NOAA's Acquisition & Grants Office, Mountain Region Acquisition Division, intends to negotiate on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 6.302-1, with Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (GPTC), for the purchase of Preventative and Remedial Maintenance of NOAA National Weather Radio (NWR) All Hazards System transmitters, antennae and transmission lines located at four (4) GPTC owned and operated sites located in Georgia in Atlanta, Chatsworth, Pelham and Waycross. The maintenance shall ensure the quality of NWR broadcasts and the issuance of warnings to the listening public within the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Radio Frequency Authorization (RFA) specifications and Department of Homeland Security requirements for each station. The National Weather Service (NWS) is mandated by the Federal Response Plan to provide uninterrupted Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcast transmissions 24 hours-per-day, 365 days-per-year. The sole source determination is based on the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission's unique ability to provide maintenance of NWR transmitter systems on a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week basis due to their unlimited access to the tower and transmitter equipment. This unlimited access is required in order to implement routine and unscheduled emergency maintenance as necessary to maintain uninterrupted service to the public. The GPTC towers have accessibility restrictions in regards to Homeland Security. Their FCC license for broadcast television systems mandates the sites remain secure and therefore GPTC does not allow other vendors unlimited access to them. Maintenance of NWR transmitter systems require 24-hour access to the tower and transmitter equipment in order to implement routine and unscheduled emergency maintenance as necessary to maintain uninterrupted service to the public. In addition, all GPTC maintenance personnel that perform routine and corrective maintenance on the NWR transmitter system have appropriate technical qualifications, training, and experience to perform the required work on the NWS high power radio frequency (RF) VHF FM transmitter systems. GPTC technical representatives are equipped with a full complement of NWR test equipment that is calibrated according to NWS specifications to assure accurateness in all NWR measurements. All maintenance personnel must meet NWS qualifications by appropriate schooling in electronics and associated theory, and specific training provided by the Government in the maintenance of its NWR transmitter equipment. No other sources appear to be technically capable of maintaining the NWR equipment at the subject Georgia sites. It must therefore be concluded that the only source capable of maintaining the NWR equipment is the GPTC. The anticipated contract will be for a period of 60 months which includes a base year, and four (4) one-year option periods. Anticipated award date is no later than April 1, 2009. This requirement is a follow-on contract to RA133W04CN0004 with GPTC. The anticipated North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) for this requirement is 811213 and the small business size standard is $7.0 million dollars. Background: In a January 1975 White House Policy Statement, NOAA's NWR was designated the sole government operated radio alert system to provide direct warnings into private homes for both natural disasters and nuclear attack. The mandate required uninterrupted transmission capability 24 hours-per-day, 365 days-per-year. Since 1978, the State of Georgia has had access to NWR service through successive contracts between the NOAA/NWS and GPTC. To satisfactorily perform this mandate in the state of Georgia, the NWS strategically located NWR transmitter stations at four Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (GPTC) sites at Atlanta, Chatsworth, Pelham and Waycross. The NWR Program remains a prime entry point in the Emergency Alert System (EAS) along with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The critical function of the NWR system is to activate the EAS. This is expected to continue indefinitely especially with the FEMA deployment of the ALL-Hazards Emergency Message Collection System (HazCollect). The HazCollect System will allow emergency management agencies and partners of the NWS to generate Non-Weather Emergency Messages (NWEMS) for automatic distribution through NWS Dissemination Systems. The NWR is also one of the NWS's primary means of disseminating weather forecasts and warnings. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe that they can provide services that fully meet the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation within 15 days after publication of this synopsis by emailing their capability statement to Contract Specialist Susan Labovitz at
contact@example.gov. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.
