AHCC is requesting Healthcare Connect Fund support for backup circuits for 16 consortium sites that have been approved for eligibility by USAC.

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1 Request for Proposals (RFP) No.??? Opening of Proposals June 2018 RFP for: Backup Circuits at 16 Sites of a Consortium Member of American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. You are invited to submit responses in the form of proposals in accordance with the requirements of this Request for Proposals (RFP) solicitation which is contained herein. Responses are to be submitted to Mr. Douglas Arnold of the American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. not later than the date and time specified in Paragraph 7, Section A., Project Overview, at which time respondents to this request will be publicly identified. Due to the possibility of further due diligence or perhaps negotiation with any Offerors submitting a proposal which appears to be eligible for contract award pursuant to selection criteria set forth in this RFP, prices may not be divulged at time of opening. The proposals must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offer, and it shall contain a statement to the effect that the proposal is firm for a period of at least 90 days from the closing date for submission of proposals. Proposals shall be submitted showing the above proposal number (AHCC01). AHCC assumes no responsibility for unmarked or incorrectly marked envelopes being considered for further review or award. This solicitation does not commit AHCC or Douglas Arnold to award a contract for the articles of goods and services. AHCC and Douglas Arnold reserve the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this request, to negotiate with all qualified Offerors, and to cancel in part or in entirety this solicitation if it is in the best interest of AHCC and Douglas Arnold to do so. Neither AHCC or Douglas Arnold, or any agent will be obligated in any way by any Offeror to this RFP. AHCC is requesting Healthcare Connect Fund support for backup circuits for 16 consortium sites that have been approved for eligibility by USAC.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS For Request For Proposals from American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. Section Content A. Project Overview B. Project Administration C. Organization of American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. D. Technical Requirements E. Project Management Requirements F. Offeror Qualifications and References G. Budgeting and Pricing H. Vendor Selection Process

3 A. Project Overview The American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. (AHCC) is a member organization (HCP 41031) founded in Connecticut by healthcare professionals. Current consortium members in Connecticut include two Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) organizations and one hospital health care provider which together have 93 sites combined, including administrative and data center sites. One FQHC organization also provides services in 36 school clinic sites, which are also part of the consortium and are included in the 93 site total. AHCC is working to partner with other organizations throughout the US to maximize the benefit of this FCC program. Requested contract period is July 1, 2018 through June 30, The American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. (AHCC) is seeking proposals for a long term fiber/ethernet service (or equivalent) backup system that provides upgrades and new fiber optic lines (or equivalent) and managed switch/firewall service over a secure fiber broadband network. The service will provide 20 Mbps, 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 300 Mbps or 1 Gbps connectivity over fiber connections (or equivalent) to 16 participating entities of the AHCC. Public Internet service is also being sought as a part of the managed broadband service. The consortium is seeking proposals which will receive partial funding through the Healthcare Connect Fund for non-recurring costs associated with provisioning the leased services and up to 5 years of monthly recurring costs for 16 AHCC locations. 1. Goals and Objectives: All of our consortium members in Connecticut are experienced electronic health record (EHR) users, and are in Stages 1 and 2 of the CMS Meaningful Use Program. Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) support will enable our consortium members to substantially enhance their healthcare IT capabilities while reducing their costs for such services. HCF funding support for the many new school clinic sites will help enable improved data sharing and case management for a substantial youth population. This EHR use status will be substantially facilitated with the addition of improved, secure broadband communications, including back-up circuits, opening our consortium members to opportunities such as: Exchange of EHR generated patient data between healthcare providers Electronic exchange of images (X-rays, MRIs and CAT Scans) and video conferencing Telemedicine two-way, real time, interactive, remote communications between a patient, healthcare provider and hospital Movement of billing and scheduling information Improved rural-urban collaboration Improved electronic patient health information (ephi) security when in the cloud, resulting from HIPAA compliant communications security 2. Strategy for Aggregating the specific needs of healthcare providers: Our consortium is currently state-wide in Connecticut. We are actively seeking to expend regionally/nationally to add consortium partners in areas with substantial rural populations. Our membership is a growing mix of providers that need the availability of high capacity broadband in a highly secure network. To achieve this we will bring together:

4 Fiber optic-based service from vendors that are committed to broadband service in our consortium area(s) Our existing clinical, administrative and statewide and regional healthcare partnerships Collaboration of our membership for care coordination A private, dedicated network that improves HIPPA compliance A network wide fire-wall to provide maximum level security Encryption of all network traffic Backup circuits to protect against a massive system failure 3. Strategy for leveraging existing technology: AHCC has performed a needs analysis of the communications capabilities of our membership. Based on this analysis, an awareness of technology available in the IT marketplace and capabilities with EHR systems, we will build our own best case program to leverage existing technology and appropriate upgrades in collaboration with technology partners selected via our RFP process. AHCC members have collaborated to expand and update their off-site data bases to facilitate expanded data protection, analytic support, IT support and updates from consortium partners. Consortium members are seeking HCF support to enable secure emergency backup circuits to protect against any massive network problems or shutdown. AHCC consortium members have implemented, and are continuing to implement, substantial upgrades to their IT networks from the organization which won our consortium s RFP process. In order to protect against the loss of data due to a substantial system failure, consortium members are seeking HCF support to enable secure emergency backup circuits to protect against any massive network problems or shutdown. 4. How the broadband service will be used to improve the providing of healthcare: Our AHCC broadband network will improve the quality, access and affordability of healthcare for members of our consortium. Quality: We will function in a private, dedicated network, with much higher (encrypted) data transfer speeds than currently in use and in a more secure ephi environment due to much improved Internet fire-wall technology. Access: Our network will be dedicated to use by our membership and provide capabilities such as remote diagnosis, tele-health consults, transfer of digital images and continuing education. Affordability : The secure transfer of ephi will be significantly enhanced without substantial additional consortium expenditures, with the financial help of the Healthcare Connect Fund. AHCC consortium member Community Health Center, Inc. now offers school-based health services in 36 schools during the school day. Licensed healthcare providers are available to provide expanded medical (treatment for illnesses or injuries, and physicals), behavioral health (individual, group, and family therapy), and dental hygiene (exams, cleanings, and sealants)

5 services. School-based health services work in conjunction with the care provided by a child s pediatrician and/or dentist and are not intended to replace regular care by a child s primary health-care provider. AHCC consortium member Community Health Center, Inc. also offers Urgent Care Clinics for its patients who would like to see a provider right away. Urgent Care Clinics are available for sameday visits for patients with complaints such as upper respiratory infections, allergies, gastrointestinal complaints, among other conditions. Urgent Care Clinics help CHC patients receive timely and effective care and avoid unnecessary emergency room use. CHC s Urgent Care Clinics are located at seven of their clinic sites in Hartford, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New London, Stamford and Waterbury. 5. Previous experience in developing and managing healthcare IT (including telemedicine) programs: AHCC s CEO, Douglas S. Arnold, leads our network development, with guidance from our Leadership Committee, which includes the CIOs/IT Directors from each consortium member. Doug Arnold has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School, where he majored in Healthcare Systems Management. Most recently, Doug was for 14 years the CEO of a 450 physician IPA in Connecticut, as well as the CEO of their Accountable Care Organization, which was approved by CMS in July He was a founding Board member of ehealthct, Connecticut s Regional Extension Center. He has been an executive in healthcare management for over 40 years. 6. Project Management Plan The CEO of AHCC, Douglas S. Arnold, is managing our needs analysis, project planning, and interface with HCF/USAC. Our CEO is working closely with Joe Paluso and Curt Fox with Crown Castle Fiber to meet with AHCC consortium members to review and implement all the substantial IT improvements and upgrades that have been supported by Healthcare Connect Fund support over the last few years and into the future. Participating AHCC members will continue to use clinic revenue as the source of their 35% contribution for HCF-approved service upgrades. Our RFP process has, and is expected to continue to greatly increase throughput with a net reduction in monthly cost, after our members have paid their 35% matching share to the Healthcare Connect Fund s 65% support for covered services. 7. Proposal Submission Process Proposals shall be submitted to: Name: Douglas S. Arnold Title: CEO Organization: American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. Address: 20 Neal Drive, Suite 100, Simsbury, CT 06070

6 a. Closing date for submitting proposals is 5:00 PM (EST) on the 28 th day after posting of the RFP on the USAC web site. Proposals received after the specific closing date and time will not be accepted. b. Number of copies required: 5 c. Format of proposals: Cover letter Executive Summary Description of Managed Switch/Firewall Leased Broadband Service Description of Public Internet Service Description of Proposed Hardware and Software Project Management Description Qualifications and References of Offerors and All Subcontractors Delivery Schedule/Timeline Pricing Contact Information d. Questions about the RFP should be submitted to: Name: Douglas S. Arnold Title: CEO Organization: American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. Address: 20 Neal Drive, Suite 100, Simsbury, CT Telephone No.: Address: dsarnold27@comcast.net Questions regarding the RFP can be submitted for the first 5 business days from posting of the RFP. AHCC will post answers to all questions received within 4 days, following the initial 5 business day period at Offerors will be notified after the end of the RFP posting period (28 days) as to which Offeror has been selected for a contract award for the total project or segments of the project. All materials submitted in response to the RFP become the property of AHCC. Proposals and supporting materials will not be returned to Offerors. Offerors are advised that: o Pricing will be considered as part of the proposal evaluation process. o The award of the contract/contracts will not necessarily go to the proposal with the lowest bid. o AHCC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. e. Participating Members of AHCC that are part of this RFP are located at 16 Community Health Centers and other sites at the following locations, all in the State of Connecticut.

7 Site Name Street Address City/Town State ZIP HCP # Community Health Center, Inc. Bristol 395 North Main Street Bristol CT Community Health Center, Inc. Clinton 114 East Main Street Clinton CT Community Health Center, Inc. Danbury 8 Delay Street Danbury CT Community Health Center, Inc. Enfield 5 North Main Street Enfield CT Community Health Center, Inc. Groton 481 Gold Star Highway Groton CT Community Health Center, Inc. Meriden 134 State Street Meriden CT Community Health Center, Inc. Middletown 675 Main Street Middletown CT Community Health Center, Inc. New Britain 85 Lafayette Street New Britain CT Community Health Center, Inc. New London 1 Shaws Cove New London CT Community Health Center, Inc. Norwalk 49 Day Street Norwalk CT Community Health Center, Inc. Old Saybrook 263 Main Street Old Saybrook CT Community Health Center, Inc. Stamford 141 Franklin Street Stamford CT Community Health Center, Inc. Waterbury 51 North Elm Street Waterbury CT Community Health Center, Inc. Administrative Office 575 Main Street Middletown CT Community Health Center, Inc. Off-Site Data Center 634/636 Main Street Middletown CT Community Health Center, Inc. ChimeNet Off-Site Data Center 110 Barnes Road Wallingford CT

8 B. Project Administration 1. Background American Healthcare Connect Consortium (AHCC) is the legal entity to administer the contract awarded to the Offeror(s). AHCC is a non-profit corporation that is now managing the Healthcare Connect Fund grant application and will continue in full control of this project. The AHCC will continue in this role until its services are no longer necessary 2. Our Vision Our AHCC broadband network will improve the quality, access and affordability of healthcare for both rural and non-rural members of our consortium. Quality: We will function in a private, dedicated network, with much higher (encrypted) data transfer speeds than currently in use and in a more secure ephi environment due to much improved Internet fire-wall technology. Access: Our network will be dedicated to use by our membership and provide capabilities such as remote diagnosis, tele-health consults, transfer of digital images and continuing education. Affordability : The secure transfer of ephi will be significantly enhanced without substantial additional consortium expenditures, with the financial help of the Healthcare Connect Fund. 3. Our Mission Statement The mission of AHCC is to ensure that our health care facilities have high quality, affordable digital connectivity in order to share telemedicine and tele-health services that will provide residents of our multi-state area with the best health care possible. 4. Our Goals Assist member health care providers to increase access to information systems that will be fully utilized to: a. Improve patient safety (alert for medication errors, drug allergies and emergency response): b. Improve healthcare quality (make available complete electronic medical records, test results, and x-rays at the point of care, integrate health information from multiple sources and providers, incorporate the use of decision support tools with guidelines and research results; and, c. Create a health information system for the purpose of sharing common patient medical information among AHCC members to improve quality of care and maximize cost efficiencies.

9 C. Organization of American Healthcare Connect Consortium, Inc. AHCC s CEO, Douglas S. Arnold, leads our network development. Mr. Arnold has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School, where he majored in Healthcare Systems management. Most recently, Doug was for 14 years the CEO of a 450 physician IPA in Connecticut, as well as the CEO of their Accountable Care Organization, which was approved by CMS in July He was a founding Board member of ehealthct, Connecticut s Regional Extension Center. He has been in senior healthcare management positions for over 40 years. At present, the CEO of AHCC is managing our needs analysis, project planning, and interface with the Healthcare Connect Fund, USAC and vendor which won previous RFP. D. Technical Requirements Offerors shall provide a detailed description of the proposed leased broadband (fiber or equivalent) private Intranet and public Internet service, which addresses the following items: Offerors are required to provide bids for both the broadband (fiber or equivalent) private Intranet and public Internet services. AHCC members listed at the end of this section (Technical Requirements Upgrades Requested) must be able to access the public Internet connection via the private Intranet backbone. Offerors who do not typically offer both services (private backbone Intranet and public Internet) may team with other providers in order to submit a complete solution. Offerors who team with other providers will be viewed by AHCC as having entered into a Prime contractor/sub-contractor relationship. Only the Prime Contractor can submit a fully completed bid in response to this RFP. The Prime Contractor will be responsible for providing each AHCC member organization with a single bill for both services (broadband private Intranet and public Internet) as they apply to non-recurring charges (NRC) and monthly recurring charges (MRC). The Prime Contractor will also be the initial point of contact for all issues relating to the operation and maintenance of the leased network and the leased network services. Please keep in mind the AHCC is seeking proposals, which will receive partial funding through the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF), for the non-recurring costs (NRC) associated with provisioning the leased services and five years of monthly recurring costs (MRC) for all 16 AHCC locations. a. Construction, installation, implementation, and delivery of full-duplex (at members option) 20 Mbps to 1 Gbps managed switch/firewall broadband fiber (or equivalent) based private Intranet leased service to the facility telecommunications demarcation point at the 16 AHCC member sites listed at the end of this Technology Requirements section (Upgrades Requested). 1. This managed service must also bundle public Internet services which will be available to all 16 AHCC member sites.

10 2. The broadband infrastructure (private Intranet) connection rate will respond to speeds requested by each of the 16 AHCC member sites listed. 3. Offerors providing a complete router/firewall solution must include a Threat Management feature with the following features. Web Filtering Identity Based Management IDS/IPS Data Leak Prevention Antivirus/Antispam Statis and Dynamic Routing Application Control Wireless LAN Controller functionality 4. Offerors are requested to provide pricing options for multiple Mbps and Gbps speeds. b. Offerors shall provide connectivity to each of the 16 AHCC member facilities. Offerors can either build out (carrier infrastructure upgrade) a circuit from the provider network to each AHCC member site or they can present an alternate plan that will allow each facility to connect to the proposed private Intranet AHCC locations and the public Internet. 1. Offerors who choose to present an alternate plan for each AHCC member facility connecting to other AHCC member sites and the public Internet shall provide all non-recurring cost (NRC) and monthly recurring cost (MRC) in detail in a separate pricing document. 2. The alternate plan must include all the specific AHCC member sites connecting to all of the other member sites of the specific AHCC member group. c. Describe the broadband infrastructure (private Intranet) and architecture, including network diagrams for how the private broadband network will connect to regional and national systems, and how users will access the local service to support technologies for broadband data, voice and video. Include a network diagram that shows physical and virtual connections from each AHCC member site to the provider s network (private Intranet and Public Internet connections). d. Every site connected to the network will have the capability of having secure virtual connections to every other site on the AHCC group network. This shall include support for layer 2 virtual local area networks (VLANs), which shall be the default service connection between AHCC group locations, on the managed switch/firewall. Virtual private networks (VPNs), SSL and IPSec, shall also be supported by the managed switch/firewall. VLAN shall be the default service.

11 e. Describe the maximum number of VLANs that may be configured on each type of managed switch/firewall that is bid. The number of VLANs provided to each AHCC site, at no additional charge, will be as follows: Mbps sites get 1 default VLAN and 2 additional VLANs Mbps sites get 1 default VLAN and 10 additional VLANs Gbps (and more) sites get 1 default VLAN and 20 additional VLANs. f. Every site connected to the individual AHCC group network will have the capability of accessing the public Internet. Offerors shall provide a minimum of 20 Mbps of fullduplex public Internet access which shall be shared by all AHCC members within an individual group and each location. Offerors shall provide pricing for 20 Mbps, 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 300 Mbps and 1 Gbps of total public Internet access (fullduplex) that will be shared by all of the AHCC member group locations. Offerors can provide a single full-duplex connection (pipe) to the public Internet or, for the purpose of redundancy, they can provide 2 or more full-duplex connections (pipes) whose aggregate bandwidth meets the total public Internet connection requirement. Offerors who provide multiple full-duplex public Internet connections shall ensure that each of the full-duplex public Internet connections has a different upstream provider. g. Offerors shall devise a plan to allow all of the AHCC member access to public Internet bandwidth. All 16 AHCC member sites must have a minimum committed information rate (CIR) of 20 Mbps of full-duplex bandwidth to the public Internet. The proposed public Internet connection may be oversubscribed but in the event 100% of the available public Internet bandwidth is in use the Offeror must be able to prioritize the traffic and drop packets based on the AHCC member s recommendations of which locations require higher precedence over other locations. The prioritization order will be determined after contract award. h. Every site connected to the network will be provided with a managed firewall service. The firewall must be able to analyze up to layer 3 of the OSI model and must forward packets at the line rate of the private Intranet connection speeds requested by each of the 16 AHCC member sites listed at the end of this Technology Requirements section (Upgrades Requested). The managed firewall may be part of the managed switch or it can be a stand-alone device. i. The managed firewall must support 3DES and AES encryption. Encrypted traffic is also required to be forwarded at the rate of the private Intranet connection listed for each of the 16 AHCC member sites listed at the end of this Technology Requirements section (Upgrades Requested). j. AHCC member groups must be able to originate and terminate virtual private network (VPN) connections on their own equipment located behind or parallel to the Offeror s firewall. AHCC member groups must be able to configure these types of VPN connections (i.e., those that originate and are terminated behind or parallel to the Offeror s managed firewall) at will and without assistance or permission of the Offeror.

12 k. AHCC members would be interested in seeing solutions that include an intrusion detection system (at a minimum) and/or an intrusion prevention system (preferred). Offerors who provide either or both of these systems shall list them as an enhanced service offering (managed switch/firewall /IDS/IPS) in the pricing presented to AHCC member groups. l. AHCC members would like the proposed Internet service to include a public block of static IP addresses, at no additional charge, as part of an enhanced Internet service offering for each AHCC site. m. Any public IP address block given to AHCC member groups will have at least 1 IP address assigned to the managed switch/firewall appliance used to terminate the leased fiber/ethernet (or equivalent) private broadband service. The AHCC member group locations may want additional IP addresses for their internal mail server, file servers or web servers. Describe how addressing could be modified in the future to support IPv6. n. Offerors who include public IP addresses/block will get the addresses/block from the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) and will confirm that none of the addresses have been blacklisted. o. Describe how the proposed service will meet the specified broadband connectivity requirements of the project. p. Offeror will allow substitution of sites and services throughout the length of the contract term, in accordance with all terms and conditions of awarded contract. q. List the industry technical standards that the Offeror will use for this project. Describe how the equipment could support IPv6 when that becomes a defacto standard. r. Describe how the broadband service (private Intranet, fiber or equivalent) will connect to the individual AHCC member groups (sites) identified in the RFP. Clearly describe the steps the AHCC member groups will need to take in order to connect their LAN equipment to the Offeror s managed switch/firewall equipment. s. AHCC member groups may have VPN connections in their current network environment (SSL and IPSec). Describe how the Offeror will help the member group migrate their current VPN assignments from their current network to the Offeror s proposed network. Provide a management plan that describes this process and include a timeline (i.e., how long will it take to migrate 1-5 VPNs, 5 to 10 VPNs 10 to 20 VPNs). t. All private broadband (fiber or equivalent) Intranet traffic between AHCC member group sites must stay on the private Intranet without connecting through the public Internet. Describe how traffic will traverse through the network for: 1. Traffic originating at 1 AHCC member group location and terminating at a different location within the same member group. 2. Traffic at 1 member group location and terminating at a different member group location via the public Internet.

13 u. Include the terms under which a third-party service provider would interconnect to the Offeror s facilities to offer their own broadband service. v. Describe the scalability of the proposed broadband service: 1. How the service can be extended to new customers who may wish to sign up for service at a later date. 2. How level of service can be upgraded to provide a higher level of service to the customers who have already signed up for the service. This should be accomplished without purchasing new equipment (i.e., fork lift upgrades). AHCC member group preference is the ability to increase bandwidth via a change to the software configuration without having to install any new hardware modules. w. Describe the redundancy (if any) of the vendor hardware. Additionally, the proposed Offeror equipment shall include an option for redundant AC or DC power (as applicable). Note: the Offeror should make recommendations for UPS and battery back-up requirements to support the proposed equipment. x. Describe the redundancy (if any) of the proposed vendor connection to the AHCC member group location. y. Describe how all data, voice and video traffic transmitted within an AHCC member group, between the member group and the Internet, and other external (to an AHCC member group network) networks can be encrypted using 3DES and AES. z. The Offeror will be providing a managed firewall service as part of the leased offering. The Offeror shall describe what contractual safeguards will be provided to AHCC member groups to protect them from problems that arise due to accidental or intentional issues that may occur and could harm an AHCC group site (i.e., improperly configured firewall rules that allow unauthorized access to the AHCC member networks). aa. The network must have the capability of interfacing with Internet2, and other public, statewide, regional, and national healthcare networks. bb. This RFP is to enable the existence of the requested network and 5 years of network services delivery (based on funding commitment), allowing participating entities the option of continuing services. If, during the five-year service period, another customer of this service is awarded a lower price, AHCC members will have their price adjusted downward to the lower price. cc. Include a timeline for how the requested network will be completed and ready for testing and deployment within 6 months of contract award (weather permitting) and assuming timely approval of permits and 3 rd party permitting/approval; also dependent on award of a Healthcare Connect Funding commitment letter. dd. Include a timeline and description of how the Offeror will conduct network testing and certification of all fiber transmission media in accordance with industry-standard practices. The Offeror will be required to produce a report that documents the results of network testing and certification.

14 ee. Provide a detailed description of how the Offeror will provide Network Management Services for Monitoring and Alerting network status. Additionally, the Offeror shall provide online reports that can be accessed via the public Internet. On-line reports should include the following information for each AHCC site location: i. Daily/5 minute average ii. Weekly/30 minute average iii. Monthly /2 hour average iv. Yearly/1 day average v. Differentiate between private Intranet bandwidth usage and public Internet bandwidth usage. Service Level Agreement Failure to demonstrate the ability to meet the following requirements will result in rejection of the Offeror s proposal: Service Level Agreement Service Response Times Listed in the SLA Table The leased service shall include a Service Level Agreement (SLA) specifying basic service levels, trouble-management response times, circuit availability and latency. The Offeror must submit a representative SLA with the proposal response. The submitted SLA shall reference the following minimal elements and corresponding requirements: SLA Requirements AHCC Requirements Service Availability Objective (per month) % Network Monitoring & Alerts 24 x 7 Mean Time to Respond 30 Minutes Mean Time to Respond Updates 2 Hours Mean Time to Repair 4 Hours Latency Within AHCC Member Networks <10 Milliseconds Port-to-Port Management Reports On-line, weekly and upon request E. Project Management Requirements Offerors shall include a detailed Project Management Plan for implementing the private broadband Intranet and the public Internet services. The detailed Project Management Plan shall include narrative information, detailed project milestones and schedule information. The Offeror shall include an estimated start time and completion dates for each site. This should be described in timetables that address the following issues.

15 Project Management: Provide a description of the Offeror s management team for this project. List all key personnel and their qualifications. Project Schedule: Provide an implementation schedule for the proposed service, including delivery dates, implementation milestones, task relationships and dependencies, and a timeline. Broadband (private Intranet) and public Internet access service systems Architecture and Development: Provide descriptions of how the service(s) will be designed, including details of customer testing and final implementation, the extent to which broadband (private Intranet) and public Internet connectivity to participating AHCC entities will be guaranteed: how the private Intranet and public Internet service will deliver differentiated levels of service depending on the different bandwidth needs and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the AHCC users. Ongoing Service Maintenance and Assistance: Offerors shall provide details of all maintenance activities and how assistance will be provided to AHCC users. This data shall include, but not be limited to: How 24/7 maintenance support will be provided. The response time for major and minor problems. How the service will be monitored on a continuous basis for any problems and what proactive steps will be taken to ensure the QoS. How reports will be made available to AHCC member s management on-line via the public Internet or through the newly created private Intranet. Description of what software will be used to generate reports containing the following minimum information for both private Intranet and public Internet. o Circuit Bandwidth Utilization o Peak Bandwidth Analysis o Circuit Up-time o Circuit Down-time Site and Service Substitution: Consortia applicants need to include language allowing the substitution of sites and services over the life of the contract or participation in the HCF program. This provision allows for the Consortium to add sites and/or upgrade or change services throughout the length of the contract term without having to re-bid. Applicants should make such site and service adjustments in accordance with the Site and Service Substitution rules found in the HCF Order (47 C.F.R : 746 Appendix D, 47 C.F.R ). F. Offeror Qualifications and References Offerors shall demonstrate their ability and competence to complete this project by providing the information requested below which describes the Offeror s company and services. Full legal company name

16 Year business was established Number of people currently employed Provide a copy of your most recent annual report, if a public company or, if a non-public company, a copy of your most recent annual financial condition A description of the qualifications, experience, capability and/or capacity of the Offeror to successfully provide the broadband service and complete this project in a timely manner A description of the qualifications of the members of the proposed project team that will be assigned to this project Information on current broadband clients including the total number of current broadband clients A list of broadband service provided to similar organizations Evidence of successful completion of a project of similar size and complexity Contact information for references for three projects similar in size, application and scope, and a brief description of their broadband installations Evidence of Offeror s financial bonding status The Offeror will be required to provide to AHCC a performance bond for the full amount of the contract within 10 days of the notification of acceptance of the Offeror s bid by the responsible AHCC entity. No contract will be executed without a performance bond in place. The AHCC consortium will be the designated Owner of the performance bond. G. Budgeting and Pricing Offerors shall provide a detailed breakdown and summary of costs to provide broadband (private Intranet) and public Internet as described in this RFP. This breakdown shall be organized: 1. By the legal entity, at two levels a. For 16 sites within the AHCC b. For each of the groups that make up the AHCC 2. By services and equipment provided a. For installation/non-recurring charges i. Carrier infrastructure upgrades ii. HCP purchased equipment necessary to implement the requested network b. For monthly recurring charges i. Service delivery of private broadband Intranet ii. Service delivery of public Internet access iii. Maintenance service charges

17 3. Legal agreements shall be provided supporting delivery of all equipment and all services a. Equipment purchase including product description (data sheets) b. Monthly services for both broadband (private Intranet) and public Internet access c. Service Level Agreement Offerors shall provide pricing options for all types of equipment and services so that AHCC members may select line capacity and pricing that best fits their individual site circumstances. These prices shall be separated into recurring and non-recurring charges equipment and services maintenance service charges In addition, the following points apply to Offeror s RFP response: 1. AHCC will accept only complete solutions for equipment and services, for example, an Offeror responding to the need for routers/firewalls will provide a complete solution, including expected life cycle mandated upgrades to equipment and software, and ongoing maintenance service of the complete product. 2. Pricing provided shall be for a term of 5 years for all recurring costs and, a favored nation clause will be included in the Offeror s terms provided with submitted proposal. a. Each AHCC site will select an offered price/rate of speed for services for broadband/private Intranet (for example, 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps) for a period of time in the initial contract. At the end of the initial contract each site shall have the right to reduce or increase bandwidth as needed in a new contract. 3. AHCC will reject any and all offers that may violate the rules and regulations of the Healthcare Connect Fund. 4. For those Offerors using sub-contractors, the Offeror will assume responsibility for all work and will be the primary contact for all services provided by the Offeror. 5. AHCC will provide a Payment Schedule and Terms that link payments to deliverables. H. Vendor Selection Process 1. Basis of Award Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of completeness of response and number of Quality Points earned, using Bid Evaluation Criteria in Phase II (below). AHCC leadership will choose a short list of responsive Offerors and then review, evaluate and score each proposal. This process will be broken down into three phases.

18 2. Phase I Offeror Qualification Assessment To be considered responsive and to continue in the scoring process, the Offeror must: a. Provide all required documentation by the requested due date. b. Provide a proposal that is complete and complies with the instructions and requirements stated in the RFP. 3. Phase II Quality Points Offerors who satisfactorily meet the Phase I criteria will then have their submitted proposals further qualified by the detailed scoring process. In this Phase, the Offeror s response will undergo intensive evaluation. The following criteria will be utilized to select a short list of finalists. a. Cost (25%): AHCC will review each Offeror s detailed breakdown and summary of costs. An award will be based primarily, but not solely on the lowest cost. b. Prior Experience of Service Provider (25%): Qualifications, experience, capability and/or capacity of the Offeror to successfully provide the managed switch/firewall broadband Intranet and public Internet service. c. Technical Support (20%: Breath and depth of technical support and related costs. d. Project Management Capabilities & Timelines (15%): Detailed Project Management Plan for implementing the managed switch/firewall broadband Intranet and public Internet service. Qualifications of the members of the proposed project team that will be assigned to the project implementation. e. Leverage Resources (15%): How do the Offeror s proposed equipment and services improve the functioning of the currently installed equipment and services providing the existing managed switch/firewall broadband Intranet and public Internet service. Each Offeror will receive a total point score known as Quality Points, which will be assigned as follows. Criteria Percentage Cost 25 Prior Experience of Service Provider 25 Technical Support 20 Management Capabilities 15 Leveraged Resources 15 Total 100

19 4. Phase III At the sole discretion of AHCC, a finalist Offeror may be directly selected from the group of semi-finalists, based upon Quality Point score. Alternatively, AHCC may elect to schedule Offeror oral presentations. Semi-finalists will be required to submit best and final pricing (BAFO) prior to oral presentations. At the end of Phase III, a finalist Offeror will be selected, based on the highest Quality Point Score. 5. FCC Order and Offeror Selection Special Note Pursuant to section of the FCC Commission s rules, AHCC must participate in a competitive bidding process and follow any additional state, local or other procurement requirements to select the most cost-effective provider of services eligible for Universal Service Administrative Company s support under the Healthcare Connect Fund support mechanism.