Sec. 54.603  Competitive bidding.

    (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 requests for service. (1) Health care providers 
seeking to receive telecommunications services eligible for universal 
service support under this subpart shall submit a description of the 
services requested. Requests shall be signed by the person authorized to 
order telecommunications services for the health care provider and shall 
include 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 Sec. 54.601(a);
    (ii) The requester is physically located in a rural area, unless the 
health care provider is requesting services provided under Sec. 54.621;
    (iii) If the health care provider is requesting services provided 
under Sec. 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 Corporation shall post each request for 
eligible services that it receives from an eligible health care provider 
on the corporation's website designated for this purpose.
    (3) After posting a description of services from a health care 
provider on the website, the Rural Health Care Corporation shall send 
confirmation of the

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posting to the entity requesting services. That health care provider 
shall then wait at least 28 days from the date on which its description 
of services 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 Corporation 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 Rural Health Care Corporation paper copies 
of the responses or bids received in response to the requested services.
    (5) The confirmation from the Rural Health Care Corporation 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]