§  54.603   Competitive bid requirements.

   (a) Competitive bidding requirement. To select the telecommunications
   carriers that will provide services eligible for universal service
   support to it under this subpart, each eligible health care provider
   shall participate in a competitive bidding process pursuant to the
   requirements established in this subpart and any additional and
   applicable state, local, or other procurement requirements.

   (b) Posting of FCC Form 465 . (1) An eligible health care provider
   seeking to receive telecommunications services eligible for universal
   service support under this subpart shall submit a completed FCC Form
   465 to the Rural Health Care Division. FCC Form 465 shall be signed by
   the person authorized to order telecommunications services for the
   health care provider and shall include, at a minimum, that person's
   certification under oath that:

   (i) The requester is a public or non-profit entity that falls within
   one of the seven categories set forth in the definition of health care
   provider, listed in § 54.601(a);

   (ii) The requester is physically located in a rural area, unless the
   health care provider is requesting services provided under § 54.621;

   (iii) If the health care provider is requesting services provided under
   § 54.621, that the requester cannot obtain toll-free access to an
   Internet service provider;

   (iv) The requested service or services will be used solely for purposes
   reasonably related to the provision of health care services or
   instruction that the health care provider is legally authorized to
   provide under the law in the state in which such health care services
   or instruction are provided;

   (v) The requested service or services will not be sold, resold or
   transferred in consideration of money or any other thing of value; and

   (vi) If the service or services are being purchased as part of an
   aggregated purchase with other entities or individuals, the full
   details of any such arrangement, including the identities of all
   co-purchasers and the portion of the service or services being
   purchased by the health care provider.

   (2) The Rural Health Care Division shall post each FCC Form 465 that it
   receives from an eligible health care provider on its website
   designated for this purpose.

   (3) After posting an eligible health care providers FCC Form 465 on the
   Rural Health Care Corporation website, the Rural Health Care Division
   shall send confirmation of the posting to the entity requesting
   services. The health care provider shall wait at least 28 days from the
   date on which its FCC Form 465 is posted on the website before making
   commitments with the selected telecommunications carrier(s).

   (4) After selecting a telecommunications carrier, the health care
   provider shall certify to the Rural Health Care Division that the
   provider is selecting the most cost-effective method of providing the
   requested service or services, where the most cost-effective method of
   providing a service is defined as the method that costs the least after
   consideration of the features, quality of transmission, reliability,
   and other factors that the health care provider deems relevant to
   choosing a method of providing the required health care services. The
   health care provider shall submit to the Administrator paper copies of
   the responses or bids received in response to the requested services.

   (5) The confirmation from the Rural Health Care Division shall include
   the date after which the requester may sign a contract with its chosen
   telecommunications carrier(s).

   [ 62 FR 32948 , June 17, 1997, as amended at  62 FR 41304 , Aug. 1, 1997;
    63 FR 2131 , Jan. 13, 1998;  68 FR 74502 , Dec. 24, 2003]