Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, 4301 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92110-3127

58 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON COMMERCIAL KA-BAND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES SOL TBD DUE 101598 POC Pamela F. Kibler, Contracting Officer, (619)524-7192 WEB: Request for Information will be posted on SPAWAR Contracts, http://www.spawar.navy.mil/02/. E-MAIL: E-mail address of the Contracting Officer for this, kiblerp@spawar.navy.mil. The U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWARSYSCOM) in cooperation with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is seeking information on achieving new military satellite communications (SATCOM) capabilities using systems operating in the Ka frequency band. Although the military anticipates that the Ka band services would not be operational until late calendar year 2001 or later, the need for pre-planning is recognized to take advantage of the commercial marketplace and to allow for the time required to implement the appropriate contractual vehicle(s). Accordingly, the purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to assess the capability and features of industry's current and emerging Ka-band commercial SATCOM systems to meet the future requirements of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Government agencies. This assessment will help the military services define the future architecture of the DoD wideband SATCOM architecture, including consideration for both government and commercial SATCOM. It is anticipated that future military requirements would include both Fixed and Mobile Satellite Services (FSS/MSS) utilizing WRC-allocated portions of the 17.7 to 31.0 GHz commercial and military satellite frequency spectrum, and would consist of circuit bandwidths on the order of one to many megabits per second. The military's use of wideband SATCOM would include services such as: imagery transfer, video teleconferencing, command and control systems information exchange, tele-medicine, trunked voice circuits, and large file transfer. Information regarding the following technical aspects of commercial Ka-band SATCOM systems is requested: system architecture technical description (space, terminal and ground segments); geographic coverage; services offered (voice, video and data); user capacity; network management and control; system security; system vulnerabilities (jamming, interception, geolocation, user surges); and available terminal equipment (MSS and FSS). Additionally, information regarding business and regulatory aspects is requested including: current/anticipated cost for usage; program status and schedule; status of FCC/WRC filings; consortiums and/or partnerships and the division of responsibilities; and up-to-date business plans. Comments and/or suggestions on the type of contractual vehicle are also solicited. Services of this type have been traditionally paid for using annual operations and maintenance type monies. Such funding allows, by statute, a firm commitment of no more than one year. In the event that an alternate type of funding allowing a longer term commitment would be substantially more economical to the Government, such information, supported by appropriate rationale is also requested. Responses shall also identify whether your company is a large, small, or small disadvantaged business. A "small business concern" is defined as a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding, and qualified as a small business under the applicable Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code. The SIC code for this effort is 4812 and the small business size standard is 1500 employees. This number of employees means the average employment, including employees of domestic and foreign affiliates, based on the number of persons employed on a full-time, part-time, temporary, or other basis during each of the pay periods of the preceding 12 months. Additional information regarding small business size standards and definitions may be found at Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 19. This Commercial Ka-Band Acquisition Initiative will also be a topic discussed during the SPAWAR/NDIA Conference planned for Sept 28th and 29th at the Bahia Resort in San Diego, CA. More information on the foregoing conference may be obtained at http://www.ndia-sd.org. Additional information regarding Ka-Band Satellite Communications can be found at http://www.jmcoms.org/CommercialSatCom/. All replies should not exceed 20 pages. An original and four copies should be submitted no later than 15 October 1998 to SPAWARSYSCOM, Attn: Pamela Kibler Code 02-32A, OT#4 Room 1038, 4301 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92110-3127. If any information is considered proprietary it MUST be so marked to be protected by the Government as such. One-on-one meetings may be scheduled after the Government reviews the information received in response to this announcement. Please also include in your response whether or not you desire to participate in such a meeting and the name and telephone number of your point-of-contact responsible for scheduling the meeting. This request for information is not a formal solicitation. The Government will not award a contract on the basis of this request for information or responses received, nor will it pay for the information requested herein. Posted 09/11/98 (W-SN248622). (0254)

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