Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Hardware/Operating System Upgrade

This Sources Sought Notice is for Market Research purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal. The Government will not pay for any information provided in response to this RFI. Responses will be at no cost to the Government. Summary: Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is looking for capable vendors interested in fulfilling current and future requirements for Land Mobile Radio (LMR) subscriber equipment for the command. The requirement for LMR subscribers is based on providing continuous base level support for infrastructure upgrades and to meet Association of Public/Safety Communications (APCO 25), commonly referred to as Project 25 specifications. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) require all LMR/TLMR radios and infrastructures to meet Project 25 specifications. Project 25 provides interoperability capabilities to support mutual aide and emergency response mission requirements. The LMR subscriber radios are part of the overall radio network/system and provide critical support for Command and Control (C2) communications. A LMR system/infrastructure can consists of a Trunked LMR (TLMR) controller IT servers, radio repeaters, subscribers (radio base stations, mobile and portable radios) and peripheral support items (radio antennas, RF/Power cable, Batteries w/chargers). Radio assets supporting C2 must also support Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with Over-the-Air-Rekey (OTAR) and Over-the-Air-Provisioning (OTAP) capabilities with 100 percent interoperability and functionality with current and future base level LMR/TLMR systems/infrastructure. The current and projected AETC base level infrastructures are Motorola manufactured systems. The purchased LMR radios will replace older assets that are not capable of operations within a full Project 25 environment and will also provide enhanced systems management capabilities on the base level infrastructures. The OTAR capabilities are needed to support encryption requirements on a large scale for effective security of C2 communications and provide centralized key management capabilities. The OTAP feature provides remote configuration, maintenance of radios and talkgroups. These enhanced management capabilities maximize effectiveness of the LMR/TLMR systems. The equipment needed is as follows: a. HANDHELD, PORTABLE (LMR) RADIO UHF, 1000 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES, OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud w/full digital display, navigation keys and full alphanumeric keypad, Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, w/Battery and Antenna b. HANDHELD, PORTABLE (LMR) RADIO UHF, 1000 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES, OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud. w/digital display and navigation keys, Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, w/Battery and Antenna c. HANDHELD, PORTABLE (LMR) RADIO UHF, 48 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES, OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud, Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, w/Battery and Antenna d. MOBILE, (LMR) RADIO UHF, 1000 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES, OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud., Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, 10-40 Watts e. MOBILE, (LMR) RADIO UHF, 870 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES, OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud., Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, 10-40 Watts f. BASE STATION (LMR) RADIO UHF, 1000 Channel, P25/Digital, SmartZone, AES OTAR, OTAP, 9600 Baud, Frequency Band UHF 380-470 MHZ, 10-40 Watts g. Flash software upgrade to Full - P25/9600 Baud Digital capable for non-P25 compliant XTS-5000 and XTL-5000 Radios h. Additional 2 YR Manufacturer Depot level service warranty i. Add AES Encryption Module/Software for XTS-5000 and XTL-5000 Radios j. Add Over the Air Rekey (OTAR) software/hardware upgrade for XTS-5000 and XTL-5000 Radios k. Add Over the Air Programming (OTAP) software/hardware upgrade for XTS-5000 and XTL-5000 Radios l. Add Intrinsically Safe (IS) Compliant/Certification m. Antenna, portable radio n. Battery Charger, minimum six slot capacity, smart/trickle charge o. Control Head and/or Remote Control Unit (Mobile/Base Station) p. One year premium warranty The North American Industry System Code (NAICS) for this acquisition is 334220 with a small business size standard of 750 employees. Once Market Research has been completed, a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) may be placed on the Federal Business Opportunities website http://www.fedbizopps.gov. It will be the responsibility of prospective offerors to check this site regularly for any postings or changes. Prospective offerors' must be registered in Central Contracting Registration (CCR) and must be qualified to perform services in the correct NAICS code as aforementioned. Registration may be accomplished at http://www.ccr.gov. All responsible businesses, including small businesses, are encouraged to respond to this RFI. Please provide answers for each of the following, utilizing the numbering scheme for each response and limiting your total response for this RFI to no more than ten (10) pages: 1. All interested parties are invited to provide the following information: A. Company Name and CAGE code. B. Mailing Address. C. Point of Contact (to include phone/fax and e-mail). D. Web site, if applicable. E. State if your company is registered under NAICS code 334220 or not. F. State whether your firm is large, small, small disadvantaged, woman-owned small, HUB-Zone, veteran owned, service-disabled veteran owned, or 8(a) certified business concern for NAICS 334220. 2. Provide a description of your company's ability to provide the products listed above. Identify whether you can provide all items listed or not. 3. Identify the maximum equipment order processing/delivery capabilities of your company and associated timelines, (i.e. 1000 units weekly). Identify your company's delivery timeline for equipment (i.e. 30 days after receipt of order). 4. State whether or not the LMR subscriber equipment and upgrades for Over-the-Air-Rekey (OTAR) and Over-the-Air-Provisioning (OTAP) your company would provide are 100 percent interoperable and functional with Motorola (Conventional and Trunked) infrastructure control systems and software to support full centralized management. Clearly desribe how your equipment interfaces with the Motorola system to provide 100 percent interoperability and functionality. If your equipment has already been used for this application, describe those efforts and provide a point of contact as a reference. 5. Would flash software and/or hardware upgrades be performed by the original equipment manufacturer or by independent certified technicians? 6. What, if any, considerations could be made for trade-in allowances of serviceable LMR assets? 7. Describe what is included in your company's warranty and the process to activate a warranted item. 8. Large businesses will be required to provide a small business subcontracting plan indicating whether or not they can meet Air Force minimum subcontracting goals (23% of subcontracts to small businesses, 3% to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, 5% to small disadvantaged businesses, 5% to woman-owned small businesses and 3% to Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB Zone) small businesses). Subcontractors include any company that is contracted with for services or supplies that would support this contract. If you are a large business under NAICS 334220 will you be able to meet these goals? If not, please provide a brief explanation of why these goals are not appropriate, what percentage of the total contract dollars could be subcontracted to each small business category, and the basis of the percentages proposed. NOTE: Small businesses may be located through the Dynamic Small Business Search at https://ccr.gov. Responses are due NLT 4:00PM CST on 21 May 2009. Any responses received after this time and date may not be considered as part of the government's market research. Any response to this RFI submitted by a prospective offeror shall be submitted at no cost to the Government and the Government is in no way obligated by the information received. Any question(s) MUST be directed to debbie.aguirre@randolph.af.mil AND jodie.hagee@randolph.af.mil E-mail is the acceptable means for submittal, questions or inquiries.