SOURCES SOUGHT
58 -- Cellular Long Term Evolution (LTE) Enabled Communications - LTE Enabeled Comms_RFI
- Notice Date
- 10/29/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - APG - Aberdeen Division A, 6001 COMBAT DRIVE, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 21005-1846, United States
- ZIP Code
- 21005-1846
- Solicitation Number
- W56GKU16X3083
- Point of Contact
- Melissa A. Bettinger, Phone: 4438614616
- E-Mail Address
-
melissa.a.bettinger.civ@mail.mil
(melissa.a.bettinger.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) NOTICE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) NOTICE INVESTIGATION FOR CELLULAR LONG TERM EVOLUTION (LTE) ENABLED COMMUNICATIONS THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) / SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) AND NOT A SOLICITATION. This RFI/SS is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. Your response to this RFI/SS will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing its acquisition strategy, or performance work statements, or performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI/SS or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI/SS. BACKGROUND The US Army Communications Electronics Research & Development Engineering Center (CERDEC) Space & Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) is interested in leveraging commercial cellular Long Term Evolution (LTE) communications and smart devices to rapidly deploy new capabilities to the Soldier. CERDEC S&TCD is interested in receiving information from industry on potential methodologies to mitigate the current limitations in commercial cellular technology for fielding in Military settings. INTRODUCTION The US Army Communications Electronics Research & Development Engineering Center (CERDEC) Space & Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) is interested in receiving information from companies that have experience in the design, development, and implementation of cellular LTE technology. The focus is to adapt commercial cellular/wireless technology to address Military unique requirements such as spectrum agility, susceptibility, security and architecture. SCOPE The objective of the RFI/SS is for vendors to present and provide their cellular expertise and solutions for developing, designing, integrating, and/or deploying Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, which meet the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardization, for fixed and mobile platforms (i.e., handheld and tablet devices S&TCD Tactical Communications Division (TCD), Commercial Technology Evaluation and Integration (CTEI) Branch, is particularly interested in receiving mitigation techniques that address the following issues: 1. Spectrum Frequency agility is desired for a Military-adapted LTE system. Commercial 4G LTE basestations and End User Devices (EUD) are designed for frequency bands which are allocated for commercial use. There are practical and policy issues for the Army to utilize commercial frequency bands both CONUS and OCONUS. Allocation of frequency bands per device for Military application may be limited in comparison to commercial networks (1.2 MHz versus 10 - 100 MHz), which significantly reduces data rates. 2. Architecture Architecture and infrastructure solutions are desired for an LTE system that is capable of being deployed in various tactical and multi-cast environments in order to provide cellular communications consisting of voice, video, data, MMS, and/or SMS for multiple users in combat operations. Commercial cellular networks rely on fixed infrastructures, which come with high-profile, densely-populated towers, core networks and backhaul facilities which are not easily mobile and can be easily spotted and targeted by adversaries in a tactical environment. Cellular networks also typically extend the range of coverage by erecting high towers and utilizing large amounts of transmission power, which is not feasible for a tactical setting. CERDEC S&TCD is interested in exploring methods to attain infrastructureless cellular communications and provide range extension and seamless mobility between different communication enclaves. 3. Susceptibility Commercial cellular communication technologies are typically located in friendly environment with little to no concern of adversarial operations. CERDEC S&TCD is interested in potential hardening techniques for the technology to be suitable for Military use. 4. Security Since cyber security and privacy awareness are currently on the rise amongst technology users, commercial communication industry continues to develop and integrate robust security solutions and policies for LTE technologies. Despite these efforts to increase cyber security and privacy policies, current implemented commercial security are not sufficient for Military use. CERDEC S&TCD will evaluate the responses received in order to prepare an acquisition strategy for the LTE developmental effort. For the purposes of this RFI/SS, LTE program development will be a teaming effort between CERDEC S&TCD and industry. Solutions include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. End-to-end LTE architecture incorporating eNodeB, EPC, etc. 2. Various form factors to include fixed, mobile and man-portable. 3. Power consumption in keeping with form factor. 4. Enhanced hopping mechanism. 5. Enhanced handoff capabilities. 6. Scanning capabilities. 7. Coordinated comms/jamming. 8. CSfC security solution. 9. IMSI Protection. 10. Range of effective radio frequency communication between system and user devices equal to or greater than 4 kilometers under line of sight conditions. 11. Support multiple sectors. 12. Support multiple radio heads (eNodeB). 13. Support handoffs between in-network neighboring eNodeBs. 14. Support handoffs between EPCs (roaming). 15. Architecture is scalable. (ex. adding hardware increases range, capacity, etc.) 16. Support full motion video of four or more simultaneous end users. 17. Support encryption capabilities (ex. IPsec). 18. Upgradeable to meet requirements of LTE-Advanced technology. DATA SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS CERDEC S&TCD request industry to provide Technology along with the following, but not limited to: General • Statement of interest. • Description of qualification: demonstrated products, projects, and applicable experience. State whether your current experience is in design, development or both. • Description of existing or planned work in this area. Provide information on partnership agreements planned or existing along with past performance. Technology • Description of proposed system architecture: o Services supported o Number of users supported o Types of end user devices supported o Effective transmission range o Radio frequencies supported o Downlink/Uplink transmission speed o Network/Backhaul interoperability o 3rd Party applications interoperability o Operating power requirements o Applications/enhancements to Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities Security/Certification • NSA Certification/Accreditation • Information on security implementation; reference any related experience. • Details of NSA Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program compliance (if applicable). For clarification or questions regarding this RFI/SS, or for instructions on Classified submissions, please contact Mrs. Marianne Lazzaro (Contact Information can be found below). The information received will not obligate the Government in any manner nor will the Government reimburse contractors for any costs associated with submittal of the requested information. This RFI/SS does not constitute an Invitation For Bid or a Request For Proposal. Responses are due no later than COB 25 November 2015. Respondents should identify their company's name, address, telephone number, point of contact, and whether they are a large or small business. Proprietary information should be clearly marked. All submissions shall be sent via e-mail. The electronic format may be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) or compatible with Microsoft Office suite of software. The white paper response shall not exceed 20 pages. Responses shall be labeled "Response to S&TCD LTE Enabled Communications RFI/SS" and delivered in electronic format to the following addresses: Mrs. Marianne Lazzaro Technology Assessment Team Lead Commercial Technology Evaluation & Integration Branch (443) 395-7795 marianne.lazzaro.civ@mail.mil Questionnaire 1. Please identify your company's business size standard based on the primary North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code of ____ and 2 secondary NAICS codes of ______ & _______. The Small Business Size Standard for this NAICS code is ____ million. For more information, refer to http://www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-standards. Place an X in front of the appropriate size standard: ___ Large Business ___ Small Business (SB) Concern ___ 8(a) ___ Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) ___ Woman-Owned Small Business ___ Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) ___ Veteran-Owned Small Business ___ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 2. If you identify your company as a Small Business or any of the SB subcategories as stipulated in Question # 2, then is your company interested in a prime contract? 3. Under the current SB recertification regulations, do you anticipate your company remaining a small business, under primary NAICS Code _____ and secondary NAICS codes ______? If you are a SB answer questions 3A. All others skip to Question #4. A. If your company is awarded the contract, will you be able to perform at least 50% (percent) of the work? 4. Does your company have experience as a prime contractor administering Multiple Award Contracts (MACs) in similar scoped efforts? A. If you answered "yes" to Question # 4, please provide as much of the following information as possible: B. MAC contract number(s); C. aggregate dollar value of entire MAC contract; D. aggregate dollar value of task orders you prime on each MAC; E. number of task orders you prime on MAC; 5. Is your company planning on business arrangements with other companies, please list the process used in selecting the members? 6. Please provide details regarding proposed joint ventures, teaming arrangements, strategic alliances, or other business arrangements to satisfy requirements identified in this RFI. Offerors are encouraged to identify teams, indicating each team member's size based upon the NAICS code of the work that the team member may be doing. 7. Is your company currently providing similar services to another government agency (you may also include contract #s for government) or other non-government customer? If so, please identify the agency or non-government customer. If you are unwilling to share your customer's identity, please address whether your company offers the same or similar services commercially. 8. Has your Company performed this type of effort or similar type effort (to include size and complexity) in the past, if so provide Contract Number, Point of Contact (POC), e-mail address, phone number, and a brief description of your direct support of the effort? 9. What are the core competencies of your employees that would support the requirements of this RFI? Also, provide the total number of individuals currently employed by your company that are capable of supporting the requirement. 10. Does your company have a facility clearance should it be required? __________YES ___________NO A. If you answered YES to the previous question, please state the level of facility clearance and location of that facility within the proximity to APG, MD. 11. Do your employees, that would support this effort, have at a minimum a SECRET level clearance for off-site and TOP SECRET/SCI for on-site? 12. Does your firm possess an approved Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) accounting system? 13. Has your firm contracted with foreign companies in the past? If so, which ones? 14. Does your firm have personnel with the required IA certificates (Security+, Network+, A+, CCNA/CCNP/CCIE, MCP/MCSA/MCSE)? A. If so, are they locally in the Aberdeen Proving Ground area? B. Are they registered in AT&CTS? 15. Teaming arrangements - please fill in the table below YOUR COMPANY NAME Company # of Employees # of Employees in APG locale % cleared at TS/SCI % cleared at SECRET Sub-k#1 here Sub-k#2 here Sub-k#3 here Sub-k#4 here
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/d35a7f0dbb376faaf207c62f3ab962f3)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland, 21005, United States
- Zip Code: 21005
- Zip Code: 21005
- Record
- SN03933833-W 20151031/151029234957-d35a7f0dbb376faaf207c62f3ab962f3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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