Opportunity
E-Rate #270004003
Polk County Public Schools Category 2 wireless, network switch, firewall, and firewall management procurement
Posted
November 10, 2026
Respond By
December 08, 2026
Identifier
270004003
NAICS
238210, 423430, 541513, 541512, 517810, 423690, 334290, 334220
The School Board of Polk County, Florida, is seeking E-Rate network upgrades and managed firewall services for Polk County Public Schools. - Buyer: The School Board of Polk County, Florida (Polk County Public Schools), Competitive Solicitations office; contact listed: Denise Whitaker, Senior Manager, Competitive Solicitations. - OEMs: Aruba equipment is requested for wireless access points and switches; Fortinet (listed as “FortiNet” in the bid form) is specified for the firewall solution. Equivalent products may be proposed where permitted. - Group A — Wireless access points: Aruba line items include 834 S3J34A access points, 10 S1G85A access points, 165 R4W44A outdoor access points, 835 S0J40A mounting kits, 165 JW055A outdoor brackets, 8,515 Q9Y65AAE five-year licenses, 80 R6P67A 30-watt PoE injectors, and 50 S3J26A 60-watt PoE injectors. The solicitation calls for enterprise Wi-Fi suitable for high-density K–12 environments, Wi-Fi 6/6E or better, at least 5 Gbps advertised aggregate throughput, and Aruba Central compatibility or an equivalent. - Group B — Network switches: Aruba items include 13 JL625A switches, 970 R8Q71A switches, 13 JL482C two-post rack kits, 6 JL483C four-post rack kits, 39 J8177E 1G SFP RJ45 transceivers, 170 J9151E 10G SFP+ LC LR transceivers, 50 J9150D 10Gb SFP+ SR transceivers, 1,820 J4858D 1GbE SFP transceivers, 1,940 JL087A power supplies, 13 HC7H0E five-year licenses, and 970 H91Y8E one-year licenses. - Group C — Firewall replacement: Two Fortinet FG-3500G appliances, two FC-10-G3K5G-950-02-12 five-year licenses, and two FC-10-G3K5G-211-02-12 five-year licenses. The broader requirements call for rack-mountable physical appliances meeting stated performance, interface, security, redundancy, and management requirements. - Group D — Firewall MIBS: Managed Internal Broadband Services, with a base service year and up to four optional one-year renewals. The requested scope includes transition and discovery, continuous monitoring, configuration and policy management, firmware and lifecycle management, incident response, reporting, service reviews, and remote and onsite support. - Related work and requirements: Installation and configuration are listed for Groups A, B, and C; shipping is also listed for equipment groups. Proposed equivalents must meet quality, functionality, compatibility, and interoperability requirements with District systems. E-Rate pricing requirements include the Lowest Corresponding Price rule, and ineligible bundled items must be separately itemized. Equipment pricing must remain valid for at least two years. - Performance period: Groups A–C are described as a roughly 15-month period. Group D has a one-year base period with up to four one-year options, subject to the stated conditions and approvals.
Description
The School Board of Polk County is seeking proposals for Category 2 network equipment and related services under four groups: wireless access points, network switches, firewall replacement, and firewall managed internal broadband services. Equipment includes wireless access points, licenses, switches, components, firewalls, and related items; complete requirements are in the referenced ITB and group bid forms. Proposed equipment and pricing must use the applicable bid-form format and remain valid for at least two years, and the required accompanying documents must be completed and returned. Proposals are due December 8, 2026; the School Board may reject proposals or make awards in whole or in part, subject to funding and approval.