NTIA/ITS 5G CHALLENGE HOST LAB

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION OR A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Enterprise Services -Acquisition (ES-A), located in Washington, D.C., intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis and award a contract to Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. d.b.a. CableLabs, (858 Coal Creek Cir., Louisville, CO 80027-9750) for 5G Challenge Host Lab services. This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of permitting other than full and open competition, 41 U.S.C.3304(a)(3), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-3 entitled, - Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert service. FAR Part 15 - Contracting by Negotiations as supplemented by the Commerce Acquisition Regulation (CAR), will be used to evaluate the proposal and award this requirement. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541330: Engineering Services with a size standard of $16.5 million. The PSC Code is R425: Support - Professional: Engineering/Technical. DOC ES-A anticipates negotiating and awarding a hybrid contract with consisting of firm-fixed-price (FFP) and Cost type contract line-item numbers (CLINs) to CableLabs, for this requirement. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunications Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, CO., requires an operational, standalone (SA) 5G network with the essential engineering capability to integrate multiple vendors simultaneously while testing and measuring technical performance metrics, that is within 50 miles of ITS to enable close, in-person coordination with the Government and does not have any actual or perceived conflicts of interest (i.e., substantial business interest or ownership of a market competitor). This host lab will support a) 5G Challenge design with subject matter expertise; b) execution of Challenge design by providing off-site services and meeting/lab space for the Challenge, to include a complete SA 5G network, appropriate test equipment, mature and relevant 5G network interfaces for innovators to compete in the test and validation event in September 2022; and c) event services including a physical space with WiFi, utilities, guest services and logistical support. The technical event will comprise several challenge competitors integrating with the host lab by executing plug-and-play operations, demonstrating interoperability, and validating performance against a baseline system. The host lab will advise ITS on the current 5G state-of-the-art to inform the challenge design and execution team. There is not a current contract in place to meet the needs of the Government's required expert engineering services. This is NOT a solicitation for quotations, quotation abstracts, a request for competitive quotations; or request for competitive proposals; however, all responses received within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. Responses must clearly and thoroughly defend any claims or assertions that attempt to refute the Government's claim. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Information received on this notice must eliminate the Government's concerns and addressed how the items can be provided without jeopardizing the science behind the on-going projects. If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days of this notice to determine whether a qualified source is more advantageous to the Government, a contract will be issued to CableLabs. There is no solicitation package available. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to contact@example.gov and contact@example.gov.