Campus Data Cabling Services

Texas Southmost College (TSC) in Cameron County is issuing a Request for Competitive Sealed Proposals (RFP 26-12) to procure comprehensive campus data cabling services for the installation of data, fiber optic, and voice cabling infrastructure across multiple TSC campus locations. The scope of work includes horizontal and backbone cabling, telecommunications closet and equipment cabling, equipment hardware, and routing and support infrastructure for both indoor and outdoor installations. Respondents must be current Panduit Certified Installers with service facilities within 120 miles of the project location, with at least 20 percent of copper technicians and 30 percent of fiber technicians holding current Panduit certifications, and must provide a 25-year Panduit Certification PLUS warranty on all copper and fiber permanent cabling links. Proposals will be evaluated on ten weighted criteria totaling 100 points, including pricing and delivery date (15 points), respondent qualifications and experience (15 points), ability to provide goods and services (15 points), past performance on comparable projects (15 points), ability to comply with delivery schedules (10 points), service support policy and customer satisfaction (10 points), HUB certification status (5 points), principal place of business in Texas and employee count (5 points), other relevant factors (5 points), and ability to provide timely professional services with corporate or branch offices within the TSC district (5 points). A non-mandatory pre-proposal conference is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the TSC Purchasing and Contract Services department in Brownsville, Texas, with virtual attendance available via Microsoft Teams. Proposals must be submitted by Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. local time in either print format to the Commissary Building or electronically through the Bonfire platform, with the proposal opening occurring at 3:00 p.m. on April 1, 2026. The initial contract term will run from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027, with options to renew for three additional one-year terms.

The RFP encourages responses from Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) certified vendors, awarding five points to HUB certification status as part of the evaluation criteria. TSC is exempt from state sales tax and federal excise tax, and contract pricing is structured based on labor and material costs per drop for various cable categories and types, with separate line items for fiber installation per foot and labor for equipment installations. No incumbent vendor or current contractor information is provided in the RFP documentation. The College reserves the right to award one or multiple proposals, reject any and all proposals, or abandon the project entirely. The contract may be cancelled by TSC without cause upon 60 days' written notice, or if the Board of Trustees does not appropriate funds in any fiscal year. The estimated contract award is anticipated for May 2026 or later, though specific contract values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the available documentation.