Specifications include, but are not limited to: The University of Wisconsin-Madison, hereinafter referred to as the "University", through its Purchasing Services Department, hereinafter referred to as "Purchasing," on behalf of the Division of Information Technology, hereinafter referred to as "DoIT", requests bids for the purchase of Alpha Technologies Cable and Broadband Products, Related Accessories and Services for current and future projects throughout the contract term. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public, land-grant institution that offers a complete spectrum of studies. With more than 41,000 students from every U.S. state and 120 countries, and more than 16,000 employees, UW-Madison is the flagship campus of Wisconsin’s state university system. The University is the 8th largest research institution in the United States, annually performing over $1.3B of research activities with collocated cyberinfrastructure equipment in several off-campus data center locations for academic, administrative and research activities as part of its mission. Additionally, the University builds and operates the University of Wisconsin - System Network (a/k/a SysNet), a facilities-based fiber-optic network across the State of WI on behalf of the University of Wisconsin System of 13 universities at 26 locations statewide. SysNet interconnects the campuses to each other, the Internet and regional, national and international special purpose or boutique education and research networks. It currently utilizes Alpha Technologies for its Direct Current (DC) power plants both for SysNet and on campus. More specifically, on campus the three (3) major network core sites and the tech lab are all Alpha DC Power plants, and across the state where there is equipment there has also been Alpha DC plants deployed. These mission-critical networks are the foundation for all other Information Technology and computing functions across UW System and upper Midwest higher education institutions. In many circumstances, they cannot fail. We rely on DC power plants provide reliable power to keep our network running even when building and generator power fail. The purpose of this RFB is to establish a contract for the purchase of Alpha DC hardware, compatible accessories, and services throughout the contract term.
