3.45 GHz Engineering Support for Enduring Coordination (3-ESEC) Notice of Intent to Sole Source

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

The Defense Information Systems Agency/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization intends to negotiate a sole source contract with Peraton, Inc.  A sole source Justification & Approval document is being coordinated and, upon approval, a copy of it will be posted here on SAM.gov to comply with the public display requirements of FAR 6.301.

The proposed contract action will continue providing support to facilitate the completion of the 3.45 GHz Engineering Support for Enduring Coordination (3-ESEC) for the 3450 – 3550 MHz band effort.

BACKGROUND:

In 2020, the White House and Department of Defense (DoD) established the America’s Mid-Band Initiative Team (AMBIT) to make 100 MHz of contiguous mid-band spectrum available for commercial 5G. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) subsequently authorized flexible-use licenses in the 3450–3550 MHz band (3.45 GHz band) and conducted Auction 110 in October 2021, offering 4,060 licenses nationwide. The band includes Cooperative Planning Areas (CPAs), which require coordination with DoD systems, and Periodic Use Areas (PUAs), where commercial access may be restricted during DoD operations.

To support spectrum sharing, Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Command, Control, Communications, and Engineering (C3E) developed the 3.45 GHz Transition Plan, including an interim coordination portal and a future dynamic coordination system. In January 2022, Peraton was awarded the AMBIT Engineering Support for Initial Coordination (AESIC) task order to provide engineering analysis and manage coordination requests between DoD and commercial licensees. In April 2025, a follow-on 3.45 GHz Engineering Support for Enduring Coordination (3-ESEC) task order was awarded to Peraton and ends in May 2027. 

Since formal coordination began in October 2022, the AESIC/ESEC team has processed 3,192 coordination requests, 573,877 sectors, and delivered 2,080 results letters from commercial licensees. Because DoD systems will continue operating in the band, ongoing engineering support is needed to coordinate spectrum use between Military Departments and commercial licensees in CPAs and PUAs nationwide. Since October 2022, Peraton has supported more than 200 coordination meetings with commercial licensees and DoD stakeholders, building trusted relationships and a deep understanding of stakeholder priorities, operational requirements, and evolving mission needs.

Primary objectives include:

1. Manage and oversee 3.45 GHz coordination among Military Departments (MILDEPs), DoD CIO, PAE C3E, and commercial licensees to support Transition Plan execution and information sharing.
2. Deliver consistent engineering, technical analysis, and subject-matter expertise to maximize spectrum sharing, minimize interference, and protect DoD spectrum-dependent systems.
3. Develop, validate, deploy, and refine new Automated Spectrum Coordination System (ASCS) features and associated workflows, tools, algorithms, and business processes for dynamic spectrum coordination and interference deconfliction.
4. Assess emerging technologies and commercial network proposals to identify potential impacts on DoD access and operations in the 3.45–3.55 GHz band.
5. Provide data management and decision-support services to improve coordination data, inform government decision makers, and sustain DoD’s current and future radio frequency spectrum requirements.

At this time, the incumbent contractor Peraton is the only known source capable of providing the required 3.45 GHz spectrum coordination engineering, analysis, and program-support services without unacceptable disruption to mission execution and within the remaining Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) Transition Plan period, which expires in December 2027. Peraton has provided continuous support for the 3.45 GHz coordination mission since 2022, giving it direct, mission-specific experience with the technical, operational, and stakeholder requirements of the effort.

This proposed seven-month contract, including a potential 12-month option period, will provide continuity of support between the current contract’s expiration and completion of the SRF-funded requirement. Peraton’s continued performance is necessary to prevent a gap in support for ongoing coordination activities between the MILDEPs, DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO), PAE C3E, and commercial licensees.

Peraton is uniquely positioned to continue performance because its incumbent workforce possesses established operational knowledge, specialized engineering expertise, mature coordination processes, and trusted stakeholder relationships developed through direct support of the 3.45 GHz spectrum-sharing mission since 2022. A transition to a new contractor would require substantial time and resources to transfer technical knowledge, establish access to relevant data and workflows, train personnel, validate engineering processes, and rebuild working relationships among Government and commercial stakeholders. These activities would create duplicative costs, require a significant ramp-up period, and introduce risk to the timeliness and consistency of spectrum-coordination support.

The requirement involves a highly specialized spectrum-sharing environment requiring expertise in electromagnetic compatibility analysis, spectrum coordination, interference assessment, Automated Spectrum Coordination System (ASCS) workflows, and associated business-process development. Effective performance also depends on established communication and coordination among diverse stakeholders with competing operational and commercial interests. Through its support since 2022, Peraton has developed an extensive understanding of the 3.45 GHz coordination environment and the ability to rapidly modify business processes, technical analyses, and coordination approaches in response to changing stakeholder mission requirements and commercial network deployments.

Given the limited remaining period of performance—seven months with a potential 12-month option—the Government does not anticipate that another source could reasonably absorb the transition costs and ramp-up time required to provide equivalent support within the available SRF funding window. Award to another source would increase cost, schedule, and mission risk without a commensurate benefit to the Government.

Accordingly, continued award to Peraton Inc. is necessary to ensure uninterrupted 3.45 GHz coordination support, preserve continuity of operations, minimize avoidable transition costs, and enable completion of the SRF-funded requirement before funding expires in December 2027.

The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 10 USC 2304 (c) (1), as implemented by FAR 6.103-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Companies who believe they can provide this service must indicate their interest in writing within 15 days of this notification and include a detailed capability statement.  No reimbursement for any cost connected with providing capability information will be provided.  All responsible sources will be considered in evaluating the determination to issue a sole-source contract.  Quotations or proposals received in response to this notice cannot be accepted since this synopsis cannot be considered a request for quote or a request for proposal.  A solicitation will NOT be posted to SAM.gov due to the sole source nature of the requirement.

The North American Classification System (NAICS) code 541511, Custom Computer Programming Services, will be used for determining company size status. The estimated dollar value of this contract is $3.7M.

CONTRACT/PROGRAM BACKGROUND:

Contract Number: HC104721D0002 / HC1047-25-F-2010 (A5702)

Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Cost Reimbursable (CR)

Incumbent and their size and CAGE: Peraton, Inc. / Large Business / Cage Code: 0HD54

Method of previous acquisition: Task order on single award IDIQ contract (Applied Engineering Services (AES))

Period of performance:  10 April 2025 – 09 May 2027

Contract Number: HC1047-21-D-0002/ HC104722F0008 (A5700)

Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Cost Reimbursable (CR) 

Incumbent and their size and CAGE: Peraton, Inc. / Large Business / Cage Code: 0HD54 

Method of previous acquisition: Task order on single award IDIQ contract (Applied Engineering Services (AES)) 

Period of performance:  10 January 2022 – 9 April 2025 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

SECRET Facility Clearance

Points of Contact: contact@example.gov and contact@example.gov

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