provide alerts of when there are technical faults with telecoms once the fault has lasted more than 5 minutes.
The Company is responsible for any unforeseen costs introduced by telephone networks. These are not to be passed along to the Agency without express consent. The Gateway provider will be responsible for any new costs not captured in the contract.
The Company will manage relationships with the telephone networks to fix technical faults and billing discrepancies.
- Description of assignment: (provide detail and in quantitative terms, add pages if required) Tasks End Product/deliverables Time frame
a. The company shall activate the toll-free short codes obtained by UNICEF DRC on all major networks (Airtel, Vodacom, Tigo, Orange) Documentation on SMPP connections. 4 weeks after signing of the contract
b. Integration and Testing with UNICEF servers. Documentation on testing. Within 5 business days of activation of short codes on all major networks
c. The Company shall provide hosting, maintenance and support at fixed rates for as long as UNICEF requests these services. Confirmation of activation of services. Within 5 business days of activation of short codes on all major networks, all set-up shall be completed. Further support shall be ongoing and billed monthly.
d. The Company shall provide a tracking account for all outgoing and incoming SMS, through which UNICEF may monitor costs of the incoming and outgoing SMS. These will be billed at fixed rates Tracking account accessible via the internet Within 5 business days of activation of short codes on all major networks, all set-up shall be completed. Further support shall be ongoing and billed monthly.e. Provide incoming and outgoing SMS gateway services for short codes licensed to UNICEF DRC for all major networks. Monthly invoices and (system generated) reports on all traffic for incoming and outgoing SMS for all short codes licensed to UNICEF. Monthly - Payment plan
- One-time fee for activation of 1 short code on all telecom networks and connection with UNCIEF server, including all integration, testing and setup costs
- Monthly SMS gateway hosting services for inbound and outbound SMS to all telecom networks: SMS costs invoiced monthly, based on actual traffic and scalable bulk SMS discounts, one blended cost per SMS for all incoming and outgoing traffic for all networks
- Qualifications or specialized knowledge/experience required for the assignment:
Education and experience:
• It is required that the Company has proven experience negotiating with Telecom Operators in DRC.
• It is required that the Company has proven experience providing high quality hosting, maintenance and support for requested SMS services.
• It is required that the Company has at least 2 years software development experience on UNIX platforms, real time SMS applications, and SMS content provision applications.
• It is recommended that the Company has prior work experience providing services to the United Nations.
How to apply:
Offer in sealed envelope should be sent to
UNICEF RDC Attn Supply and Logistics Unit
Concession Immotex (ex-Utexafrica, Avenue Colonel Modjiba No. 372)
Kinshasa Ngaliema
THE REFERENCE LRPS-2013-9108076 SHOULD BE INDICATED IN THE ENVELOPE
