SOLICITATION NOTICE
D -- x.25 PACKET SWITCHING SERVICES
- Notice Date
- 9/17/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office, SSMC4 - Room 7601/OFA61 1305 East West Highway, 7th Floor, Silver Spring, MD, 20910
- ZIP Code
- 20910
- Solicitation Number
- EC3000-204-01
- Response Due
- 9/22/2003
- Archive Date
- 10/7/2003
- Point of Contact
- Edith Jones, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 713-3478 x171, Fax (301) 713-4155, - Linda Shariati, Contracting Officer, Phone 301-713-3478,
- E-Mail Address
-
Edith.L.Jones@noaa.gov, Linda.H.Shariati@noaa.gov
- Description
- THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 13.5 TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS, AND IS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6 - STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS - AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THIS SOLICTATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. The solicitation number is EC3000-204-01 and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-15. The associated North American Industrial Classification system (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 517410 with a small business size standard of $12.5 million. This acquisition is unrestricted and all responsible parties may submit a quote. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) manages the Nation's operational geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental satellites, and manages a large collection of atmospheric, geophysical and oceanographic data. Within NESDIS, the Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution (OSDPD) manages and directs the operation of the central ground facilities which ingest, process, and distribute environmental satellite data and derived products to domestic and foreign users. The Direct Services Division of the OSDPD manages and operates the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) program. The SARSAT program and system are part of the international Cospas-Sarsat System which is an international system designed to provide distress alert and location data to assist search and rescue (SAR) operations, using spacecraft and ground facilities to detect and locate the signals of distress beacons operating on 406 Megahertz (MHz) or 121.5 MHz. The position of the distress and other related information is forwarded by the responsible Cospas-Sarsat Mission Control Center (MCC) to the appropriate SAR authorities. Currently, the Cospas-Sarsat system consists of an MCC in Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taipei, United Kingdom, and the United States. MCCs are being planned in Greece, Nigeria, Thailand, and Vietnam. Further information concerning Cospas-Sarsat can be found at http://www.cospas_sarsat.org/ and http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/ . The United States Mission Control Center (USMCC) is located in Suitland, MD. The current primary means for the exchange of non-alert and alert information between the USMCC and other MCCs is X.25 via Packet Switched Data Networks (PSDNs) and an X.75 international gateway provided by MCI. It should be noted that the data volume among MCCs is low and 56 kbps links are more than sufficient. NOAA/NESDIS has a requirement for access to an alternative X.75 gateway under the bidder's control, preferably in the United States, or in another country if a domestic gateway is unavailable, that can be accessed to allow the USMCC to continue X.25 data communications until at least 2010. The current figures and percentages are: (a) OUTGOING TRAFFIC: 356 messages per day, averaging 200k bytes in a range of 150k to 250k bytes and where X.25 represents 42% of the total; and (b) INCOMING TRAFFIC: 231 messages per day, averaging 123k bytes in a range of 73k to 173k bytes and where X.25 represents 80% of the total. All X.25 connections originate and terminate at a Government X.25 switch. The contractor is required to provide the services and capabilities such that the USMCC can send/receive messages internationally by X.25. International Alphabet 5 used for messages to and from the USMCC is a hard requirement. The format and content of all the international messages sent and received by the USMCC are defined in "COSPAS/SARSAT Mission Control Centres Standard Interface Description", C/S A.002. The Government requires the following Specific Capabilities and Characteristics. The contractor will provide international communication services as follows: (a) provide a dedicated X.25 line to Suitland, MD to allow for simultaneous transmitting and receiving over a minimum of 64 virtual circuits; (b) provide circuit status confirmation; (c) allow for addition/removal/ modification of communication sites and or services without any changes or modifications to the contract; (d) at a minimum, handle transmission speeds between the USMCC and the vendors facility at 9.6kbps on an RS-232C physical interface. The USMCC can also accept speeds ranging from 9.6kbps through 64kbps on a V.35 or RS-232C physical interface; (e) the X.25 protocol must support the CCITT 1980, 1984 and 1988 standards; (f) allow for an individual message size of up to 25,000 characters and ensure that message contents shall not be altered; (g) provide for a backup access to the vendor's network in the event of a failure of the dedicated line; and, (h) all of the above is to be duplicated at our Lanham, MD site except for the backup access sited in item (g). Outages will be subject to a recovery formula as mutually agreed upon after contract award. The Conditions of Services are as follows: (a) Communication Availability and Performance: Communications service shall be provided 24 hours per day on a continuous basis. The service must have an error transmission rate of one in ten million or less. The service shall have an operational availability of 99.5 % or greater calculated for each calendar day. The reliability, maintainability and availability parameters defined in this specification do not include any impact due to Government equipment outages. All preventive maintenance should be transparent to the Government. Any interruption in service will be treated as an outage subject to an outage recovery formula as mutually agreed upon after contract award. (b) Globally accessible: The communications service shall be globally accessible allowing NOAA to easily add communication sites (e.g., Vietnam, Greece, and Nigeria are expected to be added next year.) The service shall also allow NOAA to easily remove or modify communication sites without notice to the vendor on the presumption that the vendor has a communications agreement in place with the nation accommodating that site. (c) Responsive maintenance: Due to the critical nature of the information to be disseminated, the contractor shall provide a single point of contact for trouble reporting and provide 24-hour trouble support with a response time not to exceed two (2) hours for the commencement of trouble resolution. The USMCC shall be notified at least 48 hours in advance of any unavoidable, scheduled outage. The communications service shall provide for automatic rerouting of messages within the network to eliminate single points of failure within the cloud. The communications service shall provide circuit status confirmation and provide a timely method of receipt verification. (d) Security: The communications service shall provide the resources to ensure that inbound traffic is restricted to authorized call-ins designated by the USMCC and all inbound traffic is authenticated using parameters such as calling address, called address and call user data. (e) Other Considerations: The minimum transmission speed to the network must be 9.6 kbps; a service requirement above 56 kbps is not anticipated or required. The Contractor shall comply with the following reporting requirements during the installation phase of the work: the Contractor shall attend weekly telecoms with the participants and the customer(s); the Contractor shall attend a formal mid-point briefing to be given for NOAA; and the Contractor shall attend a final formal briefing that will be given by NOAA and in which the Contractor shall provide an annotated final report. This is a firm fixed price requirement. The Contractor shall provide a firm fixed price for the following Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs): CLIN 0001 The Contractor shall provide x.25 Switching Services in accordance with the requirements stated above; CLIN 0002 Monthly Recurring Charge; and CLIN 0003 Nonrecurring Charge (One-Time Only). The firm fixed price shall include the cost for all aspects of this requirement. FOB Destination. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, applies to this acquisition. This FAR reference can be retrieved from the Internet at the following URL: www.arnet.gov/far. In accordance with FAR 52.212-1, offerors must show the solicitation number, the time specified in the solicitation for receipt of offers, the name, address, and telephone number of the offeror, a technical description of the items being offered in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with the requirements, price, remit to address, if different than mailing address, and a complete copy of the representations and certifications at FAR 52.212-3. If the offer is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in this solicitation. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The technical evaluation factors are technical approach and ability. The evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition with the following numbered items from the clause marked as applicable: (1), (3), (7), (13) through (19), (24), and (30). Offerors shall submit (1) an original and two copies of the information specified by FAR 52.212-1 as restated above (including a technical description of the offeror's technical approach and technical ability that will be used for evaluation purposes); (2) a copy of the offeror's most recent published price list or pricing furnished for similar items to other customers; (3) a completed representation and certification in accordance with FAR 52.212-3. The award will be for a base year plus one option year. Submissions shall be received by September 22, 2003 at 3:00 pm local time. The submission shall be received at the following location by the date and time specified above: NOAA, NESDIS Acquisition Management Division, Attn: Edith L. Jones, SSMC 3, Room 10100, OFA64, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. FAX and EMAIL SUBMISSIONS SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Potentional vendors should complete the vendor profile at the following website: http://www.ofa.noaa.gov/%7Eamd/vendor_form.html . Questions regarding this acquisition should be forwarded to Edith L. Jones tel: 301-713-3478 or e-mailed to Edith.L.Jones@noaa.gov.
- Place of Performance
- Address: 4401 SUITLAND ROAD, SUITLAND, MARYLAND
- Zip Code: 20746
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20746
- Record
- SN00436253-W 20030919/030917213119 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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