_Contract User Guide_505ENT-M23-NTWRKSRVCS-00 (1).docx

Contract User Guide

Version 1.6, 06/19/2023

STATE OF WISCONSIN

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

Division of Enterprise Operations State Bureau of Procurement

Wide Area Network (WAN) & Internet Services Contract #505ENT-M23-NTWRKSRVCS-XX (link) Request for Bid #28376-PM

Mandatory: Yes (for State Agencies and Campuses) Cooperative: Yes (WI municipalities may use this contract) P-Card: No (State Purchasing Card may not be used) NIGP Codes: 91551, 91579, 92037, 95889

Contract Scope These contracts provide the Enterprise and Authorized Users various network transport and Internet services required to complete their individual and collective missions, and when or if applicable, connectivity back to the State Data Centers.

"Authorized Users" includes any State Agency, University of Wisconsin campus, or other state or local public body authorized to use Contracts, as established in ss.16.70 (1b), (1e), (2), (4) and (8), ss.16.73 and ss.66.0301 of the Wisconsin Statutes and PRO-502 of the State Procurement Manual.

Awards were made within the following categories:

Category 1: Wide Area Network (WAN) Services for the Authorized User Community (includes Agencies)

· AT&T Corp.

· Charter – Spectrum Enterprise

· Lumen Technologies (CenturyLink Communications)

Category 2: RESERVED* *High-Availability ISP Services geared specifically for State Data Center locations, for additional information contact the State's Contract Administrator.

Category 3: ISP Services for the Authorized User Community (includes Agencies)

· AT&T Corp.

· Charter – Spectrum Enterprise

· Brightspeed Broadband, LLC

Category 4: Internet Access for the TEACH Community*

· WiscNet

· Lumen Technologies (CenturyLink Communications) *FCC Form 470 #230001681

Contract Term Lengths Expiration dates for individual contracts will vary based on the effective date for each, with all receiving a three (3) year initial term with the ability for the state through mutual agreement with each vendor to renew for up to two (2) additional years.

Limitations and Approval of Extended Service Term Lengths Because a portfolio approach to contract management requires the ability to migrate between and leverage all available providers on contract, extended term lengths for individual circuits and/or services are discouraged except when a substantial financial impact or extenuating circumstance is present.

As such, it is highly recommended all Order Terms for the State of Wisconsin be limited to no more than twelve-month periods, unless otherwise requested by the State and approved by the Division of Enterprise Technology. Such limitation of Order Term length need not apply to Authorized Users who do not fall within the IT and Procurement Authority granted to the Department of Administration by statute.

How to Use The resulting contracts have established a catalog of available service providers for which individual entities can request quotations for their respective locations. Contract users must request such quotations from all available Contractors within a given award category; service provider selection after receiving quotations shall be determined by a combination of lowest cost, ability to meet business requirements, and service delivery timing. In all instances, any business requirements and service delivery time frames beyond those identified within this solicitation, must be set forth by contract users at time of the original quotation request.

Should Contractor be unable to meet specific business requirements or the requested service delivery time frame, they may provide a response to the quotation request indicating such. In such instances Contractor may opt to provide a quotation for services which do not meet requirements or delivery time frames, or alternately may forego providing a quote for services instead providing a response indicating a refusal to provide quotation.

Contractors are aware, that providing the lowest cost quotation which does not meet all individual business requirements, or cannot meet the requested service delivery time frame, may result in an alternate service provider’s higher cost quotation being accepted by the contract user.

Requesting Quotes (when and if required)

When are quotes needed?

Except for Category-4 Internet Access for TEACH, Authorized Users are required to receive quotes from all available providers of a given award category before executing a new order for any services provided under this contract. This includes when a service provider may be considered an incumbent or is currently providing services under a separate contract.

When are quotes not needed?

There are instances where requesting quotes is not necessary, the list below provides a number of examples, but Authorized Users may contact the Contract Manager directly to inquire about a specific situation to determine if quotes are necessary.

· Feature Changes or Bandwidth Upgrades

· Renewal Terms (after properly quoted Initial Term)

· Category-4 Internet Access for TEACH* *Mini-Bid evaluation maybe required for E-Rate

There may be other rare instances where quotations are not required due to mandatory compatibility with separate existing telecommunication services procured via separate terms and under alternate contract vehicles.

Quotes are always encouraged… Regardless of whether quotes are required, receiving quotations assists all Contract Users in consistently driving vendor performance and lowering rates. As such Contract Users are encouraged to receive quotes whenever possible including when evaluating bandwidth/feature upgrades or substantial changes to the services ordered under the Initial Term and quotation process.

Who requests the quotes?

If the services ordered will connect to any type of DET owned and supported LAN/WAN equipment or require connectivity with any of the State Data Centers, the quotation process will be conducted by the Division of Enterprise Technology via its ticketing and request systems. Upon completion of the quotation process all records will be provided by DET to the Agency procuring the services for proper recordkeeping.

Additional information regarding the DET processes can be found here at the link below.

DET Telecommunications Administration Services For services which will not connect to any type of DET owned and supported LAN/WAN equipment, Authorized Users will conduct the quotation process and retain the appropriate records as required by any applicable Records Disposition Authority.

Bandwidth Increments

For WAN or ISP Services, what bandwidth increments are available from the different available Contractors?

Because this contract vehicle acts as a portfolio, providing numerous available Contractors for each service category, each Contractor may have different increments of available bandwidth. Contract Users are encouraged to review the pricing and increments below, which were mandatory cost components of the solicitation and likely will have the most effective pricing available for a 12-month term.

WAN: 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1000Mbps (1 Gbps) ISP Services: 100Mbps/100Mbps, 100Mbps/10Mbps

Other increments and term lengths are available, when requesting quotations Contract Users shall provide the minimum required bandwidth for the location in question.

Scheduling Site Assessments or Pre-Qualifications

What if the vendors require a site assessment or pre-qualification before they can provide a quote?

Site assessments or pre-qualifications are a necessary step within the quotation process and assist the providers in determining the appropriate costs, when applicable, of building out the infrastructure to customer premise allowing them to provide the services requested. Contract Users must ensure they allow sufficient time for these processes when determining the timeline for quotations and the date by which Contractors must reply.

Except for DET supported LAN/WAN customers, Contract Users, shall be responsible for coordinating site assessments with the available providers. Contract Users shall provide any site assessment requirements at time of quotation request, including specific dates/times if applicable and if necessary, any security authorizations required for access to the site.

For DET supported LAN/WAN customers, site assessments will be coordinated as part of the service request process to determine if a DET Field Technician will be required to participate in the site assessment process.

Selecting a Provider

I’ve received my quotes, what else is required?

Contract Users will evaluate the quotations received first to determine that any order specific business requirements are met, before selecting the lowest cost quotation which meets all applicable criteria as set forth at time of quotation.

In some rare instances, a higher cost quotation may be accepted over that of the lowest received. In these instances, Contract Users must ensure they have consulted the appropriate Procurement Staff within their agency and have documented the reasons for such a decision should it be called into question later either by another government entity, the public, or a vendor.

How do I calculate the lowest cost quotation?

Contract Users shall use both the Monthly-Recurring (MRC) and Non-Recurring (NRC) charges, including special or one-time construction fees, when determining the lowest cost quotation.

(NRC + (MRC x months in service term)) = Total Cost of Term

How do I accept the winning quotation?

Acceptance processes will vary based on a number of factors such as ownership or management of the equipment which the requested services will connect to (e.g., DET vs. Agency) and the service provider selected (e.g., Charter-Spectrum vs. AT&T)

Some providers may require an agency signature on a Service Order to accept the proposed quotation. In such instances, individual agencies will determine the signature authority and routing process; such documents act as a companion to the executed Enterprise agreement and do not replace its terms and conditions, only defining the costs and agency term length commitment of the respective services.

Pricing Individual Contractor pricing schedules are available for download on the VendorNet contract webpage. These may be used as budgetary and planning tools for evaluating potential services, except for Category-4 Internet Access for TEACH, pricing is considered Not-to-Exceed and is only applicable within a Contractor’s On-Network or In-Franchise service areas. For locations considered outside of a Contractor’s service area pricing will be provided on an individual case basis.

Not to Exceed Pricing Because most pricing is considered Not-to-Exceed, and the state has foregone a state-wide or postalized rate model, Contract Users are encouraged to negotiate pricing specific to a given order. Such scenarios could include bundling of agency locations together awarding to a single provider, cross-agency bundling of locations where infrastructure build-out may be required and agencies have agreed upon an MOU to cooperatively quote a set of locations in a given area, or any number of other negotiation strategies.

Responsibilities for Recordkeeping What’s an RDA and who keeps records of the ordering process?

publicrecordsboard.wi.gov/Pages/Agency/AboutRDA.aspx

The agency issuing the purchase order and/or paying the monthly invoice, sometimes known as the “Customer of Record”, is responsible for storing all necessary records as required by the applicable Records Disposition Authorization (RDA).

Contract Users shall work directly with their records management and procurement staff to determine the applicable RDAs and recordkeeping procedures required within their respective agency.

CAPS Supported Agency Requisition Requirements Agency users who will be conducting their own quotation processes but are supported by the Consolidated Agency Purchasing Services (CAPS) section of the DOA’s State Bureau of Procurement shall include documentation (i.e., simple spreadsheet or table) of which available Contractor’s were contacted during the quotation process, the responses received with dollar amounts, and the final selected provider.

Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Credits Due Because the services offered by this contract are considered commodity offerings, each Contractor will have individual metrics to determine when credits may be due, and individual processes for requesting such credits.

Contract Users must work directly with their chosen provider to understand the SLAs applicable to the services ordered and specific Contractor before acceptance or notice to proceed is provided for a given order.

Documentation of each Contractors’ various Service Level Agreements are available on VendorNet at the link below.

505ENT-M23-NTWRKSRVCS-XX

Contract and Supplier Numbers

AT&T Corp.

Charter Communications, Inc

CenturyLink Communications, LLC.

dba Lumen Technologies

Brightspeed Broadband, LLC.

WiscNet

DET - Contract Administrator Judy Gollaway DOA – Division of Enterprise Technology 5830 Femrite Dr.

Madison, WI 53718 608-264-9348 Judy.Gollaway@wisconsin.gov

SBOP - Contract Manager Suzanne Meyer DOA – State Bureau of Procurement 101 E. Wilson Street, 6th Floor Madison, WI 53703 608-266-8613 Suzanne.meyer@wisconsin.gov

See something missing or incorrect, are there questions not answered by this guide or on DET’s BadgerNet resource webpage?

Feel free to reach out to the Contract Manager to provide feedback or request additional information be considered for inclusion within this guide.

For technical or IT Policy questions related to the use of this contract, please contact DET’s Contract Administrator for additional information.

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