Land Mobile Radio Maintenance and Repair

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Maintenance and Repair Services DESCRIPTION This announcement constitutes a Request for Information (RFI) as well as a Sources Sought Request (SSR). The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is seeking contractors interested in providing commercial equipment and services to support tactical communication requirements. The equipment and support shall be comparable and compatible with the current LMR equipment in the table below. Currently Motorola Corporation is the only known source with capabilities to provide specific and proprietary solutions that meet CBP's LMR modernization requirements. These capabilities are critical to officer safety. The purpose of this notification is to identify potential contractors with the skills, experience, and knowledge required to successfully complete the requirement as a firm-fixed price effort. This announcement does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise that a procurement will be issued. This is not a request for proposal (RFP) or an invitation for bids (IFB). Currently, CBP requires repair and maintenance services that cover approximately 70,000 subscriber equipment radios, no longer covered under the original manufacture's warranty. Since these radios are actively engaged in daily operational law enforcement activities, the maintenance services Contractor(s) shall process these radios as expeditiously as possible. The chart below provides historical and forecast data of LMR Maintenance and Modernization. MAINTENANCE FISCAL YEAR 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011* Repairs 2,864 3,977 5,463 1,810 2,051 Upgrades 414 57 251 422 120 MODERNIZATION Checkouts 9,520 19,171 13,497 4,754 7,031 Blitzs no data 6,488 10,974 63 4,366 UNICOR 1,429 1,647 1,121 808 700 Legacy no data 20 1,660 231 420 TOTALS 14,227 31,360 32,966 8,088 14,687 *fiscal year forecast Potential Contractors shall provide a vehicle that provides maintenance and repair services on portable and mobile radios, consolettes, and service monitors to be maintained and kept up to factory and CBP specifications. The contractor shall provide subject matter expert support for the LMR system. The LMR equipment below shall be maintained and kept up to factory specifications not reliant upon specific serial number. 1. Voice Privacy Portable Radios - ASTRO Saber, XTS300 and XTS 5000 2. Voice Privacy Mobile Radios - ASTRO Spectra Plus and XTL5000 3. Voice Privacy Consolettes -- ASTRO Spectra XTL5000 4. Communications Systems Analyzers The Managed Field Support Services team shall assist the customer as required with radio and network configuration, end-user support, and technical support to bridge the gap between CBP and provider engineering and other maintenance services. These individuals are required to support the customer at the customer's location(s) or remotely or at a designated location dedicated for the period of performance to CBP. Potential sources for this requirement will be required to submit technical data in response to the attached requirements. The Government will not reimburse any costs incurred in submitting a response to this RFI. Contractors shall be required to provide the Government supplies or services that meet or exceed requirements for tactical communications equipment and services described in the RFI attachments. NOTE: Attachment 1 -CBP LMR Subscriber Requirements Attachment 2-Operation & Management (O&M)Srvc Reqmnts Attachment 3-LMR Maintenance Service Requirement BACKGROUND The tactical communications requirement is for commercial off the shelf (COTS) based systems and associated services for O&M Maintenance - LMR maintenance service and repair of portables, mobiles, consoles, and remotes. Details of each category as well additional explanatory information are provided in Attachments 1 through 3. The requirement is for commercially available equipment. There is a need to continue to pursue technological improvements during the life of these agreements and a technical refresh insertion clause will be included in any resultant agreements. There may be compatibility restraints when the requiring activity must interoperate with legacy systems. In those instances, subscriber equipment and communications systems infrastructure equipment must be compatible with and/or interface with constraints such as the following: - 1. IPv6 compliant as per the applicable Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Requests for Comment (RFC) and approved standards - 2. Compliant with Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) TIA-102.CAAA-B for vibration and shock - 3. Compliant with all National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rules and regulations as they apply to Land Mobile Radio - 4. Compatible with both the Integrated Wireless Information Network (IWIN) and Enhanced Land Mobiles Radio (ELMR) systems - 5. Compatible with operation in a SMARTZONE system - 6. Compatible with operation in a Vote Scan system - 7. Project 25 (P-25) compliant, specifically the P25 Common Air Interface, TIA -102 and P25 Digital & FM Analog Modulation - 8. Compliant with National Institute of Standards and techchnology (NIST), Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Standard (FIPS 197) OBJECTIVE The objective of this procurement effort is to provide equipment and services to support the tactical communication systems currently used by CBP. This acquisition may result in establishing competitive sources for the acquisition of tactical communications equipment and services to leverage buying power and promote high volume discounts at the lowest price possible, when acquiring tactical communications equipment and services. Services shall be required during core duty hours, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. Contractor personnel may be required to be on-site to support the user during the core duty hours. During certain times, the contractor may be required to work overtime hours to perform mission essential tasks. CBP Quality Assurance Personnel (QAP) shall approve all overtime requests prior to any overtime work being performed. Description of supplies/services The purpose of the anticipated contract is to provide supplies and services consisting of ancillary tactical communication equipment, back haul design, site development, deployment, and optimization of Project 25 (P-25) compliant infrastructure with a goal to add to, as well as update, interoperable land mobile radio systems. NOTE: P-25 compliant infrastructure is any infrastructure that will allow for interoperability with nation-wide tactical communications in accordance with the technical specifications mandated by the Federal Communications Commission and adopted by the Department of Homeland Security. Motorola Corporation provides specific and proprietary solutions that meet CBP's LMR modernization requirements. These capabilities are critical to officer safety. The salient characteristics of Motorola's proprietary solution are as follows: Backward Compatibility with Legacy Encryption CBP's modernized LMR systems employ Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to protect law enforcement sensitive voice communications. While AES is an industry standard employed by many LMR manufacturers, the modernized CBP LMR systems must be interoperable with legacy equipment nationwide in the event that agents/officers are deployed outside their area of responsibility. CBP's legacy LMR systems employ a proprietary implementation of Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption. Agent Tracking and Safety Features - Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Man Down CBP's nationwide operational requirements for LMR include the requirement that "The portable handheld subscriber units shall have Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities." GPS capability is a feature offered by several LMR manufacturers. In the current CBP fleet of portable subscriber units GPS capability is available only through the proprietary shoulder microphone. The microphone produces the GPS signal, which is then processed through gateway equipment that has already been purchased to support this feature in other focus areas. The only known equipment that can provide GPS service on our systems equipment is Motorola's. Man Down is a proprietary feature offered by Motorola which allows an officer in distress to press an emergency button; an alarm is sent to dispatch providing both the distress call and the officer location (through GPS). This is a critical safety feature for CBP agents and officers, and is linked back to the operational requirement for GPS. Vote Scan Technology Motorola P-25 LMR equipment provides a unique, proprietary functionality called Vote Scan that can meet the enhanced coverage and capacity requirements by optimizing the scarce resource of radio frequency spectrum to maximize the coverage of the network. The Vote Scan capability offers wide area roaming capabilities for agents and officers that operate beyond their physical areas of responsibilities. Further, Vote Scan channels allow users to maintain communication when conducting an operation over a large geographic area (e.g., rolling surveillance, vehicle pursuit). It also accommodates the requirement to communicate with the local authorities on their VHF channels as well as other federal law enforcement users including interoperable encrypted communications. As a result, Motorola is the only vendor at this point that can provide the equipment solution needed to meet these critical CBP LMR users requirements, and satisfy the law enforcement mission of CBP. Code Plug Configuration A "code plug" is a software configuration file that defines the channelization, features, and displays of a radio. Standardization of code plugs is critical to ensure that all radios function in a uniform manner in each given Focus Area. Various elements of the code plugs will be uniform nationwide. Each LMR equipment manufacturer uses a proprietary code plug to manage the configuration of their radios. Use of a single vendor for subscriber units greatly simplifies the management of the code plugs. If multiple vendors are used, multiple code plugs, and multiple variables must be accommodated to optimize interoperability with other CBP components, Federal, state, local, and tribal partners. The use of a single vendor for radio equipment simplifies the code plug development and management process, which in turn helps ensure that radios continue to function as agents and officers have come to expect. Security Requirements This acquisition does not involve access to classified information. Information relevant to the CBP LMR systems (including design features, operating parameters, configuration, frequencies, and encryption/security features) is sensitive but unclassified (SBU). Services Contractor(s) will be required to develop, implement and maintain a security plan that addresses protection of the information, equipment and facilities associated with this project. The Security Plan requirements will be addressed in the solicitation in a separate document which includes CBP standard security clauses. Sensitive Information - Sensitive information that will be disclosed includes design features, operating parameters, configuration, frequencies, and encryption/security features relevant to the CBP LMR systems. Contractor Clearance and Access - Some of the contractor's employees will be required to pass a background investigation. Security clearance and/or background investigation requirements will be included in the Security Plan. The chart below represents the current CBP estimate for annual repair and maintenance services required for LMR equipment. CBP is seeking information from potential Contractors that represents the most efficient, cost effective vehicle to acquire these repair and maintenance services. Information includes recommendations for comparable, compatible equipment, and contracting method, i.e. flat rates, cost per unit, etc. Equipment Maintenance & Repair Item Number Description Quantity Unit of Measure 0001 Voice Privacy Portable Radios - ASTRO Saber, XTS300 and XTS 5000 10,552 Each 0002 Voice Privacy Mobile Radios - ASTRO Spectra Plus and XTL5000 6,422 Each 0003 Voice Privacy Consolettes -- ASTRO Spectra XTL5000 398 Each 0004 Communications Systems Analyzers -- 28 Each Warranty Management The contractor will administer and enforce all commercial warranties offered by equipment manufacturers and or distributors for parts used in the maintenance requirement. Equipment or Software Updates/Enhancements The contractor shall recommend updates and enhancements to equipment that has been identified as critical to extend its life or to ensure more reliable operations. Infrastructure; Operation & Maintenance; Tower Services The contractor shall, when required and approved by the QAP, travel to the users' location to provide on-site technical assistance for technical issues, installation, maintenance, minor construction, and/or trouble shooting of problems encountered. Program Management The contractor shall provide management covering the performance of all objectives covered in this document during the entire period of performance. - Project and Personnel Management. The contractor shall provide project oversight/management as necessary to track, manage, and report on the cost, schedule, and performance status of this requirement. - The contractor shall appoint a Program Manager (PM) with sufficient corporate authority to direct, execute, and control all elements of this contract. - Project Management Review: The contractor shall present overall status and a description of delivered equipment, completed services in a Monthly Status Report. - Travel Travel anticipated in accordance with Government Joint Travel Regulation (JTR). Shipping Shipping anticipated Freight on Board (FOB), FOB-Destination Techical Requirements Sustainment and Support Services. The objective is to engage contractor support services for tactical communications equipment and ensure reliable operations for those systems identified in Attachment 1 - CBP LMR Subscriber Requirements; and Attachment 2 -- Operation & Management (O & M) Service Requirements. The contractor will provide COTS equipment support consisting of help desk function, failure diagnostics, equipment function testing, equipment repair, material purchasing, spares analysis, troubleshooting techniques, shipping and receiving services, inventory management, equipment warranty management, and financial management. Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Information (GFI) The requirement has GFE and GFI. Transition Period A transition period is required RESPONSES Interested parties are requested to submit a summary of their capabilities that will allow them to support the tactical communications equipment and services requirements of CBP. Please indicate if your company is classified a small business by the Small Business Administration for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) NAICS 334220. In the body of the email, include a vendor Point of Contact (POC), phone number and email address of the person to be contacted regarding any correspondence between the Government and the Vendor. This person should be a primary contact and capable of addressing questions or issues associated with the submission and content of the Capability Statement. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Electronic files larger than 5 MB shall be broken down into multiple files with no one file exceeding 5 MB. Each electronic submission shall include: RFI number and "Capability Statement" in the Subject Line - If the submission includes more than one electronic email, please include the file number and total files being submitted (e.g., File 1 of 4, File 2 of 4, etc.) in the Subject Line In the body of the email, include a vendor Point of Contact (POC), phone number and email address of the person to be contacted regarding any correspondence between the Government and the Vendor. This person should be a primary contact and capable of addressing questions or issues associated with the submission and content of the Capability Statement. Identify which of the technical categories listed under the Background paragraph above for which you are capable and interested in bidding. Contractors may propose on one or more of these categories. Include a brief summary of email content, Contractor name and firm's mailing address Indicate if your company is designated a small business by the Small Business Administration for NAICS 334220 Attach a Capability Statement that describes, as appropriate, applicable qualifications, technology description, equipment list, past performance, or relevant experience on similar projects for the technical categories you are interested in bidding. - The Government also requests comments regarding the technical requirements stated in the attachments to this RFI. Questions regarding this RFI shall be in writing and may be addressed to the Contract Specialist at the following email address, kimberly.l.cooper@dhs.gov. Please indicate the RFI number followed by, "Question" in the subject line of your e-mail. The deadline for submitting questions is 5:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 19, 2010. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid CBP, please segregate and mark proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. At the Government's discretion, questions and answers may be posted on the FedBizOpps (FBO) site where this RFI is posted. CBP may schedule an Industry Day in the Washington, DC area for this requirement in early December 2010. CONTACT INFORMATION Primary points of contact are: Kimberly L. Cooper, Contract Specialist at kimberly.l.cooper@dhs.gov - M. Lea McDaniel, Contracting Officer at mindy.l.mcdaniel@dhs.gov RESPONSE INFORMATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5:00 pm eastern standard time (EST), on November 22, 2010