DHHS, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, ADP Branch, Room 5-95 Parklawn Bldg., 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857

D -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION SOL Telecommuniation Improvement Project POC Paquetta Myrick-Hancock, Contract Specialist E-MAIL: PROGRAM SUPPORT CENTER, pmyrick-hancock@psc.gov. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION This is not a solicitation. Background: The Program Support Center (PSC), an operating division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides administrative support on a fee-for-service basis to HHS components and other Federal agencies. In November 1991 HHS awarded a 10-year contract to Bell Atlantic (BA) of Maryland to provide a Astate-of-the-art@ telecommunications system to HHS components in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland. This contract is referred to as the Telecommunications Improvement Project (TIP). The TIP serves the following customer agencies: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the Secretary, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the PSC. The original contract period of performance began on December 1, 1991 and expired November 30, 1992 at which time aseries of one (1) year options to extend the period of performance became available through November 2001. The contract was awarded as a combination firm-fixed price (FFP) and fixed price indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract (IDIQ). There are currently 764 Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) in the FFP portion of the contract. The IDIQ portion contains over 4,600 CLINs of which approximately 300 are used on a regular basis. The TIP currently provides a full range of services including dial tone, voice mail, and modem pools for over 51,000 lines (approximately 18,000 are ISDN pipes of which 6,500 are multipoint) at 65 locations. One of these locations, the NIH campus, includes more than 45 buildings. The remainder are Federally owned or leased locations in the Maryland suburbs. There are 2 Automated Support Facilities with approximately 45 full time contractor-provided technical staff that provide day-to-day telecommunications management and service to TIP customers. The Government agencies servedby the TIP also have extensive Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) systems operated separately from the TIP. The system has grown substantially from the original 22,000 lines that were in place when the Request For Proposal for the current contract was issued and continues to expand to new locations with additional lines. Historically, TIP had approximately 39,000 lines in October 1993, 42,000 in October 1994, 45,000 in October 1995, 49,000 in October 1996, 50,000 in October 1997, and 51,000 in October 1998. The TIP is served by a state-of-the-art telecommunications system capable of simultaneously transmitting voice and data. The hardware includes a BA-owned Lucent 5ESS telephone switch at the NIH campus, which serves as a host, and optical remote modules (ORM) at the Bell Atlantic Montrose Central office. Copper and/or fiber cable serve all locations; however, not all locations are fundamental to the switch or the ORM. The PSC is responsible for contract and project management of the TIP. The PSC=s overall telecommunications service goals are to: provide fully reliable and high quality telecommunications services that meet customer needs, provide maximum automation of telecommunications-related tasks to minimize overhead and reduce errors, provide new technological improvements to telecommunications service as they become available, provide current information to managers on telecommunication costs, and perform evaluations of cost and traffic data to achieve maximum quality of service at minimum cost. Synopsis: The PSC is issuing this Request for Information for market research and planning purposes, and to allow industry the opportunity to verify the feasibility of the potential requirement as well as to promote competition. The PSC will not pay for the information solicited. The PSC is considering a single contract combining dial tone, voice mail, station adds-moves-changes, and basic telecommunications services. In addition, the contractor will be required to maintain all cabling and equipment currently in place. Other telecommunications services may be acquired via multi-vendor or single-vendor IDIQ contracts for: 1) data access and transport, internet access, remote access and telecommuting (voice over IP, multicasting, LAN via switch); 2) audio-conferencing; 3) video-conferencing; 4) call centers; 5) wireless; 6) cabling; and, 7) telecommunications equipment (ISDN and analog sets and other ancillary equipment). The imbedded base of equipment must work with any system proposed and number portability is mandatory. In addition, the current 5-digit dialing plan is required even if additional NNXs are needed. The current equipment includes: 1A2; Lucent, Merlin and Legend equipment; Fujitsu and Lucent ISDN equipment; Northern Telcom and Cortelco basic analog single line and other equipment and special services. The contractor must also maintain and administer the Voice Mail System that consists of 2 Lucent/Octel 350s with over 35,000 mailboxes and support both simple and complex tree structures. Any proposed system must also interface with FTS 2001. The current Telecommunications Management System (TMS) is Bell Atlantic=s BAOSC 2000 system. Though the Government owns and would like to continue using this system, it is not a requirement. A vendor must either utilize BAOSC 2000 or propose a new TMS that is (at a minimum) of equivalent functionality. Functions of the TMS include ordering telephone lines, equipment and support services, changing telephone features or moving telephone lines, provisioning switch alarm analysis and maintenance, tracking repair and installation workforce management, tracking inside and outside cable plant, and administering service locations (LGs) and billing accounts (BACs). BAOSC 2000 interfaces directly with the 5ESS switch to provide near real-time line information and updates. It is an Oracle relational database on a UNIX platform, running on a Government-owned SUN Enterprise 4000. It is accessed by Government users via an existing Government wide area network. The BAOSC 2000 system is currently located in the Bell Atlantic Automated Support Facility (ASF) at an off-campus NIH location. The current version of BAOSC 2000 running at the TIP site is not Windows-based; point-and-click functionality would be an appropriate feature as a part of any new program proposed. The BAOSC 2000 TMS provides an automated ordering system that integrates the components of placing an order into one process. When connected to the TMS via a desktop computer, a telecommunications specialist can order telephone service including the telephone number, type of service, and associated equipment. The BAOSC 2000 system verifies that all items ordered are compatible, assigns the physical cable pairs needed to provide the service and activates the line in the 5ESS switch, and prices the cost of the order based on CLIN tables maintained in the system. Another desirable feature for the proposed TMS would be the capability to integrate local service account and activity records and resulting allocated billing with other telecommunications billing records provided by FTS 2001 service providers, using the FTS 2001 records, formats and media specified by GSA in the FTS 2001 contract (available on GSA=s FTS website). The deliverable would be a consolidated statement of telecommunications charges, summarized by ASF, by agency components, and by agency detail (Billing Account Code -- BAC level). In October 1993 there were 165 BACs; today there are 427. The PSC is seeking firms capable of providing the next generation telecommunications system to the PSC and its customers to include: hardware, software, installation, training and ongoing maintenance that includes local number portability, current 5-digit dialing, integrated dial tone and voice mail system, Telecommunications Management System, uninterrupted power supply, and long-term support. Support consists of, but is not limited to, the following actions: systems development/enhancement, installation and maintenance, response to user requests and trouble calls, software engineering, technical solutions, systems testing, and system documentation. It is anticipated that the current level of 65 locations will increase and that new buildings and a high rate of construction will have a major impact on the volume of moves, adds and changes. The vendor should demonstrate the ability to provide a high level of support to large campus environments and individual HHS locations in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and to provide limited supplies and services to other HHS locations nationwide. In responding to this request for information, vendors should submit written capability statements that address the following issues: Experience and knowledge of complex telecommunications systems, design and operations, including evidence of progressive and responsible experience. A list of related types of contracts previously and currently performed. Suggestions on the type of contractual vehicle and performance period needed for the new contract to support the telecommunications system described above. Appropriateness of incorporating incentives and disincentives into the new contract. The inclusion of quantity discounts in the new contract. Ability to maintain and provide the government an accurate database of the entire telecommunications infrastructure. Ability to provide adequate staff to support a large campus environment. Suggestions that address the issue of voice over packet to take advantage of multi-service packet-based voice and data networking. Ability to keep contractor staff abreast of new telecommunications technologies. Any alternative acquisition plans that would be more effective based on the requirements described above. Responding vendors are required to suggest the best solution for the next generation TIP system in their capability statement. Capability statements are due 45 days from the issue date of this notice. Once capability statements have been reviewed, one-on-one exchanges with vendors may be scheduled as appropriate. Exchanges are for information gathering purposes only and are intended to enhance the Government's understanding of vendor capabilities. Questions concerning this Request for Information may be emailed to Paquetta Myrick-Hancock, Contract Specialist, at pmyrick-hancock@psc.gov or faxed to her attention at (301) 443-2761. Posted 06/28/99 (W-SN347787). (0179)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0029 19990630\D-0007.SOL)