Military Sealift Command Industry Days

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will host Military Sealift Command (MSC) Next Generation Wideband (NGW) Satellite Communications Capabilities Focused Industry Days Monday, April 13, 2009 through Friday, April 17, 2009 beginning at 1:00 PM EDT. The purpose of this unclassified conference is to enable Department of Defense (DOD) representatives to obtain information from industry experts on Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Service, commercial practices and how industry might best meet MSC needs. This information will be used by DOD to better understand industry's ability to support a core set of user needs and user-selectable enhancements. This information will be fundamental to shaping DOD's future NGW efforts; operators, managed service providers, and system engineering and integration (SE&I) resellers are encouraged to attend. Background: NGW is an essential component of today's DOD communications. Current capacity of systems cannot meet the increasing communications demands of the joint warfighters. To augment the existing capacity, DOD leases capacity on commercial satellites and procures or leases terminals to satisfy operational requirements. The current services include leased C- and Ku-band worldwide bandwidth totaling approximately 4 GHz. Along with leasing bandwidth, DOD contracts for associated SE&I services such as planning, engineering, network operations center support, service level agreement (SLA) management, operational spectrum monitoring of leased service, turn-key service, earth terminal installation, host nation agreements, licensing, troubleshooting assistance, and administrative support. These services are obtained through multiple contractors that procure bandwidth from multiple global and regional service providers around the world. A core set of user capabilities has been identified. These were released on FedBizOpps on 2 February, 2009, as Military Sealift Command Next Generation Wideband Request for Information (RFI). Plenary Session: The conference will kick-off with an afternoon plenary/overview session at 1:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) (EDT) on Monday, April 13, 2009 and will last until approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT. All industry representatives are invited to attend this session, even if they did not respond to the RFI. Attendees should arrive between12:00 pm EDT and 1:00 pm EDT for security check-in and registration at the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Tower III facility, located at 1710 SAIC Drive McLean, VA 22102. A total of 150 seats will be available for industry on a first come, first serve basis for the plenary session in the afternoon. Government representatives will provide introductory remarks and address various topics, including welcoming guests, the conference agenda, event information (safety and rules of engagement), industry background and objectives, and an open question session for industry. Up to four company representatives will have the opportunity to attend the afternoon plenary/overview session. The conference will begin promptly at 1:00 pm EDT. No food or beverages will be provided, so plan accordingly. Industry One-on-Ones: One-on-one sessions will begin Tuesday, April 14, 2009 through Friday, April 17, 2009, at the SAIC Tower III facility located at 1710 SAIC Drive McLean, VA 22102. Attendees should arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled, pre-registered appointments for security check-in and registration at the SAIC Tower III facility. Appointments times will be strictly enforced. No food or beverages will be provided, so plan accordingly. Industry one-on-one attendees are expected to be COMSATCOM operations and technical staff that can answer the specific RFI questions. Meetings will consist of one hour one-on-one government-industry sessions. Schedules will be enforced, and the first fifty minutes will involve questioning by the Government to better understand company RFI responses. The final ten minutes will be set aside to allow each company to either elaborate on previously discussed points or to offer other industry insights regarding COMSATCOM. Sales pitches or marketing material will not be accepted. No cameras (or cell phones with cameras), tape recorders, or other reproduction devices are allowed by the vendors during Industry Days and the Government will not accept any materials that were not actually part of the contractor's briefing. Registrants will provide the names of up to four individuals attending, including their citizenship status, position/title and background, name of the company/organization, type of organization (integrator, reseller, satellite provider, etc), telephone number, type of business (small, large, small disadvantaged, etc), date of session and request either a morning or afternoon slot. Reservation for the one-on-one sessions will be made through Defense Information Technology Contracting Office (DITCO) by contacting Mark Kraft at 618-229-9671. PARTICIPATION IN THE ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO VENDORS WHO RESPONDED TO THE RFI ANNOUNCEMENT POSTED 2 FEBRUARY 2009. Reservations will be scheduled and confirmed by phone only. Requests will be granted on a first come-first serve basis until all the slots are filled. After the slots are filled, a waiting list will be developed and cancellations will be filled from the waiting list. DITCO will release a tentative schedule for one-on-one sessions between industry and government representatives and notify the registrants in advance of Industry Days. THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS 2:00 pm EST, Monday, April 6, 2009. The following government contractors will be present during the one-on-ones to provide support: SAIC, Defense and Maritime Business Unit Booz Allen Hamilton Systems Technology Forum, Ltd. (STF) These organizations have signed Non-Disclosure Agreements on file. If you have concerns about any of these organizations or personnel, please notify the DITCO representatives below during registration. The government may request additional information from those responding to this announcement. This announcement does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this announcement. Proprietary information or trade secrets should be clearly identified. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. The following Rules of Engagement (ROE) for the COMSATCOM Capabilities Focused Industry Days are provided to industry participants for their information: The Government intends to use this forum to better refine its requirements, not to elicit trade secrets. All information will be treated confidentially and discreetly. Industry personnel shall be limited to a total of 4 attendees per participating company. No sales pitches allowed from industry; no give-aways. No cameras (or cell phones with cameras), tape recorders, or other reproduction devices are allowed other than what is provided or directed by the NAVY. The Government will not accept any materials that were not actually part of the company's briefing (Don't bring glossy marketing brochures). Total time allotted for the contractor's one-on-one session is one hour. Under no circumstances will the company's allotted time be extended. Restrict comments/questions to the topics listed in this forum. Industry personnel must be identified in advance, and only advance substitutions (24-hour in advance notices) will be permitted. Company identified key personnel shall make the actual presentation. The Government reserves the right to inspect all material, briefcases, etc., entering or leaving the site. Original Point of Contact Mark Kraft, Contract Specialist, Phone 618-229-967, fax 618-229-9176, e-mail mark.kraft@disa.mil