HSCN Access Connectivity Services RfI

This General Engagement is being published to notify interested parties of the release of the forthcoming HSCN Access Services RfI.

The release of the RfI will take place on Monday, 31st October via the Delta e-Sourcing portal, under Access Code 7PMWNYAP57, and will be preceded by a presentation event to be held at the following time, date and location: Monday, 31 October 2016 from 13:00 to 16:00 (GMT) Institute of Directors 116 Pall Mall SW1Y 5ED London United Kingdom Those interested in attending the presentation may register their intention at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hscn-rfi-presentation-registration-28794896310 This RfI is the initial stage of the procurement process for the replacement of legacy N3 Access Services in order to fulfil the requirements of the HSCN Programme.

The inventory in scope comprises circa 35,000 services that incorporate 20,000 Ethernet and DSL services (comprised of circa 25,000 individual Access Circuits - many of the current Access services contain a Primary and Back-Up Access Circuit) and 15,000 overlay services (ranging from simple VPN tokens to complex Voice services).

Over the coming years the Programme seeks to offer potential suppliers the opportunity to compete to provide and migrate Access Services that, in aggregate, are estimated to be worth upwards of circa £40M per annum.

We are issuing the RfI to understand your ability and desire to compete for and migrate these services and identify the optimum geographic and service structures that will enable this.

In parallel and in support of the RfI, the Programme is working on a number of initiatives to maximise the opportunity available for competition, including: • Negotiating with the current N3 Service Provider to finalise a transitionary arrangement that will secure the ongoing provision of core, legacy network services on a ramp-down basis whilst also providing migration support to HSCN providers to enable a rapid introduction of new services; and • Engaging existing N3 Consumers to determine the services they require, the geographic groupings that are possible and the likely sourcing route they are likely to adopt in readiness for their participation in a series of Procurement ‘Waves’ that will enable HSCN services to be competed and migrated at pace.

It is anticipated that the resultant Procurement activities will commence during Q1, 2017.

Further details are set out in the RfI and we look forward to engaging with you on the HSCN journey.

If you have any questions about this notice please respond to the following email address clearly stating 'HSCN Access Services RfI' in the email header: hscnproc@nhs.net