Texas Border Business
Austin, Texas – The Region 4 Education Service Center (ESC) has extended the deadline for RFPs on behalf of the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Connect Texas Program. The deadline has moved to Tuesday, May 18 to allow an additional two weeks for Internet Service Providers to submit their proposals for the project.
“We are excited to see this proactive and forward-thinking initiative,” said Jennifer Harris, State Program Director, Connected Nation Texas (CN Texas), when the RFP was first announced. “This is an unprecedented effort to do a bulk purchase of broadband subscriptions on a massive, statewide scale. For that reason alone, this program could be a game-changer for Texas students.”
The TEA Connect Texas Program is specific to Texas K-12 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and will include internet service as well as equipment needed to offer fixed broadband internet to “economically disadvantaged kindergarten through 12th grade households in Texas.” That includes offering bandwidth of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload which is the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) definition of high-speed internet, also called broadband.
Internet Service Providers that would like to respond to the RFP have until Tuesday, May 18 to do so. Interested parties should go to the following webpage to request a copy of the RFP: https://public.omniapartners.com/solicitations
“All of us at Connected Nation Texas would encourage Internet Service Providers to review and respond to this RFP,” said Harris. “This effort will take multiple, if not dozens, of contracts with the Texas Education Agency to ensure that students across the state have access to the internet they need for remote learning—that includes both classroom instruction and addressing the homework gap many kids were experiencing even before the pandemic.”
To learn more about CN Texas, email Harris at jharris@connectednation.org or visit the CN Texas website at www.connectednation.org/texas.
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