RFP Invitation, Internet Access, Category 1

Location:	Idaho
Posted:	Jan 20, 2026
Due:	Feb 12, 2026
Agency:	Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2026 RFP-Category 1 Services-PCSD25

DIA (Direct Internet Access)

E-Rate funding year 2026-2027, 470 Form # 260013216

Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25

3115 Pole Line Road

Pocatello ID, 83201

Key Dates

Form 470 and RFP posted:

Site Tour: January 30, 2026, 10:00 AM

Bids due: February 12, 2026, 3:00 PM

Sealed Bid opening: February 12, 2026, 3:00 PM

Contract Awarded By: March 17, 2026

Questions

All Question from vendors Deadline: February 3, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.

Questions and responses will be posted to the following link as they are received.

Link to document

Site Visit

A site visit is encouraged. This visit is intended for interested providers to get a better understanding

of the demarcation point for consideration in their bids. A site tour for all parties is scheduled on

January 30, 2026, at 10:00 AM, at the Education Center located at 3115 Pole Line Road, Pocatello,

Idaho, and may contact Kevin Chatfield (chatfike@sd25.us) to schedule an alternative time.

Bids

Bids should be submitted to Kevin Chatfield, Technology Coordinator, Pocatello/Chubbuck School

District No. 25 and be received by February 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM. Proposals will be publicly opened at

Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 on February 12, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at 3115 Pole line Road,

Pocatello, Idaho 83201. All interested persons are entitled to attend the opening.

Bid item numbers and descriptions should be included on all bids. Bids not meeting the minimum

requirements for the service or hardware requested will not be considered. Bids shall include a vendor

SPIN and shall include a provision to be signed and dated by both parties of the agreement. All bids shall

have a unique identifier for positive identification by either party. Bids can be withdrawn up to the

opening date, but shall be binding after opening date.

Sealed bids, clearly marked, must be submitted via mail or in person:

Attn: Kevin Chatfield, RE: 2026 RFP-Category 1 Services-PCSD25

Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25

3115 Pole Line Road

Pocatello, Idaho 83201

Description

Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 is requesting proposals for Fiber DIA (Direct Internet

Access) services or equivalent technologies to our schools. The goal of this project will be to improve

connection quality and bandwidth availability at all Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25

schools and to provide a network infrastructure that will meet current FCC bandwidth

recommendations and provide scalability for future needs.

The awarded service provider must be a participating E-Rate service provider, maintain a valid SPIN,

and respond directly, as needed, to provide information as requested for any funding application

review questions that might arise during the E-Rate and state review processes.

It is the intention of Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 to award a contract of either three (3)

year or five (5) year terms (providers should provide pricing for each), with the option to renew the

term for either one (1), three (3), or five (5) year increments. The contract will commence on July 1,

2026 or upon completion of the installation (whichever is later). Any existing term will end by June 30th

of the final applicable year in order to coincide with E-Rate funding years and state fiscal years.

Renewal terms may be considered for 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years, limited to a maximum possible

contract term of 15 years (after all renewals are exhausted). Please note the beginning service date is

dependent on E-Rate funding approval and other funding considerations as well as the construction

considerations of a project of this scope.

Any contract derived from this RFP will be entirely contingent upon full funding from the Universal

Service Program for Schools and Libraries (E-Rate), and if applicable Broadband Infrastructure

improvement Grant (B.I.I.G). funding through the State of Idaho, and preapproval of estimated

remaining 10%, by Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25. Any proposal derived from this RFP may

or may not be undertaken at the sole discretion of Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25. In the

event of funding sources terminating, whereby this agreement would be funded presently and, in the

future, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 reserves the right to terminate any agreement

resulting from this RFP without penalty.

In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the RFP and those of

the winning vendor’s proposal, the terms and conditions of the RFP shall control and supersede those

of the proposal.

Proposal terms shall remain in effect for one (1) year from the date of bid opening.

Proposal Requirements

1. It is the provider’s responsibility to be familiar with the E-Rate rules and regulations

and proposals shall be in compliance with such rules.

2. The circuit should be a fiber optic circuit or equivalent from the vendor switch in the District

MDF rack all the way back to the ISP, and be resilient against extreme weather such as

snowstorms and smoke storms.

1. The Class of Service (CoS) must be the highest real-time priority available and

have up and down synchronous speed. The contracted bandwidth speed may not

be throttled or reduced by the provider.

3. It will be the sole responsibility of the provider to maintain all hardware between vendor’s

central office or hub to Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 up to the point of

handoff.

4. Point of handoff will be in District provided racks located in Education center located

at:

3115 Pole line Rd, Pocatello, Idaho.

5. Minimum of 5 public IP addresses.

1. The existing infrastructure supports SFP, SFP+, and CAT6A.

6. 24x7x365 monitoring, troubleshooting, and support of WAN services.

1. Notification of system maintenance and service outage.

7. District access to web-based bandwidth performance and utilization reports. Idaho

schools that participate in the Broadband Reimbursement Program are expected to

make utilization data available in order to be eligible for available state funding.

8. Eligible special construction costs (as defined by the E-rate program), recurring costs, E-rate

eligible non-recurring costs, and E-Rate ineligible costs shall be clearly defined in any

proposal.

9. The implementation of any associated contracts resulting from this competitive bid process

will be dependent on the School District’s issuance of a written Notice to Proceed. E-Rate

funding notification alone will not signify Notice to Proceed and filing and certification of an

E-Rate Form 486. Pocatello/Chubbuck School District No. 25 reserves the right to allow the

contract to expire without implementation if appropriate funding does not come available.

10. The service provider shall provide information requested from USAC’s PIA review team via

email or call or as requested from any PIA request in a timely manner. Service provider will

give point of contact person for PIA and include a secondary person if the primary contact is

on vacation. It is the service provider best interest to answer all questions that might arise

during the E-Rate review process

11. Any changes in the routing of a potential fiber cable due to any entity holding access restrictions

to cabling pathways or routes, infrastructure changes, including, but not exclusively, pole

relocation and/or road widening, or other changes impacting the routing of cabling between

sites, will be the sole responsibility of the service provider and no expense to the school. Such

changes are expected to be handled in an expedient manner that minimizes any negative

impact on the school.

12. The service provider is responsible for obtaining all necessary rights-of-way essential to

this project.

13. All potential fiber repairs or maintenance of technology will be the sole responsibility of the

provider.

14. The proposal must include a description of the following services and how these services

will be measured:

1. Fiber Network Availability: The provider will make reasonable efforts to

ensure 99.999% network availability of each circuit.

2. Frame/packet loss commitment.

3. Network latency commitment.

4. Network Jitter Commitment.

15. It is understood that mission critical functions of PCSD25 are carried out over the

connectivity provided. The provider must notify the school in the event of a known

connectivity failure, and repairs to restore functionality must be undertaken within a

reasonable time and manner. Reasonable time and manner shall be defined according to

industry standards for the repair required.

16. Scheduled repairs must be coordinated with the school.

17. Circuits should be tested to be capable of speeds of 25 Gbps (future use). The service

provider needs to include a report of the tested bandwidth from 10 Gbps to 25 Gbps and

give the dBm levels in the report. The report must show dBm levels threshold on equipment

specifications to run on and acceptable levels required to pass 25Gb with the equipment. If

the dBm levels do not meet 25 Gb equipment requirements threshold, the service provider

is required to fix the issue at the service provider’s expense.

18. Vendors should include a description of circuit and a detailed description of the network

transmission mediums utilized from the school district to vendor.

Grounds for Bid Disqualification

1. Vendors do not respond to school questions within 7 calendar days or one business

week (whichever is longer).

2. Proposals incorrectly describe funding opportunities available to the school.

Evaluation

Bids shall be evaluated according to the rubric below. For each category, the maximum points of

each category will be awarded to the proposals that best respond to the category descriptions

below.

Evaluation Criteria

Cost of eligible recurring and non-recurring E-rate

products and services

Tech Support within 100-mile radius of handoff

Quality of technical proposal/Network Design

Adherence to RFP requirements

Site visit

Bandwidth reporting

References

Cost of ineligible E-rate products and services

Maximum

Points

• Cost of eligible recurring and non-recurring E-rate products and services: How much does

the product or service cost in comparison to that of other vendors over the length of the

contract?

• Tech Support within 100-mile radius: How quickly can a support person be on-site in case

of internet outage which requires repairs to or replacement of equipment or cable? Is the

NOC in- state, or in-region (PNW, MW).

• Quality of technical proposal: Can the technical proposal be deployed in a feasible way?

Identify the company’s plan for execution and provide technical details of the deal

including equipment that will be used at both end points.

• Adherence to RFP requirements: Vendor to provide all that was requested in the RFP.

• Quality of worksheet responses: Vendor answered all questions provided on the

worksheets attached and provided satisfactory answers.

• Bandwidth Reporting: Will the vendor be able to provide the link bandwidth specified in the

RFP?

• References: Vendor ability and accountability working with other schools, what are the

statistics for reliability? Is the vendor a startup company? Does the vendor have the

experience and resources available to meet continuing service requirements and maintain

the connection?

• Cost of ineligible E-rate products and services: Cost of ineligible services not covered by

E- rate products and services.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

RFP Invitation, Internet Access, Category 1

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