NIGP 91581: Telegram/Telegraph Services

NIGP 91581 Telegram/Telegraph Services, an Item code, encompasses telecommunication services for message transmission that state and local governments procure for internal and external communications when standard telephony or email systems are unavailable or unsuitable. Historically, this code covered telegraph and telegram operators and point-to-point message relay; today it represents a narrow and largely obsolete procurement category as agencies have migrated to digital, internet-based, and mobile communication platforms. State and local issuing bodies soliciting under this code are primarily administrative departments and utilities that maintain legacy communication infrastructure or require backup systems in disaster-recovery scenarios or remote locations where conventional connectivity does not reach.

The source material provides no recent state and local contract opportunities posted under NIGP 91581. The absence of active solicitations reflects the code's minimal use in contemporary procurement — telegraph and telegram services have been displaced by email, text messaging, mobile phones, and cloud-based communication platforms. This code remains in the NIGP taxonomy for historical and jurisdictional completeness but registers negligible procurement activity across state agencies, county governments, municipalities, school districts, and transit authorities.