Internet services

Tender description

Jisc Services Limited (JSL) ran a procurement for a global Internet transit service. To extend the reach of facilities provided to its users, JSL has established access from Janet to the global Internet. JSL has implemented this by a fourfold approach: 1) peering with commercial Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the UK; 2) establishing interconnectivity to networks operated by similar national research and education organisations in other European countries and around the world via GÉANT; 3) procuring transit in London through 2 ISPs to the global Internet; and 4) procuring transit in Manchester through one ISP to the global Internet. It is one of the suppliers for the third part of the provision which JSL is seeking to replace through this procurement. Janet currently interconnects and provides wide-area network services to all Higher Education Institutions, Further Education Colleges and Research Council establishments in the UK. Connections are also provided to other organisations, including those in both the public and commercial sectors, which work in collaboration with these bodies in the areas of education, training or research. In addition, Janet provides wide-area backbone and associated national services to Regional Broadband Consortia and to a number of Local Authorities in England, particularly in the context of the schools’ National Education Network. Similar services are currently provided to SWAN in Scotland for the Scottish schools. Janet provides services as well to the PSBA Network in Wales and the Classroom 2000 network in Northern Ireland. Janet services are also provided to a number of Local Authorities, Local Education Authorities and Unitary Authorities to serve the needs of personal and community development education, and for other activities of the Authorities which are of benefit to the public, primarily but not exclusively in the context of education and training. Janet is available to a community of around 18 000 000 users. The Janet Eligibility Policy defines the conditions under which any organisation is eligible for Janet services. The present Eligibility Policy is available at: https://community.jisc.ac.uk/library/janet-policies/eligibility-policy The global Internet transit service to be procured will serve the needs of all classes of organisation and activity described in this policy, and with the potential to serve other classes of public-sector organisation or activity that may be identified as a result of local, central or devolved government initiatives during the lifetime of the resulting contract. Due to these developments Jisc has created a trading subsidiary, Jisc Commercial Limited, through which it will provide some part of its services and also to assist in the management of the regulatory implications of the increasing amounts of private funding expected to supplement the public funding provided to support Janet. This trading subsidiary, and any other similar vehicle Jisc may create during the lifetime of the agreement resulting from this procurement, will also use Janet services to carry out its mission.