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 for Tennessee State Parks. The RFP seeks a vendor to deliver comprehensive wireless connectivity across eleven state parks, including site surveys, network design, equipment installation, network management dashboards, 24/7 technical support, and guest internet access. The procurement follows a multi-phase evaluation process with key dates including a pre-response conference on October 28, 2025; a written questions and comments deadline of November 4, 2025, with a state response by December 12, 2025; a second round of written questions deadline of December 19, 2025, with state response by January 13, 2026; a technical response deadline of February 3, 2026; state completion of technical evaluations by March 3, 2026; scheduled site visits on March 17, 2026; a cost proposal submission deadline of March 31, 2026; cost proposal opening and scoring on April 1, 2026; optional negotiations scheduled for April 6-8, 2026; notice of intent to award on April 9, 2026; end of protest period on April 16, 2026; contract transmission on April 20, 2026; contractor signature deadline of April 24, 2026; and performance bond deadline of April 30, 2026. The contract will have an initial 60-month term with two optional 30-month renewal periods, not to exceed 120 months total.

Evaluation criteria 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 advancing to the cost proposal phase. Respondents must hold valid Tennessee Electrician and Contractor licenses and maintain specified insurance coverage, including a $10 million cyber liability insurance requirement. A performance bond of $5 million is required, structured either as a comprehensive bond or annual renewals. The RFP welcomes responses from minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and small business enterprises. Vendors must demonstrate robust business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities with 120-hour Recovery Point Objectives and 48-hour Recovery Time Objectives, along with SOC 2 Type 2 annual compliance audits and annual penetration testing. All pricing must be submitted as a complete, all-inclusive proposal covering equipment installation, maintenance, network upgrades, user support, and management services, with accommodation for seasonal rate adjustments and per-site or per-facility expansion capabilities.