E-rate FY26 STC Fiber Optic Cable Replacement

Harris County School District is requesting proposals from qualified vendors the replacement of eight (8) OM1 fiber optic cable runs at the Harris County High School Science & Technology Center (STC). This project includes the furnishing of all materials, labor, pathways, and certification testing required to integrate these runs into the existing district network. The District is open to all proposals from vendors that meet the District's needs and qualifications based on the information outlined in this Request for Proposal (RFP). 

Bidders will be given the opportunity to survey the site. Vendors must sign the official attendance sheet. This walkthrough serves as the only opportunity to inspect pathways, rack space, and specific cable routes. No consideration will be given for the vendor's lack of information, and the site survey is designed to make sure that all potential bidders are creating designs based on the same survey. Bids from service providers who do not attend the site survey will be disqualified without consideration. The survey will be held on March 13, 2026 at 9:30 Eastern. All Bidders are to report to the Harris County High School Science & Technology Center, 11696 US Hwy 27, Hamilton, GA 31811.

E-RATE FY26 STC Fiber Optic Cable Replacement RFP

TIMELINE AND KEY MILESTONES
February 26, 2026: RFP issued
February 13, 2026: Mandatory site survey (9:30 Eastern)
March 20, 2026: Deadline for questions regarding bid specifications (4:00 Eastern)
March 26, 2026: Proposal deadline (noon)

 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Is your current - Cabling (qty: 3,110) contract expiring June 30, or are you looking to add capacity on top of what you have?
No contract exists on our cable. This project is to replace existing OM1 fiber optic cable.

Any issues with your current provider (uptime, support response time, billing) that you'd want us to prioritize when evaluating alternatives?
There is no provider as such for our existing OM1 fiber optic cable. It was installed some years ago and it is part of our network infrastructure.

Since posting the 470, has anything changed? New buildings, enrollment shifts, or additional sites we should include?
Nothing substantial has changed since we posted the Form 470.

With your 70% discount, your co-pay share falls on your local budget. Do you have that allocated, or is cost-neutrality a hard requirement?
The District's portion of the costs have been included in our FY27 technology budget draft.

Are you the primary evaluator on this, or is there a committee or board approval step I should plan around?
Jonathan Smith, the Director of Technology, will be the primary evaluator of the bids, subject to final approval by the Harris County School District Superintendent and Board of Education.

Please send us an updated planholders/bidders list so we can update our database with the most current information available.
We do not have a bidders list; any vendor is eligible to bid who agrees to participate in the E-rate Program and to cooperate fully and in all respects with the District, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), and any agency or organization administering the E-rate Program. Vendors shall have, at a minimum, a working knowledge of the federal Universal Service Support Mechanism for Schools and Libraries (commonly known as “E-rate”). Vendor shall submit with its proposal a valid Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) and a valid Federal Communications Commission Registration Number.

Please let us know if there are any changes to the bid date.
There have been no changes to the bid date,  and there will be no changes to any of the dates in the RFP.

Please provide a construction cost estimate or budget range if available.
We do not have an estimate available for disclosure. As this project is partially funded through the E-rate program, we are looking for competitive proposals that offer the most cost-effective solution meeting our technical requirements. We are relying on our prospective vendors to determine the necessary scope and pricing based on the specifications provided in the RFP and their findings from the mandatory site survey.