NCDC Asheville Broadband Internet Services

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in SubPart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information provided in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number is EA133E-08-RQ-0451, and the solicitation is being issued as a full and open competition Request for Quotation (RFQ) under the Test Program at FAR 13.5. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 05-24. BACKGROUND. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NCDC produces numerous climate publications and responds to data requests from all over the world. NCDC operates the World Data Center for Meteorology which is co-located at NCDC in Asheville, North Carolina, and the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology which is located in Boulder, Colorado. NCDC-Asheville currently accesses commodity Internet through a Joint Project Agreement under 15 USC 1525 established with the Educational Research Consortium (ERC). ERC is a non-profit educational organization formed and dedicated to bringing broadband networks to Western North Carolina. The original agreement was established in 2003 at a time when there was no established commercial broadband in the Asheville North Carolina area. Since that time, large commercial carriers have entered the Asheville North Carolina broadband market. NCDC's additional broadband requirements are outside the scope of the ERC/NOAA Joint Project. STATEMENT OF WORK/REQUIREMENTS. The NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Asheville North Carolina requires additional bandwidth in a single connection with data transfer speed of 700 Megabits per second (Mbps) to support its mission to provide climate resource information to the Nation. The period of performance for this contract is a base period from 6/1/2008 to 5/31/2009 with one (1) one-year option period. Access and connectivity required at NOAA NCDC, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801-5001. The Contractor shall provide a single managed solution for access to commercial commodity Internet; The Contractor shall have the capacity to provide bandwidth in a single connection at 700Mbs; The Contractor shall maintain redundant paths for the connection to ensure continuity of operations, availability, and reliability; The Contractor shall provide hardware to support each end of the connection; The Contractor shall size chassis hardware to allow for additional independent services, with scalability to at least 200 % growth; The Contractor shall manage hardware support to include routine maintenance, upgrades, and repairs; The Contractor shall provide and manage any required cross connects; The Contractor shall provide all management and oversight of potential subcontractors; The Contractor shall provide 24x7 monitoring of solution health; The contractor shall provide: End-to-end Optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) results; End to end Optical loss measurement; Access to circuit utilization reports and graphs providing at least the 5 minute average; A detailed path map (street level); The mean time to repair in the event of a cut; Report of root cause for all unplanned outages; Notification to NCDC operations of outages within 1 hour of initial outage determination and provide status updates every 2 hours till corrected; Notification to the NCDC POC of all planned outages. The following FAR provision applies to this solicitation: 52-212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items. EVALUATION CRITERIA: The Government intends to award a single commercial items contract to the responsible quoter whose technically acceptable quotation represents the best overall value to the Government based on the evaluation of technical capability, past performance, and price. Only those quoters submitting technically acceptable quotations shall be considered for award. For the purpose of this best value evaluation of technically acceptable quotations, technical capability and past performance, when combined, are significantly more important than price. Evaluation Criteria: (1) Technical Capability: Submit a statement of technical capability to provide the required services; (2) Past Performance: Submit a list of 3 customers for whom like or similar services have been performed within the past 2 years. Include specific points of contact and phone numbers; and (3) Price: Submit a price for Contract Line Item (CLIN) 0001, Quantity: 12, Unit: Month, Description: Monthly 700Mbps bandwidth single connection service in the base year from 6/1/2008-5/31/2009 and CLIN 0002, Quantity 12, Unit: Month, Description: Monthly 700Mbps bandwidth single connection service for service in the option year from 6/1/2009-5/31/2010. Award will be made to the responsible quoter whose quote is determined the best overall value to the government, price and other factors considered. All quoters are to include with their quotes a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items. The following FAR clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items; 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items and the following additional FAR clauses which are cited in Clause 52.212-5: 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.222-3 Convict Labor; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity, 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37,Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.222-39, Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees; 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons; 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases; 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration; 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965, As Amended; 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires; 52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts). Any applicable wage determination(s) will be made a part of the resultant contract. All technical questions are to be forwarded via email to the Contracting Officer at the following email address: contact@example.gov. The time and date for receipt of quotations is 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) May 9, 2008. Submit quotations in electronic format (MSWord 2000 or newer version; or Adobe .pdf format) via email to the Contracting Officer at contact@example.gov, NOAA Eastern Region Acquisition, 200 Granby Street, Suite 815, Norfolk, VA 23510.