Field note, November 2026

The request is not the deal. The 28 days are.

A school posts its request on a federal website: internet, wifi, cabling, sometimes all three. Most people outside the industry think that is the moment the work is won or lost.

It isn’t. The rules make the school wait at least 28 days before it can choose anyone. Those 28 days are the real market. Whoever reads the request, understands it and answers it well inside that window is in the running. Everyone else finds out the following year.

The posting is public. The attention is not.

Hundreds of requests go up every week, across every state. A good installer is busy installing. It does not read federal filings on a Tuesday night, so it sees the requests near its office and misses the rest.

That gap is the whole job. I read the requests as they go up, check what each school is actually asking for, and put the right firm in front of it while the window is still open. The school gets one more serious bid. The firm gets a contract it would never have seen.

Rayan, ConnectPros. rayan@connectprosgroup.com