Local Area Telecommunications

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. REQUESTS FOR A SOLICITATION WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. The 22d Contracting Squadron (22 CONS) of the 22d Air Refueling Wing is conducting market research to determine the availability, interest and capability of potential small business sources qualified and able to compete for a contract to perform the Local Telecommunication Service requirements at McConnell AFB, Kansas. The information in this notice is based on the best and most current information available to date. This information is subject to change and is not binding to the Government. Updated information will be provided in future announcements and posted electronically on the System for Award Management (https://sam.gov/content/opportunities). The Government shall not reimburse the costs of preparing responses to this request for information/sources sought notice. The contractor shall provide all labor, tools, facilities, materials, and services needed to perform and provide local access to the designated circuit demarcation point(s) identified in Appendix 1 to the Performance Work Statement. These services shall include any equipment, wiring, or infrastructure to ensure the contractor's proposed solution is compatible with the Government's current infrastructure without additional Government expense. Access to the local exchange shall also include operator assistance functions. These services shall not include residential or business services for non-Government entities or Government contractors. The contractor shall follow all Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Public Utility Commission (PUC), Department of Defense (DoD), AF, and industry standards for this requirement. The contractor shall provide and install transmission equipment and cables for local exchange access and transport service circuits to the Government-provided floor space at the Government demarcation location(s) identified in Appendix 1. The contractor shall connect to Government-provided power connection points and termination frames. The contractor shall coordinate with the Government Point of Contact (POC) (primary and alternate names, emails, and telephone numbers shall be provided by the Government No Later Than (NLT) five days after contract award) prior to any installation. The Government does not authorize aerial cable installations. The estimated contract period including all options is 1 September 2023 through 31 August 2028. The successful contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision, and all other items necessary (excluding Government Furnished Property) to perform Local Telecommunication Service (LTS) at McConnell AFB in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations and commercial standards as set forth in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) for said services. The NAICS code for this requirement is 517111, Wired Telecommunication Carriers. The Small Business Size Standard is 1,500 employees. The Government requests interested parties submit a brief statement of current capability to perform these services and a letter of interest. Interested and qualified sources should provide the following information: (1) company name, point of contact, e-mail address, telephone number, type of business and size [i.e.; Small, SBA Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone), Women Owned, and/or Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO)]; (2) a list of your most recent and relevant DoD and/or commercial contracts (not to exceed ten) to include a brief description, names, POCs, phone numbers, value & type of contract, and period of performance; and (3) information about your company and why you think you can perform this service. Please limit your submissions to ten pages. Please send responses to Mr. Miguel Herrera via e-mail: miguel.herrera@us.af.mil in PDF or Microsoft Word format. To be considered in this market survey, please reply by close of business, 4:00 pm CT, 28 April 2023. 22 CONS is interested in quantifying and pre-qualifying the likelihood of setting aside competition for LTS services for McConnell AFB to a small business. Depending upon the response to this notice and other market research, 22 CONS may limit the competition to a specific category of small business at the exclusion of all other potential business concerns. This announcement serves as a first step for 22 CONS to determine the viability of setting aside the procurement of LTS services for competition solely within or among certain small businesses in selected categories. Please note that the Small Business Administration (SBA) currently has established this requirement under the 8(a) Program in accordance with 13 CFR 124. This is a Sources Sought announcement only; no solicitation exists or is available at this time. Requests for a solicitation shall not receive a response. This announcement shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. In the event a solicitation is developed, it will be assigned a formal Request for Quotation (RFQ) number and the announcement will be published on the Contract Opportunity website at www.beta.sam.gov. Potential interested parties are responsible for monitoring this site for the release of the solicitation package as well as downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any. AFFARS 5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (OCT 2019) (a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern. (b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions). (c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsman, Ms. Susan Madison, AFICA OL AMC, 507 Symington Drive, Scott AFB IL 62225-5022, (618) 256-0267, fax (618) 256-6668, email: susan.madison@us.af.mil. Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/DRU/SMC ombudsman level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2395, facsimile number (571) 256-2431. (d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency. (e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the contracting officer. Point of Contact: Miguel Herrera, Contracting Specialist Phone (316) 759-4213, E-mail: miguel.herrera@us.af.mil