Advanced Procurement Notice for
Local Internet Access Services (LIAS)
For Shared Services Canada (SSC)
Date of Issuance: November 10th, 2020
PURPOSE
The aim of this advanced notice is to inform interested Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that Shared Services Canada (SSC) will be publishing a solicitation towards the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 for Local Internet Access Services (LIAS) at sites across Canada.
BACKGROUND
Shared Services Canada (SSC) provides consolidated information technology, network, and telecommunication services to the Government of Canada, which has a presence at more than 19,000 locations across Canada. SSC currently contracts for more than 6,000 internet connections across Canada and this number is expected to grow as more services and programs are delivered to federal locations through Digital Government.
SSC will soon be soliciting ISPs in order to provide the federal government with local internet access. The procurement process is intended to be inclusive and provide the federal government with access to a broad range of ISPs across Canada with requirements for new and existing internet connections being competed among prequalified ISPs.
For the summary of the overall process, please consult the attached document.
NOTABLE
Some aspects of the upcoming solicitation that may be of interest to ISPs are as follows:
1 – The 6,000+ existing internet connections that SSC has already procured are intended to be recompeted using the resulting supply vehicle from the upcoming solicitation.
2 – Procure to Pay (P2P) is an integral part of SSC’s contracting processes where all SSC requirements and solicitations are posted and managed. Registering for an account will allow vendors to view, bid, invoice, and manage opportunities with SSC. Resources are available to assist your business with account setup and support. Visit https://sscp2pspc.ssc-spc.gc.ca and click “New Supplier? / Register Now” to get started on creating your account.
3 – Existing connections will be recompeted once their present contracts expire. Competitions are expected to begin in early 2021.
4 – ISPs may choose which connections they wish to bid on, i.e. some or all.
5 – So long as ISPs are available and their services represent value-for-money, the resulting arrangement is intended to be the exclusive tool that SSC will use to procure internet connections.
6 – For additional connections that may be required after the existing connections have been recompeted, SSC may seek quotations directly from contracted ISPs already providing internet access at the specified location or surrounding it, providing that the proposed service standards and pricing represent value to Canada.
7 – As all existing connections will be recompeted among prequalified vendors, ISPs must provide detailed information about the existing connections that they currently provide to SSC and its partner departments with their solicitation submission.
8 – SSC will require consolidated billing of all internet connections that contracted ISPs provide to SSC and the departments it supports, including connections that have been re-contracted through the new solicitation and those that were contracted otherwise.
9 – SSC may require ISPs to direct bill the departments that SSC supports, thus requiring ISPs to disaggregate SSC’s billing data by client organization and route the appropriate portions of the bill to the appropriate government payment authorities.
10 – The solicitation will include a refresh provision whereby new ISPs may seek prequalification at any time.
QUERRIES
If you have any questions or concerns please contact SSC’s Procurement Group for the upcoming solicitation at s••••••••@••••••.ca.
We ask that ISPs confirm their ability to provide information about the existing Internet circuits, consolidated billing, and direct billing.
Indigenously-owned ISPs are encouraged to self-identify in response to this advanced notice so that the capacity of the Indigenous ISP community can be assessed and accommodated.
DISCLAIMER
This Advanced Procurement Notice (APN) is not a bid solicitation. This advanced notice will not result in the award of a contract. As a result, potential suppliers of the services described in this document should not reserve stock or facilities, nor allocate resources, as a result of any information contained in this advanced notice. Nor will this advanced notice result in the creation of a source list. Therefore, whether or not any potential supplier responds to this advanced notice will not preclude that supplier from participating in any future procurement. Also, the procurement of any of the services described in this advanced notice will not necessarily follow this advanced notice. This advanced notice is simply intended to solicit feedback from industry with respect to the matters described above.
Nothing in this advanced notice shall be construed as a commitment from Canada to issue a solicitation. Canada may use non-proprietary information provided in its review and/or in the preparation of any formal solicitation.
Canada shall not be bound by anything stated herein. Canada reserves the right to change at any time, any or all parts of the requirement, as it deems necessary. Canada also reserves the right to revise its procurement approach, as it considers appropriate, either based upon information submitted in response to this advanced notice or for any other reason it deems appropriate.
