32701-04678.pdf

This is Amendment #1 to Request for Proposals #32701-04678 issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for a Wireless-as-a-Service provider to deploy comprehensive wireless connectivity across eleven Tennessee State Parks (Fall Creek Falls, Chickasaw, Cumberland Mountain, Harrison Bay, Henry Horton, Montgomery Bell, Panther Creek, Roan Mountain, Tims Ford, Rock Island, and Cedars of Lebanon). The procurement requires delivery of end-to-end network services including site surveys, network design, equipment installation, network management dashboards, 24/7 technical support, and guest internet access. The amendment updates the RFP schedule with revised event dates: the pre-response conference is scheduled for October 28, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. (Central Time), the technical response deadline is February 3, 2026, mandatory site visits are scheduled for March 17, 2026, and the cost proposal submission deadline is March 31, 2026. State opening and scoring of cost proposals will occur on April 1, 2026, with optional negotiations scheduled for April 6-8, 2026. The state will release notice of intent to award on April 9, 2026, followed by a protest period ending April 16, 2026. Contractors must sign the contract by April 24, 2026, and submit performance bonds by April 30, 2026. The initial contract term is sixty months with two optional thirty-month renewal periods, not to exceed one hundred twenty months total.

Evaluation of proposals will be based on general qualifications (10 points), technical qualifications and approach (60 points), and cost proposal (30 points), with only the top three technically-scored respondents invited to submit cost proposals. Respondents must hold valid Tennessee Electrician and Contractor licenses and maintain specified insurance coverage. The RFP welcomes proposals from minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and small business enterprises. The contract includes a maximum liability cap of $10 million with a required performance bond of $5 million, structured as either a comprehensive bond or annual renewals. Pricing must accommodate seasonal rate adjustments and per-site or per-facility expansion capabilities, submitted as a complete, all-inclusive proposal covering equipment installation, maintenance, network upgrades, user support, and management services. Network equipment must include Wi-Fi 7 technology with downward compatibility. Vendors must demonstrate robust business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities with 120-hour Recovery Point Objectives and 48-hour Recovery Time Objectives, along with comprehensive IT security standards including SOC 2 Type 2 annual compliance audits, annual penetration testing, and $10 million in cyber liability insurance.