Bamberg County Issues Solicitation for 140-Mile Phase 1 Fiber Project

(803) 928-4610 is the direct line listed for the county project coordinator on the Phase 1 solicitation, which sets a firm response deadline of March 25, 2026 for contractors interested in the countywide fiber build. The Bid Banana posting identifies the solicitation as Bamberg County Phase 1 - Fiber Construction, Solicitation ID 26-102, NAICS 517110, and lists Thomas M Thomas as the agency project coordinator with email thomastm@bambergcounty.sc.gov.

Bamberg County posted the opportunity to procurement aggregators at the end of February; Bid Banana shows a posting date of 2/27/2026 while RFPMart indexed the entry on 2/28/2026. The Bid Banana listing instructs prospective vendors to “Please visit the bid source via the ‘Link to Bid Source’ button below for documentation.” RFPMart carries the opportunity as Product ID NET-15715 with an expiry date of Wednesday, 25 March, 2026 and notes the listing is “INFO ONLY, RFP NOT INCLUDED - Deadline March 25,2026.”

External cost and scale estimates tied to the posting indicate a large scope. Bidbanana commentary via The Bid Lab states, “A rough estimate for the construction of fiber optic cable can range from $20,000 to $50,000 per mile, depending on the location and the type of cable used. Therefore, the total construction cost for this project can be estimated to be between $2.8 million and $7 million.” That estimate is explicitly derived from an assumed construction scope of 140 miles of fiber optic cable in the Bidbanana commentary and is not presented as an official county budget.

The RFPMart entry repeats procedural notes from the aggregator: “Main RFP document not available at here, only detail information at here, specification may be obtained by email.” RFPMart further lists eligibility as “Onshore (USA Organization Only),” repeats “Onshore (USA Organization Only)” under Work Performance and also shows a duplicate Work Performance entry as “Not Applicable.” RFPMart adds that “Response can be submitted digitally via Email or Online” and lists “Cost to Download This RFP Document : $7.”

The county’s brief procurement text is incomplete in public listings; the original excerpt contains the fragment “The publicly posted procurement notices state the work includes termination and installation elemen” and stops mid-phrase. Missing specifics to confirm in the full RFP include whether the work is aerial or underground, splicing and testing requirements, as-built GIS deliverables, bonding and insurance levels, Davis-Bacon or prevailing wage applicability, and any DBE or local participation goals.

Bidders and interested parties can also use the county’s published addresses and phone numbers for follow up. Bamberg County’s offices are listed at Bamberg County Courthouse Annex, Isaiah Odom Building, 1234 North Street, Bamberg SC 29003, with mailing address PO Box 149, Bamberg, SC 29003, phone (803) 245-5191 and fax (803) 245-1219. The Bid Banana entry includes the project coordinator line verbatim: “Thomas M Thomas (Agency Project Coordinator) thomastm@bambergcounty.sc.gov (803) 928-4610.”

Two items require verification before bidders finalize proposals. USDA funding is mentioned only in the supplied headline and is not corroborated in the Bid Banana or RFPMart excerpts; the 140-mile construction figure likewise appears in Bid Lab commentary and should be confirmed in the formal RFP. The research notes advise obtaining the full Phase 1 RFP and route maps from the county to confirm funding, scope, bonding, and timeline.

Regional procurement practice offers a model for large public projects; South Carolina Department of Transportation design-build guidance outlines steps such as “SCDOT invites three Proposers to respond to the RFP,” “SCDOT releases RFP for Industry Review,” “SCDOT holds Open-Forum Meeting with Proposers to clarify/revise RFP,” and subsequent phases through proposal submission and evaluation. Bamberg County vendors seeking to bid on the Phase 1 fiber work should request the complete RFP package through Thomas M Thomas and note the March 25, 2026 submission deadline.