SOLICITATION NOTICE
99 -- Electronic U.S. Passport
- Notice Date
- 5/7/2004
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 339999
— All Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Government Printing Office, Paper and Specialized Procurement and Sales Division, Contract Management Branch, 732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20401
- ZIP Code
- 20401
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-GPO-EP2004-1
- Response Due
- 6/11/2004
- Archive Date
- 6/26/2004
- Point of Contact
- Albertha Broadnax, Management Analyst, Phone 202-512-0966, Fax 202-512-1518, - Herbert Jackson,Jr., Chief, Paper and Specialized Procurement and Sales Division, Phone 202-512-2010x31504, Fax 202-512-1354,
- E-Mail Address
-
abroadnax@gpo.gov, hjackson@gpo.gov
- Description
- Description - *****REVISION***** The Government Printing Office (GPO), in coordination with Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), intends to release a Request for Proposal for the development/deployment of a new Electronic Passport that contains an embedded Integrated Circuit (IC). This initiative includes the integration and procurement of contactless integrated circuit technology into the traditional paper-based passport booklet document. One of the primary driving forces that has led to this requirement is Section 303(c) of the Enhanced Border Security Act and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 which requires, inter alia, that countries that participate in the US Visa Waiver Program have a program to issue to their nationals machine readable passports that are tamper resistant and incorporate biometric and document authentication identifiers that comply with applicable biometric and document identifying standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Consistent with principles of international reciprocity, the United States intends to adhere to these same requirements. The use of contactless integrated circuit technology arises as a direct result of standards decisions taken by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which announced in May 2003 that ICAO has selected high capacity, contactless integrated circuit (IC) chips to store identification information in MRTDs -- passports, visas and identity cards. This decision and the related determinations made by ICAO regarding the use of biometrics for travel document applications are reflected in Document 9303, Part 1, the ICAO standards for passports, and supporting ICAO Technical Reports. The Request for Proposal relates to the requirement for a chip inlay assembly and for the integration of that inlay into the U.S. passport. The U.S. intends to integrate chip technology into passports in several phases of implementation. The first, and most urgent need, is to begin issuance of biometric-carrying electronic passports at a single domestic passport issuance facility in late 2004, and then to transition to issuance of electronic passports at all remaining domestic issuance facilities by the end of 2005. In parallel, CA will work with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct field testing of the newly issued passports. The remaining phases of implementation will be carried out more broadly in terms of both issuance as well as inspection, with the ultimate goal of issuing all full validity, domestically issued US passports in the new electronic format. Product Specifications: In accordance with ICAO specifications and State Department requirements, the product sought shall be ISO/IEC 14443, Part 1-4 compliant, Type A or B, with a minimum storage capacity of 64 K (kilobytes) chip/antenna assembly embedded in an inlay suitable for incorporation into the paper passport book; on-board operating system in accordance with ISO/IEC Standard 7816-4; the data will be stored on the chip in the Logical Data Structure prescribed by ICAO and secured with a digital signature. The ICAO has developed supplementary interoperability specifications covering a number of factors such as power levels, performance timings, read rate, buffer size and others. Most US passports are issued for a ten-year period of validity; thus, the passport and its embedded chip assembly must meet this requirement in terms of overall durability in normal use. Testing of offered inlays and passports with embedded inlays will be conducted. Tests will include: durability, flexing, susceptibility to solvents, electrical/magnetic fields, stamping, and the routine use to which an international traveler is likely to subject the passport. Additional information will be included in the RFP. The chip will store data regarding the authorized bearer of the passport. Specifically, the chip will store the same printed, personalization information visible in the passport?s visual and machine readable zones such as name, issuance authority, date and place of birth etc.. Additionally, to meet the ICAO requirement for a globally interoperable biometric, the chip will store at least one 12 K compressed full facial image of the authorized document bearer. Authenticity of data and protection of privacy are critical considerations. Similarly, facilitation of travel is a corollary objective along with enhanced border security. Therefore, the performance variables associated with transmission speeds and data transfer rates should be addressed clearly and comprehensively. The Electronic Passport must be electronically readable on a globally interoperable basis. Vendors should consider that incorporation of the IC into the document should be accomplished with as little impact on current book manufacturing and passport issuance operations as possible. There are three areas of operational consideration that together constitute the overall concept of operations for the U. S. passport production. First, GPO will continue to manufacture the US passport at its location in Washington, DC. It is intended that the chip assembly/inlay, will be provided to GPO for fabrication into the US passport. The offered inlay solutions should provide as little impact as possible on existing GPO book production processes. The susceptibility of the assembly/inlay to temperature variables, flexing, bending, etc. are important features that will be addressed in testing by NIST. Second, the Department of State will continue to personalize passports using its Toppan MP300US printers. The use of the chip and the incorporation of the inlay in the book must be compatible with this process to the extent possible and without any impact on the ability to print data into the passport. Finally, the inspection of documents, generally carried out at international ports of entry, is the third systemic area of concern. Inspection of U.S. passports will vary all over the world and passports will be subject to manual, machine-reading, and possibly unattended examination. Electronic Passport readers will vary in many ways, although ICAO has recommended that ISO Standard 14443 both A and B capable be used. Pricing information will be required for both small quantities required in early stages of implementation as well as larger quantities that will be required for full nationwide implementation. The US currently issues approximately 8 million passports annually. It is the intent of CA that all will be issued as electronic passports by the end of calendar year 2005. Policy options under consideration related to the US passport could possibly increase annual passport issuance to the range of 12 million or higher. Potential bidders will be requested to include a schedule for delivery, milestones related thereto, dependencies or caveats in such scheduling, and manufacturing capacity/flexibility with regard to both small quantities early in implementation and higher quantities as volume reaches maximum. Bidders will also be asked to disclose any information regarding health and safety concerns with respect to the use their proposals (i.e. the use of any adhesives that may be necessary to secure the offered inlays to the passport book). It is anticipated that a walk-through of the Government Printing Office and a typical passport agency will be conducted. A maximum of two representatives from each prospective prime may attend these walk-throughs. Confirmation dates, times, and locations will be specified in the final solicitation. A draft RFP will be released on/or about 5/17/04. Issuance of a solicitation can be expected on/or about 5/31/04, with a response due on or about 7/01/04. Contract award(s) will be made on or about 8/13/04. Offerors will be evaluated on technical merit, past performance, and price. Multiple awards may be considered. This will be a firm-fixed contract for materials with T&M rates for labor. Award is planned for one-year with four 1-year options. This procurement action will be unrestricted but only those companies with proven inlay design and fabrication experience will be considered. Buy American Act provisions apply to this procurement. All prospective offerors should submit their questions to Albertha Broadnax by eamil at Contract Specialist; abroadnax@gpo.gov; or Herbert Jackson, Contracting Officer; hjackson@gpo.gov or by facsimile at 202-512-1354. This synopsis does not constitute an RFP and does not obligate the Government in any way.
- Place of Performance
- Address: 732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC
- Zip Code: 20401
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20401
- Record
- SN00582147-W 20040509/040507212527 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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