Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF OCTOBER 28, 2017 FBO #5818
SPECIAL NOTICE

D -- Land Mobile Radios as a Contracted Service (LMRACS)

Notice Date

10/26/2017
 

Notice Type

Special Notice
 

NAICS

334220 — Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - RI (W52P1J), 3055 Rodman Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 61299-8000, United States
 

ZIP Code

61299-8000
 

Solicitation Number

W52P1J18LMRACS
 

Archive Date

11/29/2017
 

Point of Contact

Michael J. Giesen, Phone: 3097822397, Conrad Baker, Phone: 3097825417
 

E-Mail Address

michael.j.giesen.civ@mail.mil, a.c.baker2.civ@mail.mil
(michael.j.giesen.civ@mail.mil, a.c.baker2.civ@mail.mil)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Introduction: The US Army Product Lead Land Mobile Radio (PL LMR) is seeking information from Land Mobile Radio Industry partners about providing Land Mobile Radios (LMR) as a contracted service (LMRACS) to Army installations in the Continental United States (CONUS). This Request for Information (RFI) is a follow-on to an earlier RFI released from 7th Signal Command (Theater) and RFI number W52P1J17LMRACS released by Army Contracting Command - Rock Island on 2 June 2017. The RFI is intended to provide any vendors who did not respond to the original RFI an opportunity to respond. It is also intended to announce that an Information Exchange Event has been scheduled. Vendors are not required to submit answers to the questions contained in this RFI in order to attend. Answers can be provided verbally at the event. However, if a vendor wishes to submit the answers prior to the Information Exchange Event, please submit responses no later than 14 November 2017 as detailed in the Additional Information Section below. PL LMR will moderate the Information Exchange Event, at Fort Belvoir, MD, 28-29 November 2017. (See Additional Information Section below). The PL LMR mission is to manage, acquire, and deliver non-tactical LMR systems used for Public Safety and base operations on Army posts, camps, and stations. PL LMR fields solutions that provide for, and support, National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) narrowband, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Project 25 (P25) Phase I and II compliant and secured Trunked LMR Systems. A Trunked LMR System for this RFI is defined as an APCO P25 compliant, NTIA Narrowband compliant, IP Based (IPv6), and secure, digital, multi-site, multi-channel, trunked LMR system. An LMR system is composed of various systems and subsystems including, but not limited to, dispatch consoles, system management terminals, radio frequency (RF) sites and repeaters, subscriber units (portables, mobiles, and desktop stations with and without remotes), logging recorders, mutual aid gateway (interoperability), towers, antennas, combiners, shelters, generators, and uninterruptable power supplies (UPS). A site as used above in the term "multi-site" means an RF or other system component (dispatch console, management terminal) location. It does NOT mean multiple garrisons/installations connected to form a "regional system." The Army is seeking information to improve the government's understanding of industry's capability to provide LMR as a contracted service. The intent of this RFI is to understand industry best practices for providing LMR as a contracted service and how that model can be implemented in support of Army CONUS installations. It is key for the government to understand how to best implement an orderly transition from the current Army owned and operated CONUS-based LMR network to LMR as a contracted service. Critical for this understanding, is a discussion of government concerns over how industry will meet government cyber security/information assurance requirements; industry concerns for maintaining communications reliability while using the Army's Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) transport network; industry's ability to provide touch-labor on CONUS installations for responsive maintenance, programming and troubleshooting; and industry's ability to monitor network operations, and report Information Assurance Vulnerability Memorandum (IAVM) compliance and trouble-ticketing in accordance with Army requirements for trouble ticketing and cyber security compliance. The Government is NOT looking for marketing material regarding LMR products or equipment, but rather information on the capability and interest of vendors in providing LMR as a contracted service. This RFI is issued solely for informational and planning purposes; it does not constitute an invitation for bids, request for proposals, or request for quotations and is not related to any request for proposal. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract, nor do they affect a potential offeror's ability to respond to any future synopsis/solicitation which may or may not follow or restrict the U.S. Government's eventual acquisition approach. Additionally, the U.S. Government will not provide reimbursement for any information that may be submitted in response to this RFI. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Respondents will not be notified of any results derived from a review of the information provided; however, information gathered may be utilized for future technical and acquisition purposes. The U.S. Government will not pay for any costs associated with such discussions or meetings. Background: In 2004 the Army PL LMR was stood up to meet the NTIA Narrowband Mandate and upgrade/modernize Army LMR systems to meet APCO P25 standards. Between 2004 and 2016, PL LMR modernized approximately 25 Army CONUS and OCONUS posts, camps, and stations by implementing standalone LMR systems at each post, camp, and station with some shared (multiple installation) systems (e.g. National Capital Region LMR, Ft. Gordon/Gillem/Jackson LMR, and Ft. Bliss/WSMR/Holloman/NASA LMR System). In 2014, PL LMR, in conjunction with 7th Signal Command (Theater) and NETCOM, completed extensive market research to determine if the LMR industry could support an Army Enterprise LMR System throughout CONUS to support a minimum of 95 System Management Terminals (SMT), three (3) Read-Only Management Terminals (ROMT), 360 Dispatch Consoles, 80 Voice Logging Recorders, 160 Playback Stations, 200 RF Sites, and 1270 Repeaters. As a result of that market research, the Army developed the Army CONUS Enterprise (ACE) LMR System model. The ACE LMR System model removes the requirement to have Core Infrastructure at each post/camp/station leaving only RF equipment, dispatch consoles, logging recorders, mutual aid gateways, local system management terminals, and subscriber units at each post/camp/station. The ACE systems will be comprised of a Harris LMR System and a Motorola LMR System with primary and back-up Core infrastructure located at Ft. Drum, NY and Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA. The ACE LMR System will utilize the Defense Information System Network (DISN) transport between Core Infrastructure locations and connected installations. The ACE LMR Core Infrastructure will be installed between 2017 and 2018 and is expected to reach Initial Operation capability (IOC) by 2019. Through this RFI, the Army PL LMR is interested in determining the feasibility and affordability of a modernized strategy for acquiring a CONUS-wide LMRACS. The potential relationship of ACE to LMRACS is discussed in the questions below. Interested industry partners are requested to provide responses to the questions below at the Information Exchange Event or in writing no later than 14 November 2017. Questions to be addressed: Procurement: 1. What cost model would industry suggest using to determine billing for LMRACS? Would you recommend using an "Infrastructure as a Service" model (commercially owned/maintained - government operated infrastructure) or an entire LMR service model? Why or why not? 2. Noting that there is significant government investment in LMR infrastructure across CONUS, is there any potential to "buy back" existing government owned LMR network infrastructure during the transition from Army owned to a leased service? How much could be reused? What decision criteria or factors would industry recommend to determine which existing LMR assets will be bought back? How would you recommend this be accomplished? 3. Would your company consider using the ACE core infrastructure being installed at Joint Base Lewis McChord and Fort Drum to provide LMR as a Service or would your company relocate these cores to another location(s)? If your intention is to relocate the ACE cores, where would you propose to locate them? 4. Are there any portions of the existing LMR network/infrastructure the Army should retain ownership and control of, including the above ACE Systems? 5. Would industry providing LMR infrastructure as a contracted service be a viable model? If not, why not? 6. Should LMRACS be implemented CONUS-wide at the same time or phased in gradually or regionally? What phase-in timeline is recommended? 7. What types of installation touch labor support does industry recommend be required as part of LMRACS? What would be the best industry/government mix for labor support? 8. Given that competition is a priority for the Army when seeking goods and services, what is the best method to maximize competition for LMRACS? How would industry suggest implementing the recommended approach? 9. The Government needs to determine how much to budget for LMRACS. Please provide, at your option, typical prices/rate cards of existing customers (e.g. Local and State Governments, etc.) who already purchase LMR as a service. What is the likely range of premiums or discounts that the Army could receive as a result of either its stricter requirements or its larger size? 10. What are the main cost drivers for the following: 1) transitioning, and 2) operating LMRACS? What requirements could the Government relax that would increase competition? 11. Over what period of time does the industry normally amortize its transitions and initial infrastructure costs? (e.g., 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years) 12. What are the relative efficiencies/synergies in operation that can be achieved (if any) by a Contractor owned LMR service as contrasted with a Government owned, contractor operated solution. Operations/Performance: 13. How should service reliability be determined and/or guaranteed under an LMR service arrangement? How would that same service level be provided if government core network transport (i.e. DISN) were to be used? 14. How would industry use the DISN transport between the cores and installations? How would industry propose to provide service level guarantees with DoD control of the transport network or would industry propose to control links connecting RF sites within each installation and to the cores? 15. Should subscriber unit radios be included as part of LMRACS or should these continue to be Army-owned at each location? If the Army continues to own subscriber unit radios, how would support to third party radios be accomplished? How would you ensure full interoperability between disparate vendor equipment to allow for higher level functionality (beyond standard P25 parameters) (such as OTAR, OTAP, etc.)? 16. If subscriber unit radios are to be provided as part of the LMRACS service contract, how often should the radios be life cycled? What warranty structure is available for the subscriber unit radios as part of the LMRACS? 17. Where does industry recommend the cores be located to best serve all CONUS Army installations with fully redundant, geographically separate (different power grids) core processing? 18. How would industry provide central monitoring and reporting of the CONUS LMR network to the Army? How would you design a system to allow the Army to have theater, brigade, and regional views of the LMR network? 19. How would you structure government Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) tracking of services? What procedures would industry follow for outage and trouble ticket reporting both internally and to the Army? Would it be centrally handled for all of CONUS (enterprise) or by installation? Noting that the Army has established an Army Enterprise Service Desk (AESD) as a "one-stop shop" for first calls, how would industry recommend using that construct in a leased service construct? How would you configure ticketing, response and resolution to allow for full Army visibility into the incident response structure? 20. What service level objectives should be used for LMRACS for voice and data? Continuity of Service 21. LMR is not unlike many other critical communications services (e.g. telephone, cellular, electric power grid) in that it must survive both natural and man-made interruptions. Under emergency situations, it is crucial to have an emergency preparedness plan and adequate facilities in place to rapidly recover from emergencies. Please explain your approach to providing emergency backup, standby, and portable systems to mitigate outages and assure continuity of service in emergencies CONUS-wide. Cyber Security: 22. How would industry ensure Information Assurance/Cyber Security accreditation and Information Assurance Vulnerability Monitoring and reporting? Noting that the requirement from AR 25-2 is to report IAVM compliance via government channels to the Authorizing Official and/or system owner, how would you structure obtaining and applying patches, scanning, tracking, and reporting compliance? General: 23. What information will be required from the Army in order to submit a comprehensive proposal should the Army decide to proceed with LMRACS? 24. Can other systems such as Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) or E911/Next Gen 911 also be implemented as a contracted service? 25. How would the addition of CAD or E911/Next Gen 911 impact the implementation of LMRACS if the CAD or E911 Systems are separately procured vs. provided as a Service? 26. How would the LMRACS vendors consider transitioning to, or interoperating with, Firstnet when it becomes available? If providing a written response, the response should be limited to no more than 20 pages, font size 12, Arial. Any information used will be on a non-attribution basis. Restrictions that would limit the Government's ability to use the information for these purposes are of limited value to the Government and are discouraged. Proprietary information, if any, MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (Information Exchange Event) PL LMR intends to hold an Information Exchange Event at Fort Belvoir, MD on 28-29 November 2017. There will not be a government brief to all vendors as it will consist of one-on-one meetings only. Therefore, a vendor will only need to attend one day. The Information Exchange Event will start at the vendors scheduled time given at time of confirmed registration. This scheduled Information Exchange Event will enable potential Offerors to further understand the history behind the requirement. Attendance at the Information Exchange Event is not a requirement and in no way will it have any effect on any company from submitting a response to this Sources Sought notice and/or a proposal in response to any forthcoming solicitation. To register for this Information Exchange Event, send an email to Michael Giesen, at Michael.j.giesen.civ@army.mil by noon CST on 14 November 2017. The email must provide the business name, address, attendee name(s), a point of contact phone number and email address. The subject line of the email should read "PL LMR Information Exchange Event". Specifics, including directions, date and time slot for one-on-one meeting, agenda, question forms, and ground rules will be provided by email upon approved registration. Due to space limitations, no more than four (4) representatives from each potential Offeror will be permitted to attend the Information Exchange Event. All attendees must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. If your company has already provided a response to this sources sought, you are NOT required to re-submit any information already provided. If you are a new respondent providing a written response prior to the Information Exchange Event, please send your capability statements, including responses to questions, to Mr. A. Conrad Baker, Contracting Officer at a.c.baker2.civ@mail.mil, and Mr. Michael Giesen, Contract Specialist at michael.j.giesen.civ@mail.mil by 1200 (CDT) 14 November 2017. However, as a reminder, this is not a requirement to attend the Information Exchange Event. Please email inquiries to Mr. A. Conrad Baker or Mr. Michael Giesen. It is the responsibility of interested sources to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Unless otherwise stated herein, no additional information is available.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/d37a78675ebec0aa88318f466be86246)
 

Place of Performance

Address: 3055 Rodman Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 61299-8000, United States

Zip Code: 61299-8000
 

Record

SN04724084-W 20171028/171026231121-d37a78675ebec0aa88318f466be86246 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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