Selecting a Carrier

Whether you go through a formal RFP and contract award process, use a small evaluation team, or decide it all yourself, you'll want to get as much detail from the vendor as you reasonably can.

To simplify the cost analysis, get vendors to submit pricing in a common form.

Download a cost worksheet form.

(Depending on how your browser is configured, the document may download automatically, or you may need to "Save" as "Source" the resulting screen of gibberish, and open in Excel.)

Your evaluation criteria is specific to your organization and its needs, but there is essential information that should be common to all vendor proposals:

• Network architecture. Get a topology description, with details of the network POPs, equipment used in the network, backbone lin k sizes and core technologies such as cell switching.

• Network operations center and support policies. Get details on technical support staff and after-hours support options as well.

• Billing and network utilization report descriptions. You can't manage a network that you can't see.

• Guarantees for availability and latency, particularly for time sensitive traffic.

• Expected times to provision new service and adjust existing link speeds.

• Available customer network management platforms. These may be an extra cost item. Some vendors offer customer probe-based data collection and reporting, which provide the best view of the network service.

• Equipment lease and purchase plans.

• Equipment installation and support services.

• Equipment sparing. How quickly can the carrier replace supported equipment when it fails? Ideally, new parts will be kept on site or within a few minutes of your location.

• Local exchange carrier coordination services. You'll have a lot of vendors to juggle if you build a large network on your own. Selecting a prime contractor for the network is a common practice.

• Get the carrier's definition of key terms and their network design implications. Despite frame relay's maturity there is occasional variation on, for example, the ability to burst to port speed.

• The carrier's policy on oversubscription of the access circuit and port.

Updated October 16, 1996

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