Questions and Answers.pdf

Questions and Answers - Fiber Optic

1. Installation Method and Burial Depth

SOW §4 requires a 2-inch HDPE conduit with tracer wire, a second 2-inch HDPE conduit for future expansion in the same trench, and a trench depth of 18 to 24 inches. Q&A 5.1 states the fiber will be placed in conduit. At the site visit, Government representatives indicated a preference for direct-buried fiber at approximately 24 to 30 inches, with bores at road crossings.

Please confirm:

a. Is conduit required, or is direct-buried armored cable acceptable?

Conduit no direct buried fiber

b. Is the second (spare) 2-inch conduit still required?

Yes

c. Is tracer wire required if armored cable is direct buried?

No direct buried fiber

d. What is the required minimum depth of cover: 18 to 24 inches (SOW) or 24 to 30 inches (site visit)?

18 to 24 inches

2. Existing Fiber SOW §4 requires removal and disposal of old fiber optic cable along the route. At the site visit, Government representatives indicated existing fiber will remain in place.

Please confirm:

a. The removal and disposal requirement is deleted from the scope.

Old fiber will stay in place, but when cut over to new should be removed from the buildings.

b. Whether the existing fiber will remain in service until cutover to the new network.

Yes, remain in service

c. If existing fiber that cannot be located by reasonable locating methods is damaged during construction, will repair be the contractor’s responsibility?

This can be discussed if applicable.

3. Period of Performance and Completion

The solicitation contains several schedule terms:

• Clause 1352.270-70 (120-calendar-day base period from award)

• SOW §9 (work to begin within 90 days of award, duration not to exceed 365 days from commencement, total period not to exceed 2 years from award)

• SOW §10 ($500 per day damages, completion not more than 30 days from Notice to Proceed)

• FY2026 completion references in SOW §§2 and 3.2

At the site visit, Government representatives indicated project execution could extend over approximately three years due to weather and construction constraints.

Please confirm by amendment:

a. The governing completion requirement.

As soon as possible weather permitting

4. Corning Products

Q&A 3.1 states no specific manufacturers are required. At the site visit, Government representatives indicated Corning products are to be used for all items Corning manufactures.

Please confirm whether Corning is:

a. Required (brand name only);

Brand or equal, but should be approved by the CO/COR

5. Domestic Content

At the site visit, Government representatives stated that materials should be manufactured in the United States unless otherwise noted. Attachment 2 does not appear to include a domestic preference clause.

Please confirm:

See amendment

b. Which items are exempt, specifically Cisco switches, optics, transceivers, and CAT6A components required by the SOW.

Cisco switches is preferred.

6. Spoils and Excavated Rock At the site visit, Government representatives indicated spoil, mud, and excavated rock may be placed on site a minimum distance from roadway areas.

Please confirm:

a. Excavated material may remain onsite permanently without offsite disposal.

Yes

b. Whether spreading, grading, or seeding of placed material is required.

When trenching put ground back to original condition except for the weeds.

c. Any locations where spoil placement is prohibited.

No, do not leave in a pile or a berm should be level with the ground.

7. Site Access SOW §8 allows one access code per subcontractor or trade. At the site visit, Government representatives indicated multiple individual-specific access codes may be issued and may not be shared. Q&A 11.2 also indicates escorts are anticipated.

Please confirm:

a. The number of access codes available to the contractor.

b. Whether personnel without access codes may work under the supervision of a code holder or require a Government escort.

Yes, There will be a government person onsite

c. Any limit on the number of contractor personnel or crews permitted onsite at one time.

No

8. Wage Determination

Only SCA Wage Determination 2015-5415 Rev. 32 appears to be included in the solicitation. Q&A 13.4 references both SCA and DBA requirements, but no Davis-Bacon wage determination appears to be included.

Please see amendment. Please note, the government does not tell the vendor which classification to use, it is just a suggestion.

9. Bonds Attachment 2 does not appear to include performance bond or payment bond requirements.

Please confirm whether performance and payment bonds will be required.

See Amendment 4

10. Equipment and Workstation Cabling Quantities SOW §4 requires CAT6A cabling to workstations and references Cisco pass-through switches and optics, but quantities do not appear to be provided.

Please provide:

a. The number of workstation drops per building or total project quantity.

8 wall mount 4 port data plates with wire mold

b. The number and model of Cisco switches and optics to be procured by the contractor.

These have already been purchased

c. The quantity of racks, fiber termination panels, and other structured cabling components required, if known.

These have already been purchased If quantities are unavailable, please confirm offerors may identify their assumptions within their proposal.

11. Invoicing Given the potentially extended construction duration and the absence of contract financing, please confirm whether the contractor may invoice for completed and accepted milestones, including design deliverables, delivered materials, and completed construction segments, or whether payment will occur only after final acceptance. Yes, progress payments will be made

12. Diagnostics and Redundancy At the site visit, Government representatives emphasized fiber traceability, diagnostics, and redundancy.

Please confirm:

a. Diagnostic capability is satisfied by complete labeling, strand documentation, splice records, testing results, and accessible testing and patch points, and that active remote fiber monitoring equipment is not required.

No remote fiber monitoring equipment required

b. Additional path redundancy beyond the ring architecture described in Q&A 2.1 is not included in the base scope and should only be proposed as an optional enhancement if desired. Is this a question

13. Private Utility Locates At the site visit, Government representatives indicated that utility locating services would be performed through private locating methods rather than public 811 services.

Please confirm:

a. The contractor is responsible for obtaining and coordinating all private utility locating services required for construction.

Yes

b. The contractor is responsible for all associated costs.

See above

c. No Government-furnished utility locating information will be provided beyond information already released. None

14. Please clarify the number of trenches/conduits that need to be installed for NOAA Spur 1 & 2 o I trench 2 conduits 15.Please confirm you want x8 Cat6 drops installed per a building bid o Yes with Plate 4 Port, Cat 6 Ethernet plates, boxes, and wire mold 16.Please confirm you want the 432 to be a loose strand or ribbon o Loose Strand 17.Please confirm how often you want marker posts installed on top of the fiber conduit location (i.e., every 100', 1000', etc.)

o 100ft 18.Please confirm what type of hardware you want installed at pedestal locations (below ground box, if any; above ground box type; termination hardware and type o MST optical tap SC/APC connections corning preferred o Vaults are below ground HDPE Utility handhole vault and series 3 fiber pedestals

19.Please confirm what type of hardware you want installed at handhole locations (type of handhole, what type of marker post, what type of locating wire access hardware if any, marker ball, etc.)

o Vaults will have locate balls, For above ground warning buried fiber flat marker 20.Please confirm what type of hardware you want at fiber termination locations in buildings (wall mount vs. rack mount, number of terminations, style of terminations, etc.)

o SC/APC 21.Please confirm we cannot trench across roads and restore to the previous compaction level (such as flow-filling in after conduit placement) o Preferred not to but if it can be put back to the same compactness then yes 22.Please confirm whether we are to price as if conduit placement, even in rocky conditions, is completely included in the price vs if we can plan on using change orders to compensate for rock conditions, or if you want us to provide a typical ground vs rocky ground unit pricing?

o Yes, it should be an additional financial consideration 23.Please confirm you want vaults (not pedestal setups) at locations on the map labeled 12/11/15/17/9/18/19/7/8 o 12/9/7 is a vault / ped 24.Please confirm if you want us to provide and install a tone generator on the tracer wire?

o No just a traces wire 25 Please confirm if we need to wreck out old fiber when encountered or repair it when encountered (and if we need to repair it, those costs will be covered under a change order)?

o Repair it. Hopefully, you have a company that will locate the fiber so that we don’t hit it. If it can’t be located, then we can talk about a change order if that happens.

26.Please confirm if materials need to be BABA compliant Please review the clauses

27.Please confirm if we need to supply patch cords (please provide specs on what you'd like us to provide if you'd like us to provide them) o Yes SC/APC 10FT, 20FT patch cords

28. What kind of connection are they looking for at the ped location.

SC/APC connections

29. Is the 30 days for schedule agreement or is the total window for construction and if so is that calendar days or workdays.

If you’re talking about the first 30 days, it is to get the kickoff meeting started.

30. Do you want an MST in every ped location?

Yes, a corning MST optical tap

31.Please provide the site visit attendee sign in sheet.

See attachment

32.Can you confirm whether the site visit was conducted at the West Gate, 8600 N. 39th Street, or a different entrance, since our two representatives were present at the West Gate for the full scheduled window, 9 to 11 AM MDT, and did not observe any other vendors or a government representative.

Yes this was the address

33.Can one person "triple hat" as Superintendent, SSHO and QC Manager?

Yes

34.Can the period of performance be extended after award once the material/equipment lead times are confirmed due to current market conditions for the equipment for this project?

Possibly

35. When do you anticipate on site work starting?

30 days after award

36. Are third party inspections required?

No third-party inspections required.

37. Please provide staking data points for the project.

Please clarify what data points you’re asking for.

38. Buy American Act?

See amendment

39. BONDING REQUIREMENTS, IF ANY?

Yes see solicitation

40. Davis-Bacon wages?

See Amendment

41. Running hours and times during the week α. 0700 to 1600

42. Will arrangements be made if longer days are needed for mon through Friday work?

Starting earlier and ending later when needed or approved Yes upon request.

43. Boring for the 11 road crossings as discussed α. If the road can be put back to original compactness, then trenching is allowed as long as the trench can be closed or covered for vehicle traffic.

44. For the remainder of the trenching, is open trench/ripping allowed?

Yes

45. Should a pull string be factory-installed?

Vendors decision

46. What wall thickness is required?

a. SDR 13 is a common wall thickness.

Yes, smooth wall is available with an optional SILICORE® ULF permanently lubricated lining.

47. Marker pole requirements for fiber pathway?

Spacing requirements Every 100 ft

Toneable marker poles for future locating possibilities,-

Vendors decision, bu not required

Type/size

• Warning Buried Fiber Flat Marker 66”

48. Is a specific jacket color or gauge required?

Orange is primarily listed for communications

49. Copper tracer wire or a copper-clad tracer wire?

Just a copper wire should work since it will be in the conduit.

50. Please confirm if the contractor will be sourcing and procuring a compatible tone generator/transmitter and tracer wire locating equipment for use during installation, testing, and future locating of the tracer wire system.

No tone generator needed

Vaults

51. Is a specific manufacturer required?

α. No

52. What material should the vaults be made of?

a. Fiberglass

b. Fiberglass-concrete composite fiberglass-concert composite

53. Do the vaults need to be traffic-rated?

a. At least 200 lbs. vaults and handholes will not be in the roads; they will be about 10 feet off the roads. (answer from list)

No traffic the vaults will be about 10 feet off the roads and in the fields.

54. What type of lid is required?

α. Lockable lid with 2 Stainless Steel Hex Head Bolts 3/8-16 x 2-3/4 UNC

55. Does the lid need specific wording or lettering?

α. No

56. What dimensions are required?

a. Cover, 12 in H, 25 in L, 15-1/2 in W, 8,000 lb

57. What knockout quantities and locations are required?

α. None

58. Marker/Locate balls required?

α. Marker balls for vaults

Pedestals

59. Is a specific manufacturer required?

α. No, it need to be is a series 3 fiber ped

60. Type/Size/splice capacity?

α. For 12 strand

61. Are vault-mounted pedestals required?

a. Yes there should be 4 Ped 12, 19, 10, 7, Networking Equipment

62. Is the awarded company responsible for providing the power to the network equipment? (Fuse panels, fuses, cabling, etc..

α. No

63. Do they have a list of the Cisco gear they want us to provide, or is that left to the contracted company's discretion

a. No equipment required it has already been ordered.

Fiber Boring

64. Please clarify the diversity requirements for sites located on spurs. Dual conduit in the same trench or 2 different trenches on separate sides of the road?

α. Same trench

65. Please clarify the intended purpose of the 12-count MST pedestal.

Is the 12-count MST pedestal intended to be spliced as a separate entity for field use, with a separate 12-count fiber also being spliced at the same location into the backbone and fed from Primary Building 110C? Or is the intent for the MST pedestal to be directly connected to the backbone fibers from Building 110C? And feed the buildings from the MST with the 12 -count single-mode fiber.

Yes to all questions. The plane is to be able to set up an experiment at a ped location and provide data from I10C or any other building depending on the location of the ped.

Please clarify the intended purpose of the 12-count MST pedestal.

Is the 12-count MST pedestal intended to be spliced as a separate entity for field use, with a separate 12-count fiber also being spliced at the same location into the backbone and fed from Primary Building 110C? Or is the intent for the MST pedestal to be directly connected to the backbone fibers from Building 110C? And feed the buildings from the MST with the 12 -count single-mode fiber.

Yes to all questions. The plane is to be able to set up an experiment at a ped location and provide data from I10C or any other building depending on the location of the ped.