DHHS/PHS/FDA/Office of Facilities, Acquisitions, and Central Services, IT Contracts Branch, HFA-511, 5600 Fishers Lane, Park Building, Room 3-20, Rockville, MD 20857

D -- INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF FIBER CABLE SOL 223-96-5594/Amend #2 DUE 082296 POC Contact Contract Specialist, Leonard Grant, 301/443-1555, Contracting Officer, Dennis Hunt, 301/443-1555 The above referenced synopsis/solicitation is hereby amended to respond to questions submitted by potential offerors. The following questions and answers are provided in response to the above referenced synopsis/solicitation which first appeared in the Commerce Business Daily on August 2, 1996: Question #1 - Is redundant routing required? Answer #1 - No. However, if a cable is run on the same path it needs to be put on a separate conduit. Question #2 - If so, are separate entrances required at each building? Answer #2 - Separate entrances at each building is not required, but there should be separate conduits. Question #3 - Is the cable required to be 100% buried? Answer #3 - No. There is no stipulation that the cable be 100% buried. FDA does know that the cable cannot be buried under Interstate I-270 which is a major highway along the cable path. Question #4 - What is the required delivery date? Answer #4 - Completion of this project will be 120 days after award. Question #5 - What are the technical specifications for your single mode fiber, transmitter, and receiver? Answer #5 - The FDA required Grade ''A'' Single mode fiber with specifications of: .40db loss at 1300nm per km; .35db loss at 1500nm per km; 2.4 Gb per second transfer rates. Question #6 - How long will the 100mg and 2.4gb capability be verified/tested? Answer #6 - There is no 100mg. Assuming the question is for 100Mb and 2.4Gb, those transfer rates are part of the specifications of Grade ''A'' Single mode fiber. The actual speed at this time will be determined by the interface hardware the FDA provides. The Db loss certification of the cable before sign off will provide a base line for maintaining integrity in the future. The FDA, at its option, may independently test the DB loss and distance of each segment. Question #7 - When can a walk through of the locations be performed? Answer #7 - A site survey is scheduled for Monday, August 19, 1996 at 10:00 a.m.. Any potential contractor wishing to walk/drive to the various locations should meet in front of the 2098 Gaither Road building. Please contact Leonard Grant (301) 443-1555 as soon as possible if you are planning to attend. Question #8 - What are the monitoring requirements? Answer #8 - There are no monitoring requirements on an ongoing basis. The FDA will perform monitoring functions within the Wide Area Network and report problems to the vendor for further diagnosis and repair within the time frames specified in the Statement of Work. Question #9 - Is conduit available to each building? Answer #9 - The contractor must assume that there is no available conduit. Existing conduit might be in place but not owned by the building, filled, or owner not willing to permit usage. Question #10 - Are there Bell Atlantic ducts along the proposed route? Answer #10 - We do not know if there are any Bell Atlantic ducts along the proposed route. In the Statement of Work it states that the contractor is responsible for all engineering services, materials, labor permits, rights-of-way, etc. in order to fulfill the requirement. Therefore, it is up to the contractor to find this information out. Question #11 - How many copies of our proposal and documentation should be submitted on August 22, 1996? Answer #11 - One (1) original copy and three (3) duplicate copies of the proposal are requested. The solicitation closing date of August 22, 1996, 3:00 p.m., remains unchanged as a result of this amendment. (0229)

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