Big Bend Telephone Company Inc.

Big Bend Telephone Company Inc., a for-profit telecommunications provider based in Alpine, Texas, operates as a federal prime contractor delivering long-distance connectivity, internet services, and rural broadband infrastructure to civilian agencies and law enforcement. The vendor competes in both small-business set-aside and full-and-open procurements, with recent activity split between Total Small Business set-aside purchase orders (primarily with the Drug Enforcement Administration) and unrestricted competitive awards with the International Boundary and Water Commission and the Department of Agriculture.

The vendor's federal footprint centers on two distinct capability streams: recurring low-dollar telecommunications purchase orders for law enforcement and border operations, and substantial rural broadband infrastructure grants. On the contract side, Big Bend holds a Basic Ordering Agreement under GSA Schedule GS07B15032 (45 task orders, $57 thousand combined potential value) and delivers recurring annual purchase orders for data transmission services in support of the DEA's Law Enforcement Radio Program, ARO/Internet services, and long-distance phone line support. Representative contract work includes a $3,178.80 Total Small Business purchase order from DEA awarded October 1, 2026, for ARO/Internet services (October 2026 through September 2027); a $2,664.80 unrestricted competitive purchase order from DEA awarded August 1, 2026, for telephone service line support in Alpine, Texas; and a $3,976.68 purchase order from the International Boundary and Water Commission awarded July 1, 2026, for long-distance telecom services in El Paso, Texas. On the grant side, the vendor is a recipient of two significant Rural Utilities Service awards: a $25 million Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program Project Grant (CFDA 10.752) awarded August 8, 2023, for broadband infrastructure deployment through August 2025, and a $24.018 million Distance Learning and Telemedicine Loans and Grants Program award (CFDA 10.855) granted September 2, 2022, supporting telemedicine and distance learning service delivery through rural telecommunications through September 2024.

Customer concentration is extreme. The Drug Enforcement Administration accounts for 21 of the 77 prime awards in the source portfolio (36% of award count), with the International Boundary and Water Commission placing 3 awards and the Rural Utilities Service and National Park Service accounting for the remainder. The combined obligated value across all federal awards to date stands at $49.2 million, driven almost entirely by the two Rural Utilities Service grants; contract purchase orders range from roughly $2,000 to $4,500 annually and are renewable on a fiscal-year cycle. Three awards carrying combined potential value of $10 thousand face recompete within the next twenty-four months. The vendor holds no subcontract awards and operates exclusively as a prime across both contract and grant portfolios.