SSJF ISI MREN/Internet 2 Subscription

The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology is issuing a notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to ISI Communications, LLC for MREN Internet 2 Subscription services, with a public hearing scheduled for October 9, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CST; written comments or hearing requests are due by 4:00 p.m. CST on October 9, 2026, and the hearing will be canceled unless interested parties submit objections. This is a sole-source procurement with no competitive bidding.

The scope is a 100 Gbps Internet 2 connection to the MREN Starlight Facility at 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Suite 600, Chicago, Illinois, plus annual Sponsored Education Group Participants (SEGP) Internet 2 Association membership fees. The service enables qualified educational and research entities connected to the DoIT/ICN network to access Internet 2, a collaborative network of over 150 U.S. universities and government partners supporting advanced applications including telemedicine, digital libraries, and virtual laboratories.

The contract term runs January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2031 (five years, no renewals). Total contract value is $549,000 over the term, with annual costs of $148,600: a base connection fee of $28,800, an annual subscription charge of $10,000 for the 100 Gbps connection, and annual SEGP membership of $109,800. Fees are standardized across all entities and non-negotiable; no discounts are offered for multi-year agreements.

The sole-source justification rests on MREN being the only connection point in the Midwest to Internet 2 and the sole provider of this service. ISI Communications has served as the business agent for MREN for twenty-five years. DoIT has maintained annual sole-source contracts with MREN for over 30 years, with a single three-year exception. The State Purchasing Officer approved the sole-source designation on September 24, 2026. Contract is funded through state appropriated funds. Bidbuy No. 27-448DOIT-TELEC-B-54238.