Commercial Wireless Internet Services

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information from industry on establishing a Commercial Wireless Internet service to support the Enlisted Professional Military Education Program of the Thomas N. Barnes Center. The Government considers information on market capabilities, common industry standards, latest technological advances, commercial terms and conditions, timelines for adaptation and integration, and possible suppliers and sources to be helpful. All feedback and information received may be used to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a possible future acquisition. This notice is issued solely for market research and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFI), Request for Quote (RFQ), or Invitation for Bid (IFB), nor does its issuance in any way restrict the Government as to its ultimate acquisition approach. Request any questions concerning clarification of this RFI be received by noon (12 PM CST) on 15 May 2015 to allow time to post a response that could possibly affect an RFI response. No award will be made from this RFI and the Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice. Responses: This RFI is prepared for planning purposes only and is not restricted to small business. If the government decides to pursue an RFP, portions of your RFI response may be incorporated into the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Sources are discouraged from submitting any information deemed competition-sensitive or proprietary. However, if sources elect to submit competition-sensitive or proprietary information, sources bear sole responsibility for marking said information as such to ensure appropriate safeguarding by the Government. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. After review of the responses to this RFI, the Government may or may not proceed with an acquisition. Information the Government releases related to this RFI will be made available on the Federal Business Opportunities site (www.fedbizops.gov). It is the potential service provider's responsibility to monitor this site for new information related to this RFI. Request for Information / Questions: The Thomas N. Barnes Center (Barnes Center) is considering providing a commercial wireless Internet service all it's Geographically Separated Units (GSUs) with a combined student population of approximately 6,000 students in attendance. The GSUs are located at Keesler AFB, Mississippi (Mathis NCOA), Tyndall AFB, Florida (Airey NCOA), Sheppard AFB Texas (Sheppard NCOA), Lackland AFB, Texas (Gaylor AFB), Peterson AFB, Colorado (Vosler AFB), and McGhee-Tyson ANGB, Tennessee (Lankford NCOA). In addition, the service would be provided to faculty and staff actively involved in academic research (approximately 160 personnel). The service provider's service model is expected to include an end-to-end solution whereas no Government furnished equipment is required. Existing communication rooms may be made available to host vendor equipment. Typical location types where the service may be required include: classrooms, faculty/staff offices, common areas, auditoriums and conference rooms. In order to develop any potential acquisition strategy the following information is being sought: - 1. What is the estimated cost to provide the infrastructure and commercial Internet service? Information provided will be useful in developing decision points for planning and the potential implementation of services based on initial set-up costs and continuous service fees. - a. Provide pricing model for initial installation of infrastructure (i.e. lines, wired drops, wireless routers, and switches) equipment required to provide the each Academy with commercial Internet service based on information from Attachments 1 and 2. - b. Provide pricing model for commercial wireless service access to classrooms, faculty/staff offices, common areas, auditoriums and conference rooms based on information from Attachments 1 and 2. - c. Provide pricing model for end-to-end service by location type (i.e. classroom, faculty/staff office, etc.) based on information from Attachments 1 and 2. Cost model for each location type should include the following components: - i. Initial Investment - ii. Recurring Service Fee - iii. Service Commitment Duration - 2. What is the estimated timeline to configure the infrastructure and provide the commercial Internet service? - a. Initial installation of lines and equipment to each building based on information from Attachments 1 and 2. - b. Initial installation of lines and equipment to the each Academy based on information from Attachments 1 and 2. - 3. Barnes Center's preference would be for all equipment to be supplied/installed/supported/maintained by the vendor. What options are available to provide for equipment maintenance and upgrade support (i.e. Service Level Agreement(s) (SLAs))? - a. What pricing models are associated with each SLA option? - 4. What executive services (customer service/help desk) are available to ensure real-time support for connectivity issues? - 5. What service delivery options do you provide (i.e. provide service to service delivery point and provide service to the user)? - 6. What possible peripheral or allied support will be required from the Government to support this service? - 7. What (if any) Blue Socket functionality is available for maintaining control on the commercial service? - a. What is the viability and estimated costs associated with the various controls that are available? - 8. What performance metrics could be made available to the government related to usage? - 9. What services are available which provide service protection, detection, response, and notification? - a. Are there any additional costs to the Government associated with providing these services? - 10. What options are available to defer upfront setup costs if the Government chooses to employ an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) type contract? (Requires commercial Internet service infrastructure (Last Mile) to exist to a specified point (building location, drop points in rooms, etc.), which would allow customers to easily activate Internet service as needed) - 11. Are there any other aspects that should be considered by the government as it refines the requirement and potentially develops an acquisition strategy? - 12. What infrastructure-based controls (equipment or service) options are available to ensure wireless signal access points (APs) adjust the channels they use to avoid co-channel interference and also reduce non-Wi-Fi interference from bluetooth devices, cellular antennas, microwave signals and other wireless devices, while maintaining optimum bandwidth levels for all users? - 13. What quality of service (QoS) features do you offer that help voice, video, and other latency-sensitive traffic get priority treatment over regular data? - 14. What feature(s) will your infrastructure offer to ensure "airtime fairness" and prevents clients from monopolizing resources? If additional information is required to formulate your response to this RFI, request the information through the POCs listed above.