On-Call Fiber Optic Infrastructure Services (Construction, Maintenance & Repair)

The City of Santa Monica is issuing an Invitation to Bid for on-call fiber optic infrastructure services including construction, maintenance, and repair, managed by the Community Broadband Division to support municipal fiber network expansion and enhancement across public and private locations throughout Santa Monica. The scope of work encompasses four primary service categories: underground utility construction (excavation, trenching, conduit installation, pull boxes, vaults, and pavement restoration); fiber optic cable installation and splicing (fusion splicing, termination, and testing to industry standards); building cabling (coring, firestopping, conduit installation, and patch panel setup); and small cell equipment installation (radio and antenna mounting, power and fiber drops, and equipment testing). The selected contractor must be a qualified telecommunications construction contractor capable of delivering high-quality work on an as-needed basis throughout a five-year contract term, with responsiveness to short-notice and after-hours service needs. Required qualifications include minimum California contractor licenses (Class A General Engineering and Class C-10 Electrical), registration with the California Department of Industrial Relations, prevailing wage compliance, and specified insurance coverage including Commercial General Liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, Automobile Liability of at least $1,000,000 per accident, Workers' Compensation with statutory limits, and Pollution Liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. Evaluation criteria include price, quality, contractor capacity and skill, financial resources, character and experience, and ability to provide future maintenance. Bidders must submit unit pricing for all service categories and fully burdened hourly labor rates through the City's online vendor portal, with pricing firm for 90 days from bid opening. The bid was posted February 26, 2026, with a vendor questions deadline of March 11, 2026, and a bid submission deadline of March 26, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

There are no identified set-aside designations or disadvantaged enterprise restrictions specified in the procurement documents. The selected contractor must obtain and maintain all required business licenses and permits prior to commencing work and is responsible for full indemnification and defense of the City against claims arising from service performance. The contractor must maintain comprehensive records for three years post-completion and allow City audit rights, with potential cost reimbursement required if audits disclose errors of 5 percent or more. All work product becomes exclusive City property. The City retains the right to terminate the agreement without cause upon ten days' written notice or for default with five days to cure. No specific award value or budget range has been disclosed in the available documents; compensation will be structured as a not-to-exceed amount specified in the contract budget exhibit, with invoicing based on work completion and City payment of undisputed amounts within 30 days of receipt. Prevailing wage requirements apply under California Labor Code sections 1770 et seq., and only the successful bidder will be required to submit a payment bond.