PROVISION OF AN INTERNET FIBRE LINK FOR UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT NAIROBI (UNON)

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) invites suitably qualified firms to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the upcoming competitive bidding exercise for the provision of Fiber Internet Link Services for the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON). The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) intends to establish a long-term contract for the provision of fully redundant enterprise-grade Internet connectivity services to support critical ICT operations at the Gigiri Complex and affiliated UN operations. Purpose of the Requirement: The objective of this requirement is to ensure the continuous availability of secure, resilient, high-capacity, and enterprise-grade Internet connectivity services that: • Maintain uninterrupted ICT and communication services for UNON operations; • Provide high availability, redundancy, and operational resilience against regional or international connectivity disruptions; • Support mission-critical business systems, cloud services, videoconferencing, and collaboration platforms; • Enhance network security, operational visibility, and service reliability; • Support scalable bandwidth growth aligned with operational requirements; and • Provide robust monitoring, technical support, and proactive service management capabilities. Indicative Scope of Services: The selected service provider will be required to provide a fully redundant enterprise Internet connectivity solution, including but not limited to: • Provision, installation, configuration, commissioning, and support of fully redundant fiber Internet links with an initial capacity of 2Gbps scalable to 10Gbps; • Provision of geographically and physically diverse last-mile connectivity and international routing infrastructure; • Provision of resilient international upstream connectivity and submarine cable diversity; • Implementation of BGP peering and support for UNON’s public IP address space and future IPv6 requirements; • Provision of 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC) support and service monitoring capabilities; • Provision of online monitoring portal and monthly performance reporting; • Provision of DDoS mitigation, routing anomaly detection, and related network-layer security protections; • Technical implementation support, commissioning, testing, and knowledge transfer to UNON technical personnel; and • Preventive, corrective, and operational support services throughout the contract duration. Resiliency, Security and Service Availability: The proposed solution is expected to provide high levels of resiliency, operational redundancy, and service continuity through geographically diverse infrastructure, multiple international routing paths, and enterprise-grade failover capability. Robust security protections, including DDoS mitigation, routing anomaly detection, and traffic protection mechanisms, will be essential to ensure service stability and operational continuity. Purpose of the REOI: This Request for Expression of Interest is issued solely to identify vendors with the baseline operational capability, technical expertise, infrastructure readiness, and relevant experience to provide enterprise-grade redundant Internet connectivity services of the type described above. It is not a solicitation, does not involve evaluation of pricing or detailed technical proposals, and does not constitute a commitment by UNON to issue a subsequent tender. Only vendors demonstrating minimum technical capability, operational readiness, local support presence, infrastructure resiliency, and relevant enterprise Internet service experience will be considered for invitation to the next stage of the procurement process. Please refer to the assessment criteria listed in the Self Declaration Form. The contract resulting from the tendering exercise anticipated subsequent to this REOI is expected to be awarded for an initial period of three (3) years with the option to extend for an additional two (2) years. Specific Requirements/Information IMPORTANT: Please note that this REOI is not an invitation for submission of tenders. Its purpose is to identify companies that would be interested and eligible to participate in the solicitation when issued. UNON reserves the right to change or cancel the requirement at any time during the EOI and/or solicitation process. Thus, submitting a reply to this Request for EOI does not automatically guarantee your company will be considered for receipt of the solicitation when issued. Vendors that are deemed qualified upon completion of an objective evaluation of their EOI submission will receive the final tender solicitation documents.