SOURCES SOUGHT/REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 

A.    INTRODUCTION:

The Department of Defense, United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Test Center (AFTC), is currently conducting market research seeking capabilities statement from potential sources, including small businesses (SB), 8(a), HUBZone, Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned (EDWOSB), Woman-Owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVOSB) small business that are capable of providing the implementation and maintenance of a dark fiber path between Cape San Blas, Florida (also known as D3) to Eglin AFB, Florida and the implementation and maintenance of a lit leased line from Venice Beach, Florida (also known as D6) to Eglin AFB.  

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.  This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.  This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever.  Further, the Air Force is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.  Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense.  Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.  

The Statement of Objectives for each requirement are exclusively available to DoD contractors certified under the Defense Logistic Agencies (DLA) Joint Certification Program (JCP). Certification under the JCP establishes the eligibility of a U.S. or Canadian contractor to technical data governed, in the U.S., by DoD Directive 5230.25 and, in Canada, by the Technical Data Control Regulations (TDCR). A certification is required by U.S. or Canadian contractors that wish to obtain access to unclassified technical data disclosing militarily critical technology with military or space application that is under the control of, or in the possession of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) or the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). Contractors must submit a DD Form 2345 to the U.S./Canada Joint Certification Office, along with a copy of the company's State/Provincial License, Incorporation Certificate, Sales Tax Identification Form or other documentation which verifies the legitimacy of the company. For a copy of the Statement of Objectives documents, please email the point of contact identified below with proof of certification. 

B.    REQUIREMENTS:

D3 DIVERSITY
Description.  The 96th Range Support Squadron (96 RANSS), 96th Range Group, 96th Test Wing is seeking information for the implementation of a dark fiber path between Cape San Blas, Florida (also known as D3) to Eglin AFB, Florida.  The 96 RANSS seeks industry provider capabilities and experience for the design, implementation, and maintenance of a 24-strand dark fiber path, with regeneration properties where needed, between D-3 and Eglin AFB.  Regeneration facilities will be owned and maintained by the Contractor, however, built for this Government project and therefore only house the Government regeneration equipment.  Each regen facility will have an UPS to support all the equipment and a generator.  The dark fiber must integrate into Eglin’s current standalone network.  This fiber path will provide redundant capability for test data transmission to Eglin AFB, Florida and will need to integrate into and expand the current network infrastructure. Due to the requirement being a true diverse path out of D3, the fiber route must avoid using highway 98 as a path back to Eglin.  The fiber must be able to handle 100 GB with a minimum RSL of -18dB is required for each segment of the path from D3 to Eglin and a round trip latency of 7ms or less.  The government would like completion of project within one year of award date.  The Government is looking for a turnkey solution to include all aspects of the environmental portion such as permitting etc. The Contractor must provide a maintenance plan for continued support of the fiber infrastructure for a duration of 20 years from project completion and acceptance. Include all aspects of maintaining and operating the fiber infrastructure (i.e. cable locates, emergency splices and repairs, typical maintenance and repairs and recovery times).

Respondents are encouraged to focus on the following criteria to ensure responses are complete.
a.    Fiber optic design and planning experience with completed project references
b.    Experience with Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB) Data infrastructure
c.    Initial plan and cost ROM
d.    Depiction of proposed route path or paths with regen facilities
e.    Milestone schedule

Background.  The 96 Test Wing (TW) utilizes a standalone terrestrial network to provide data transport for test missions.  The additional dark fiber will provide a completely diverse path to and from D-3 and Eglin AFB.  

Location.  
Cape San Blas (D3) is located on St. Joseph Peninsula in Gulf County, Florida, approximately 90 miles southeast of the Eglin Reservation (estimated latitude 29°40'40.30"N and longitude 85°20'38.76"W).  State Road (SR) 30E provides vehicular access to Cape San Blas. 

Eglin AFB Building 44 W. 104 Choctawhatchee Ave, Eglin AFB., Fl. 32542

D6 LEASED BANDWIDTH

Description.  The 96th Range Support Squadron (96 RANSS), 96th Range Group, 96th Test Wing is seeking information to lease bandwidth of either 1 GB or 10 GB from two of it’s locations back to Eglin.  The 96 RANSS is looking for two separate quotes for each location.  The first location is Venice Beach, Florida (also known as D6) back to Eglin AFB, Florida.  The second location is Holiday, FL (also known as D-4) back to Eglin AFB, FL.  The 96 RANSS is looking for either a dedicated circuit or recommendations for bi-directional network traffic between the locations, D-6 and Eglin and D-4 and Eglin.  The 96 RANSS seeks industry provider capabilities and experience for the design, implementation, and maintenance of this solution, between D-6 and Eglin AFB and then between D-4 and Eglin AFB.  The circuit path will provide redundant capability for test data transmission to Eglin AFB, Florida. The circuit must be able to handle the bandwidth chosen either 1GB or  10 GB and latency must be deterministic.  Due to the sensitivity of some of Eglin’s systems, the leased path cannot change because of the strict latency requirements.  The expected round trip latency is 15ms or less.   The government would like completion of project within one year of award date.  The Government is looking for a turnkey solution as well as a long term contract of 10 to 20 years.  The Contractor is expected to maintain and provided continued support of the leased path for the duration of the contract to include all aspects of maintaining and operating the circuit infrastructure (typical maintenance and repairs and recovery times).

Requesting responders provide four estimates two per route, first for 1GB and second for 10GB, per route, D-6 to Eglin and then D-4 to Eglin for the following information with their response:

a.    Telecommunications Services and planning experience with completed project references
b.    Experience with Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB) Data infrastructure
c.    Initial plan and cost estimate per bandwidth requested, 1GB and then 10GB
•    Initial associated cost, non-reoccurring cost
•    Monthly cost
•    Yearly cost 
•    Upfront cost for 10 year contract
•    Upfront cost for 20 year contract
d.    Description of solution with type of equipment that will service the path to include how this circuit is kept secure both physically and logically
e.    Depiction of proposed route path or paths with regen facility locations
f.    Expected latency- 96th TW seeking a predictable and consistent latency 
g.    Milestone schedule
h.    Provide Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Background.  The 96 Test Wing (TW) utilizes a standalone terrestrial network to provide data transport for test missions.  The leased path will provide redundancy to and from D-6 and Eglin AFB and/or redundancy to and from D-4 to Eglin AFB.  

Locations.  
Venice Beach (D-6) is located at 1200 Harbor Dr. S, Venice, FL 34285 in Sarasota County, Florida.  

Anclote Key (D-4) 1729 Baillies Bluff Road Holiday, FL. 34691

Eglin AFB Building 44 W. 104 Choctawhatchee Ave., Eglin AFB., Fl. 32542

C.    REQUEST FOR INFORMATION:

All interested firms should submit a response demonstrating their capability to provide these items to the Primary Point of Contact listed below.  Proposals are not being requested or accepted at this time.  As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.  No solicitation (Request for Proposal) exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation.  The decision to solicit for a contract will be solely within the Government’s discretion. 

The NAICS Code assigned to this acquisition is 237130, Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction with a size standard of $39.5M.  Respondents should indicate their size in relation to this size standard and indicate socio-economic status (i.e. SB, 8(a), HUBZone, EDWOSB, WOSB, or SDVOSB).  Respondents are further requested to indicate their status as a Foreign-owned/Foreign-controlled firm and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this effort.  The Government reserves the right to consider a small business set-aside based upon responses hereto for any subsequent action.  All prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be awarded a DoD contract.  No set-aside decision has been made.  Note that a key factor in determining an acquisition to be a Small Business Set Aside is that small business prime contractors must perform at least 50% of the effort, as defined in FAR Clause 52.219-14.

Any information submitted by respondents to this sources sought is voluntary.  This sources sought notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice.  Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any government assessments.  The Government’s assessment of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small business, or any particular small business program.  

D.    CAPABILITIES STATEMENT:  

All interested firms should submit a capabilities statement that explicitly demonstrates their capability to provide/perform the requirement stated in this notice.  The capabilities statement should be brief and concise, yet clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated requirement.  The response should be limited to 10 pages.  

Responses may be submitted electronically to the following e-mail address:  [email protected].  All correspondence sent via email should contain a subject line that reads “FA2487-21-R-0001 Fiber”.  If this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through e-mail filters at Eglin AFB.  Filters are designed to delete emails without a subject or with a suspicious subject or attachment.  Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted.  Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xsls, or .xls documents are attached to your email.  All other attachments may be deleted.  

All responsible sources may submit information that will be considered by the agency.  If late information is received, it may be considered, depending on agency time constraints.  All routine communications regarding the announcement should be directed to the contractual point of contact listed in this posting.  The Government may or may not use any responses to this sources sought as a basis for a subsequent project/requirement.  Any project/requirement developed from the sources sought responses may be the subject of a subsequent acquisition; any such subsequent acquisition will be posted in sam.gov separately.  Responses to this sources sought will not be returned.  The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to the respondents with respect to any of the information submitted under this sources sought.  No requests for a bid package or solicitation will be accepted; a bid package or solicitation does not exist at this time.  In order to protect the integrity of any possible future acquisition, no additional information will be provided and no appointments for presentations will be made in reference to this sources sought.

Only government employees will review submitted responses to this sources sought.  Respondents are advised that employees of commercial firms under contract with the Government may be used to administratively process submissions and perform other administrative duties requiring access to other contractor’s proprietary information.  These administrative support contractors include nondisclosure agreements prohibiting their contractor employees from disclosing any information submitted by other contractors or using such information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished.

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 11:00 A.M. (CST) ON 19 Feb 2021.  Direct all questions concerning this requirement to Nick Griswold at [email protected].