This Direction deals with procurement of telecommunications services by or for a government agency within the meaning of the Public Works and Procurement Act 1912.

When procuring telecommunications services with a total contract value exceeding $100,000 agencies must:

1. Buy through the Telecommunications Purchasing Arrangements (Contract 2210).

2. Cap the maximum term of contracts (including extension options) to:

   • three years for mobile and fixed voice services; or

   • four years for data and internet services in metropolitan areas, or

   • five years for data and internet services in all other areas.

3. Seek quotes from at least three providers for telecommunications services at contract expiry, unless purchasing the lowest price offer through Contract 2210

4. Include an analysis of the effect of proposals on overall competition within the marketplace with any assessment of proposals

5. Provide data related to telecommunications agreements to the Procurement and Technical Standards - Working Group (PTS-WG) upon request.

Agencies are also encouraged to consider separating telecommunications RFPs to encourage a more contestable supply market for example by location (such as metro or regional) or by service tower (such as voice, data and mobile).

Where agencies cannot fulfil the Requirements or, an automatic exemption is not applicable, an exemption must be requested from the PTS-WG. Automatic exemptions are developed by the PTS-WG and are approved by the NSW Government Chief Information and Digital Officer (“GCIDO”). Further information regarding this process, including the current listing of automatic exemptions is available on buy.nsw. The automatic exemptions may be modified or removed by agreement between the PTS-WG and the GCIDO.

Context

The Procurement Board has established the PTS-WG to ensure Government adopts a coordinated approach to telecommunications procurement. The PTS-WG is facilitated by the Department of Customer Service. Further information on the role of the PTS-WG, Requirements set out in this board direction and the Telecommunications Purchasing Arrangements (Contract 2210) is available on buy.nsw.

All correspondence regarding PTS-WG exemptions should be directed to the Department of Customer Service via email at [email protected].