KCNA - Wholesale Services Re-Bid

The Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA), through the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Finance and Administration Cabinet, is conducting a re-bid for wholesale telecommunications infrastructure services (RFP 758 2600000280) covering Elliott County. The procurement solicits a vendor to lease dark fiber and/or lit fiber services to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on an open-access, non-discriminatory basis to expand broadband access throughout Kentucky, utilizing the existing KentuckyWired middle-mile fiber optic network infrastructure. The selected vendor must offer non-recurring construction or initialization fees and monthly maintenance charges structured as a percentage of gross revenue for dark fiber and lit fiber services separately, with the vendor assuming full responsibility for construction and maintenance of all fiber optic lines and equipment installed. Proposals will be evaluated on a technical proposal worth up to 1,700 points (covering executive summary, company background, technical approach, implementation plan, timeline, and project management) plus a cost proposal worth 1,000 points based on proposed revenue percentages, with the top three vendors potentially invited for oral presentations worth up to 500 additional points. Vendors' initial written questions are due by March 16, 2026, with Commonwealth responses provided by March 23, 2026, followed by a second question round due April 6, 2026, with responses by April 10, 2026; all proposals must be submitted electronically by April 24, 2026, at 3:30 PM ET. The selected vendor must demonstrate experience in middle-mile network commercialization, dark fiber Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRUs), and lit fiber service delivery, and must comply with all mandatory requirements including reliance on KWOC for network service provision and adherence to defined Service Level Agreements with progressive penalty deductions for performance failures.

Bidders must complete and submit notarized affidavits certifying compliance with Kentucky campaign finance laws, resident bidder status (requiring Kentucky corporate income tax filings, unemployment insurance fund payments, and workers' compensation coverage), and qualified bidder status where applicable; the Commonwealth may disqualify non-compliant bidders. Set-aside designations apply for qualified nonprofit corporations furthering Kentucky Chapter 163 purposes or qualified nonprofit agencies for individuals with severe disabilities that employ such individuals for at least seventy-five percent of direct labor man-hours. There are no incumbent vendors or current contractors identified in the solicitation documents; the contract represents a new wholesale services arrangement leveraging the existing KentuckyWired fiber optic network infrastructure, for which vendors must obtain the KentuckyWired Network Map (Attachment H) to assess infrastructure scope and service delivery points. The contract will have an initial ten-year term with two optional five-year renewal periods available upon mutual agreement, and pricing must remain firm for the first twelve months with any subsequent increases requiring industry-wide justification and thirty days' notice. Vendors must carry minimum general liability insurance of $1,000,000 and comply with personal information security requirements under Kentucky's Personal Information Security and Breach Investigation Procedures and Practices Act. The specific award value is not disclosed in the solicitation documents, as compensation is structured on a revenue-sharing percentage basis rather than fixed fee amounts.