The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a firm fixed-price purchase order valued at $321,040.50 to Ritenet Corp., a minority-owned small disadvantaged business based in Rockville, Maryland, for non-preemptible Ku-band transponder capacity on a geostationary communications satellite. The contract supports NIST's two-way satellite time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT) network, which involves phase-coded time transfer and data transmissions at 1.0 or 2.5 megachips per second. The procurement was set aside exclusively for small businesses and requires the provision of approximately 4.9 to 11.9 megahertz of bandwidth across three Ku-band transponders to establish three direct links covering 18 specified stations. Performance is based in Boulder, Colorado, with a scheduled completion date of November 26, 2026.
The contract award followed a competitive solicitation posted in December 2020, with award announced on April 6, 2021. Ritenet Corp.'s selection was based on evaluation of technical approach, experience, past performance, schedule, delivery, and pricing. The TWSTFT network is critical to NIST's mission of maintaining precise time and frequency standards that are disseminated to federal agencies and the broader scientific community. The contract structure includes a base period of one year with four optional one-year extensions, providing NIST with flexibility to extend services as needed. A time extension due to excusable delay was incorporated into the ultimate completion timeline.