The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals to enter into a contract with a qualified vendor to obtain microwave-based WAN Ethernet Services for the University of Utah, on behalf of the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN), and its public and higher education, healthcare and state government constituents, hereafter referred to as the "University." The companies submitting proposals in response to this RFP will hereafter be referred to as “Vendor.” The University is examining several alternatives of providing this microwave-based WAN Ethernet Services and may decide, after reviewing proposals submitted, not to enter into any agreement.
If this RFP process results in awards to Vendors who currently have Master Contract(s) with UETN, the University may seek to add newly awarded sites to the relevant existing Vendor Master Contract through an addendum to the existing agreement. The lack of an existing Vendor Master Contract does not in any way limit the ability of a vendor to respond to this RFP and proposals will be evaluated in the same manner as all other vendor proposals. The University is examining several alternatives of providing WAN Ethernet Services and may decide, after reviewing proposals submitted, not to enter into any agreement.
UETN connects schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities into an extensive state-wide network which utilizes a 100 Gbps backbone. The Utah Telehealth Network (UTN) is integrated directly into UETN through a redundant network core inside UETN’s WAN, direct connections to the UETN backbone, and shared network management and support. Healthcare facilities connect to UTN’s network core either through 1 Gbps fiber-based Ethernet into UETN’s backbone. Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is often the most practical option for out of state healthcare facilities to connect into UETN. (See the attached UTN Network Diagram).
UETN seeks affordable network WAN connections for healthcare facilities included in this RFP. See Section 3.02 or Attachment A for a complete list of sites with addresses. Request for network services for current and new UETN healthcare facilities include options from current UETN customers for connection into both the UETN network and Utah Telehealth Network’s (UTN) legacy network. The goal of this RFP is to acquire bandwidth for the identified sites while leveraging current UETN network resources. UETN reserves the right to award to one or more vendors for single or multiple locations.
