Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, M/S 22, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516

D -- LEASE DS3 (45MB/SEC) LINE, MAUNA KEA/HILO,HI SOL RFP-BF3875 DUE 050499 POC Priscilla O. Waltner, Contracting Officer, (617) 495-7401, email: pwaltner@cfa.harvard.edu This requirement is being procured under FAR 13.5 -- Test Program for Certain Commercial Items. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) intends to award a ten year contract to GTE Hawaiian Telephone Corporation, of Honolulu, HI, for the lease of a DS3(45Mb/sec) line on the Island of Hawaii. The DS3 line will link the SAO Submillimeter Array Telescope, located on the summit of Mauna Kea(13,500 feet above sea level) with the SAO Base Facility located in Hilo, HI. The distance between sites is approximately 45 miles. The Mauna Kea Observatories, of which SAO is a member, through the University of Hawaii, partnered with GTE Hawaiian Tel to share the cost to install the optical fiber line from the summit of Mauna Kea to Hilo over which the DS3 operates. (The DS3 must be operated via fiber optics, as radio transmitters are not permitted on Mauna Kea). The installation agreement between the University of Hawaii and GTE Hawaiian Tel provides special low lease rates for all observatories located on Mauna Kea. It is SAO's belief that it is impractical to issue a written solicitation for the DS3 line service as no contractor will be able to offer as favorable a lease rate as GTE Hawaiian Tel ($2,990.00 per month). In addition, it is believed that a written Request for Proposal will cause interested contractors to incur unnecessary proposal preparation costs. The desired start date of the DS3 line service is 1 AUG 99, preferably sooner, pending the approval of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. A determination by SAO not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of SAO. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Posted 04/27/99 (I-SN324947). (0117)

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