U.S. Information Agency, Office of Contracts, Room 1611, 330 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20547

70 -- GENERAL PURPOSE AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (INCLUDING FIRMWARE), SOFTWARE, SUPPLIES, AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. POC Elliott Gilmore 202-205-8413 SOURCES SOUGHT - The USIA/International Broadcasting Bureau (USIA/IBB) is seeking information for planning purposes which may lead to multiple future contracts out of FY 1999. The USIA/IBB has a requirement to modernize and replace their existing systems that are used for multilingual office automation and audio/video broadcast production. This overall effort is referred to as the Digital Broadcasting Project (DBP). The DBP multi-year multi-contract effort will include the following elements: 1) Replacement of Master Control & Audio Switcher-this contract will involve the replacement of the existing analog Master Control facility with all AES/EBU digital equipment. USIA intends to issue a solicitation document (RFP) for this negotiated firm-fixed price procurement by April 1996. 2) Digital Audio Editing Software-this contract will involve the provision of broadcast-quality digital audio editing software, running on the Solaris 2.X operating system, for use by IBB broadcasters in production of on-air radio material. 3) Asychronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Switches and Cards-this series of contracts /procurements will involve the provision ATM switches, network interface cards and fiber optic cabling to create an ATM-based local area network for data (packet) and real-time audio/video transfer within the IBB. 4) Desktop Workstations and Operating System-this contract will involve the replacement of existing proprietary desktop computing platforms within the IBB standards-based workstations (e.g., Intel x86, SPARC, POWERPC), and the provision of Solaris 2.X as the operating system for all platforms. 5) Network File and Audio Servers-this contract will involve the provision of network file servers and network digital audio (streams) servers to support all office automation and digital audio production needs within the IBB. 6) Broadcast Equipment-this contract will involve the replacement of the existing analog audio production equipment in the IBB's core studios, mini-studios and mix-dub centers with digital audio production equipment, capable of utilizing the AES/EBU. 7) Video Production Switchers-this contract will involve the replacement of the existing analog video production switchers used in the IBB's Worldnet TV operation with digital video production switchers capable of utilizing CCIR 601 4:2:2 serial component signals. 8) Additional Video Production Equipment-this series of contracts/procurements will involve the replacement of the existing analog video production equipment in the IBB's Worldnet TV operation with digital video production equipment, capable of utilizing CCIR 601 4:2:2 serial component signals. Qualified suppliers of any of the equipment or software types listed above are requested to provide product information by mail to the address listed above or by facsimile to 202-205-5466 by April 30, 1996. If and when any of the equipment and software becomes a firm requirement, a synopsis will be published in the Commerce Business daily. Only at that time will a solicitation mailing list be assembled. This notice in not a RFP. (0086)

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