Amendment No. 3 to RFP #32701-04678: Wireless-as-a-Service Provider for Tennessee State Parks

This document is Amendment No. 3 to a Request for Proposals issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation seeking a Wireless-as-a-Service (WaaS) provider to deliver comprehensive wireless connectivity across eleven Tennessee state parks. The amendment updates the RFP schedule of events with confirmed dates for all procurement milestones. Key procedural dates include a pre-response conference on October 28, 2025; a Notice of Intent to Respond deadline of October 29, 2025; written questions and comments deadlines on November 4, 2025 and January 23, 2026; a technical response deadline of February 25, 2026; mandatory site visits on March 27, 2026; and a cost proposal submission deadline of March 31, 2026. The state will complete technical evaluations by March 17, 2026, schedule state visits with qualified respondents by March 20, 2026, and open and score cost proposals on April 1, 2026. Optional negotiations are scheduled for April 6-8, 2026, with a Notice of Intent to Award released on April 9, 2026. The protest period concludes on April 16, 2026, and the contractor signature deadline is April 24, 2026, with a performance bond deadline of April 30, 2026. The initial contract term is 60 months beginning April 24, 2026, with two optional 30-month renewal periods, not exceeding 120 months total.

The scope of work includes site surveys, network design, equipment installation (including Wi-Fi 7 technology with downward compatibility), network management dashboards, 24/7 technical support, guest internet access, and ongoing network monitoring, management, upgrades, user and device management, security services, analytics, and training. All fiber and power installation, trenching, pole placement, permitting, and utility coordination are vendor responsibilities. The procurement welcomes responses from minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and small business enterprises. Respondents must hold valid Tennessee Electrician and Contractor licenses, maintain specified insurance coverage, demonstrate SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and provide annual penetration testing and $10 million in cyber liability insurance. The evaluation criteria allocate 10 points for general qualifications, 60 points for technical qualifications and approach, and 30 points for cost, with only the top three technically-scored respondents advancing to cost proposal submission. The maximum liability cap is $10 million, with a required $5 million performance bond. All proposals must be submitted digitally to Kyle Villagomez at the Central Procurement Office in Nashville.