Wan and Internet

DeSoto Parish School District in Louisiana is requesting proposals for wide area network connectivity and internet access serving 13 eligible entities, with proposals due November 4, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CST and a mandatory pre-bid meeting on October 1, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the DeSoto Parish School Board office in Mansfield.

The scope covers leased lit and dark fiber proposals capable of delivering up to 100 Gbps fiber connectivity, with vendors able to propose managed or unmanaged solutions for 20, 40, and 100 Gbps lit fiber circuits or dark fiber (two strands per site) with resilient options. The District also requests pricing for 10 Gbps and 20 Gbps of Internet Access with a /27 IP block at each data center. The data center is located at the DeSoto Parish School Board Central Office, and all services currently terminate at this location. A single vendor must provide both WAN and Internet services. The incumbent carrier is Uniti, currently providing a point-to-point 10 Gbps fiber WAN connecting 13 sites with shared 10 Gbps Internet Access.

The District seeks a multi-year contract with two 2-year extensions, with services effective July 1, 2027, and targeting full operational status by that date. The District's E-Rate discount is 90% for 2026-2027 with no anticipated change for 2027-2028; the successful vendor must participate in the E-Rate program and file the Annual Service Provider Certification (SPAC).

Evaluation criteria weighted are cost of eligible products and services (30 points), design and technical bid submittal (20 points), technical support office and technicians within 100 miles (10 points), service provider ownership of facilities between each site (20 points), and references and experience (20 points). Questions are due October 20, 2026, submitted via email to Todd.Wedgeworth@desotopsb.com. Proposals may be submitted via certified mail, UPS, FedEx, hand delivery, or the BidNet Direct online portal. The District reserves the right to reject all proposals and conduct Best and Final Offer negotiations.