About
OurTech Co-op is a member-supported cooperative that builds, owns and controls access to Internet infrastructure and data center facilities. For our members, OurTech Co-op manages best value competitions and returns the collective value of its operations back to the membership. Our cooperative approach to digital transformation encourages competition and innovation in favor of underserved communities.
Provisions
OurTech Co-op provides its members with information technology services, hardware and software. OurTech's Sustainable Broadband Infrastructure Plan ensures that three or more providers compete for members' technology needs. Members are provided with network infrastructure, connectivity, telephone, data center, and operational software through negotiated cooperative purchasing models.
Operations
Antitrust
OurTech Co-op provides antitrust features as an integral part of its benefits to members. Principally, we do this by ensuring that three or more providers compete for each member's technology needs. OurTech leverages public broadband investment dollars to ensure that the network infrastructure implemented will allow three broadband providers at each of the user properties. By carrying out this multi-vendor approach to member's technology needs, OurTech Co-op ensures best value service deliverables.
Underserved
OurTech Co-op leverages public and private investment dollars to ensure that multiple providers are available to communities. This built-in antitrust feature ensures that the area will attract competitive and innovation attention from providers for generations to come. OurTech's Sustainable Broadband Infrastructure Plan will ensure that communities are a force for technology competition and innovation.
Underutilized
OurTech Co-op's Sustainable Broadband Infrastructure Plan at its core includes Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) objectives, and each provider must make measurable efforts to include these under-utilized companies in their solutions to the cooperative. To ensure that providers meet this expectation, OurTech sets general goals and mandatory goals based on the availability of contractors, and provides meaningful scoring preferences for solutions that meet purchasing expectations. OurTech’s value puts the human-centered design of the technology industry at the forefront of its offerings by being more inclusive of historically, underserved communities everywhere.
