After Cox protests selection process, Escambia re-soliciting rural broadband project
Escambia County is re-soliciting a rural broadband project after Cox Communications objected to the county's decision to select Escambia River Electric Cooperative for the project last month.
The new solicitation closely mirrors the service area of EREC in Escambia County. The original solicitation covered a much broader area of northern Escambia County.
The county has been working to bring more high-speed internet access with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
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Earlier this year, the County Commission agreed to set aside $22 million from its ARPA funds to dedicate to broadband infrastructure, with $10 million for the northern half of the county and $12 million for the southern half.
The county sought proposals from internet service providers to build a fiber network backbone between county facilities and deliver high-speed internet to underserved areas north of Nine Mile Road. The county received four responses from Cox, NextCity, CSpire and EREC.
In October, the County Commission took the unusual step of waiving the traditional blackout period limiting communications about the project, as Commissioner Steven Barry said he wanted to enter direct negotiations with CSpire and EREC.
In a special meeting following the Thanksgiving holidays, the County Commission approved Barry's recommendation to select EREC for the broadband contract for $6 million. The price tag was by far the lowest request for funding from the four responses, but the project would be limited to EREC's service area.
EREC's proposal also required the county to partner to apply for state grants to fund the additional $18 million needed to build the rest of the project.
Cox Communications filed a protest to the selection of EREC for the contract, which threatened to tie the project into a prolonged legal battle. In its letter, Cox said the suspension of the blackout period for limited negotiations with two firms prevented fair competition in the selection process, and the company noted that it was the second-highest scoring respondent under the county's RFP.
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Barry had previously told the News Journal he was willing to move forward with EREC despite Cox's protest, but he told the News Journal on Thursday he hopes the county will move with selecting a firm under the new solicitation quickly.
"I'm still extremely excited to bring high-speed internet to my friends and neighbors in the north end of Escambia County," Barry said in a text message. "I'm looking forward to the board hearing presentations at a meeting in January. I expect the board to move forward with a memorandum of understanding with the winning partner as quickly as possible following the partner's selection."
On Dec. 8, the county issued a new solicitation for the contract.
The updated solicitation limits the focus of the project to providing fiber to homes in the area of Escambia County north of Muskogee Road, which largely mirrors the service area of EREC.
The language of the solicitation also appears to reestablish a blackout period noting that all communications about the project must go through the county's purchasing office.
According to the county's online vendor registry, 22 companies have obtained plans to be able to respond to the solicitation, including Cox Communications and EREC's business partner in the previous proposal Conexon.
Responses to the new solicitation are due on Thursday.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia rural broadband mirrors EREC footprint after Cox protest
