CALNET CONTRACTS MANDATORY USE POLICY - 4602

The following defines the general policy and provides clarifying information for usage of the CALNET Contracts.

Non-Exempt State Entities, Exempt State Entities, and Eligible Non-State Entities:

Non-Exempt State Entities:

• Are those under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch of California state government. 
• Are mandated to utilize the CALNET Contract’s Required Services to obtain Business Telecommunications Systems and Services, as described below, unless an exemption is granted as referenced in SAM 4605 Exemption.
• Must obtain permission from Office of Technology Services (OTech) to implement any telecommunications solutions not provided by CALNET Contracts. Refer to SAM 4603 General Telecommunications Delegation and State Telecommunications Management Manual, General Telecommunications Delegation chapter.

Exempt State Entities:

• Are departments, agencies, boards, commissions, colleges and universities, entities headed by constitutional officers or independently established entities outside the control of the Executive Branch.
• Are not mandated to utilize the CALNET Contract’s Required Services to obtain Business Telecommunications Systems and Services.
• May utilize the CALNET Contracts as needed. However, Exempt State Entities may otherwise be subject to other California Department of Technology (CDT) oversight and policies.

Eligible Non-State Entities:

• Are government entities including but not limited to local government entities, 100% tax supported governmental entities, governmental entities with a joint power’s agreement, and federally recognized Indian tribes.
• May procure Business Telecommunications Systems and Services from the CALNET Contracts.
• Must execute a Non-State Entity Service Policy and Agreement (NESPA) and an Authorization to Order (ATO) agreement to use the CALNET Contracts. Eligible Non-State Entities with a NESPA and an ATO agreement are not subject to any Required or Discretionary procurement restrictions imposed by the State.

Required and Discretionary Services

• Required Services are Business Telecommunications Systems and Services technologies/types/categories mandated for Non-Exempt State Entities. These services are specifically identified as Required Services in the CALNET service catalogs and/or statewide contract user instructions. Certain Required Services may need Non-Exempt State Entities to obtain a CALNET Contract Services Delegation from OTech. See SAM Chapter 4604 CALNET Contract Services Delegation.

Non-Exempt State Entities, under limited circumstances, may obtain a CALNET Exemption and a General Telecommunications Delegation to purchase alternative solutions outside of the CALNET Contracts when Required Services are not suitable for their business needs. See SAM Chapter 4603 General Telecommunications Delegation and SAM Chapter 4605 CALNET Exemption.

• Discretionary Services are those Business Telecommunications Systems and Services that are optional to purchase from the CALNET Contracts by any contract user. 

For additional information on Required and Discretionary Services, please refer to the State Telecommunications Management Manual (STMM) CALNET Required and Discretionary Services chapter.

For additional information on ordering, please refer to the STMM Ordering CALNET Services chapter.