19JA8025Q0001 - Amendment 0002 QA.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION / MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE PAGE OF PAGES

1 14

2. MODIFICATION NO.

3. EFFECTIVE DATE

See Item 16C

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO.

PR14937041 / PR14915044

5. PROJECT NO.

6. ISSUED BY CODE

7. ADMINISTERED BY CODE

Procurement/Contracting Office U.S. Embassy Tokyo 1-10-5 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420

See Item 6.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

9a. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

19JA8025Q0001

9b. DATED 01/22/2025

10a. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER NO.

10b. DATED

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

[ ✓ ] The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers [ ✓ ] is extended, [ ] is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __one___ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers.

FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/PURCHASE ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO.

IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b)

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor [ ]is not, [ ]is required to sign this document and return one copy to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

The purpose of this amendment is to:

1. Extend the submission deadline from Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 10am (JST) to Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 10am (JST).

2. Revise subsection 1.2 of the RFQ

3. Revise subsection 3.1.2 (g) Volume 7, 5 (c) through (e) of the RFQ

4. Provide the Qs&As

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER

16A. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

Christopher G. Staff

15B. NAME OF CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

BY

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C.DATE SIGNED 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BY

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C.DATE SIGNED

February 21, 2025

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 10-83)

Previous edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.24

Request for Quotations (RFQ) No. 19JA8025Q0001 Amendment No. 0002

Subsection 1.2 of the RFQ is hereby amended to revise as follows:

Page 12: Subsection 1.2.1.1 Required TV Services, (a)

From:

The Japanese Chi-Digi and local channels are provided by an existing FUJITSU Satellite BS Dish and Yagi antenna on the roof the U.S. Embassy Chancery Building. Installing new Satellite Dishes is not permitted. The Contractor may either continue to use the existing Dish and antenna for the Public Affairs CATV network or use alternate such as internet connection. All U.S. Digital Standard contents shall be provided over private internet connection.

The Contractor shall provide a Basic TV Channel Package including at the minimum the Embassy Channel, AFN, AFN Sports, AFN Family, AFN Movie, AFN Atlantic, AFN Pacific, AFN Spectrum, AFN Channel Guide, BBC, and all Japan local “off-air” television channels. Contents licensing and fees are the responsibility of the Contractor.

To:

The Japanese Chi-Digi and local channels are provided by an existing FUJITSU Satellite BS Dish and Yagi antenna on the roof the U.S. Embassy Chancery Building. Installing additional Satellite Dishes is not permitted. The Contractor may either continue to use the existing Dish and antenna for the Public Affairs CATV network or use alternate such as internet connection. All U.S. Digital Standard contents shall be provided over private internet connection.

The Contractor shall provide a Basic TV channel package including at the minimum the Embassy Channel, available American Forces Network (AFN) channels, and all available Japan local “off-air” television channels.

The list of current local Japanese 'off-air' includes NHK G, NHK E, NHK BS1, Nihon TV, TV Tokyo, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi. Contents providers may change their channel availability. The channels must be broadcast in US Digital standard for the main TV segments and Japanese digital standard for the Public Affairs segment. Contents licensing and fees are the responsibility of the Contractor.

The American Forces Network (AFN) is a television broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Available AFN channels such as AFN HD, AFN Sports, AFN Family, AFN Movie, AFN Atlantic, AFN Pacific, AFN Spectrum, AFN Sports 2 shall all be provided. AFN may change their channel availability.

The quoter shall provide their list of basic TV channel package at time of submitting quotation.

The awarded Contractor shall adjust the channel lineup if content providers add or remove channels and notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

Page 14: Subsection 1.2.1.3 Maintenance and Support, (a)

(a) The Contractor is responsible for maintenance services for all Contractor-furnished equipment and if reused, Government-furnished equipment. In case there are issues with TV reception such as complete loss of signal, snowy or grainy pictures, or poor sound and so on, the Contractor will provide, at no additional cost, on-site maintenance services upon "service-call" and correct the problem until it meets normal industry acceptable quality and standards. In case of failure of equipment not installed by the Contractor, the Contractor shall provide a quote for equipment and labor required to restore normal operations. The Contractor will not proceed with chargeable repairs until authorized by the Embassy. On-site services will be performed during business hours except in cases of major outage.

(a) The Contractor is responsible for maintenance services for all Contractor-furnished equipment and if reused, Government-furnished equipment. In case there are issues with TV reception such as complete loss of signal, snowy or grainy pictures, or poor sound and so on, the Contractor will provide, at no additional cost, on-site maintenance services upon "service-call" and correct the problem until it meets normal industry acceptable quality and standards. In case of failure of equipment or coax cabling not installed by the Contractor, the Contractor shall provide a quote for equipment and labor required to restore normal operations. The Contractor will not proceed with chargeable repairs until authorized by the Embassy. On-site services will be performed during business hours except in cases of major outage.

Page 15: Subsection 1.2.2.1 (1) THIS IS THE LIST OF REQUIRED SERVICES for U.S. Embassy Tokyo Chancery Building

SERVICE 1 of 2: Embassy Tokyo Dedicated Internet Channel NAME: Embassy Tokyo Dedicated Internet Channel DESCRIPTION: One (1) dedicated Internet channel at Embassy specified minimum speed providing fault tolerance in the last mile.

TYPE OF SERVICE: Dedicated Internet Channel with 32 IPv4 public IP addresses (/27 subnet) LOCATION: U.S. Embassy Tokyo Chancery Building

1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 Japan

SERVICE 1 of 2: Embassy Tokyo Dedicated Internet Channel NAME: Embassy Tokyo Dedicated Internet Channel DESCRIPTION: One (1) dedicated 1Gbps Internet channel at the Embassy

Chancery building TYPE OF SERVICE: Dedicated Internet Channel with 32 IPv4 public IP addresses (/27 subnet) LOCATION: U.S. Embassy Tokyo Chancery Building

1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 Japan

Page 16: Subsection 1.2.2.1 (1) (a) Internet Services Quality

ISP must permit ping and trace route traffic from 169.252.0.0/16 and 169.253.0.0/16 to the ISP connection (LC fiber Gigabit MM router interface which terminates Customer VPN encryption device).

ISP must permit ping and trace route traffic from 169.252.0.0/16 and 169.253.0.0/16 to the public IP of the on-premises ISP Router/L3 switch.

Page 18: Subsection 1.2.2.1 (2) (a) Internet Services Quality

ISP must permit ping and trace route traffic from 169.252.0.0/16 and 169.253.0.0/16 to the ISP connection (LC fiber Gigabit MM router interface which terminates Customer VPN encryption device).

ISP must permit ping and trace route traffic from 169.252.0.0/16 and 169.253.0.0/16 to the public IP of the on-premises ISP Router/L3 switch.

Page 19: Subsection 1.2.2.2 General (a)

(a) The Department of State has a requirement for one full period, full duplex, clear channels, and digital circuits capable of supporting synchronous traffic. For clear channel circuits, they shall be completely transparent to 2,048 kbps data, with no bits added to or deleted from the bit stream provided to the interface of the Department of State equipment.

The Department of State reserves the right to increase or decrease this digital circuit bandwidth requirement from no less than 64 kbps and up to 15 Mb within 30 days written notice to the Contractor. The desired intervals for circuit bandwidth are as follows: 1Mb, 2Mb, 4Mb, 6Mb, 8Mb, 10Mb, and 15Mb. The Contractor is to provide fractional T-1 fixed cost pricing for this increase or decrease of digital service. The availability of this circuit shall not be less than 99.7 percent per month over the period of the contract.

(a) Reserved.

Page 19: Subsection 1.2.2.2 General (c)

(c) The Contractor shall coordinate the service and shall be responsible for the technical sufficiency of the circuit, including services necessary to establish, operate, and restore the circuit. Except for modems and terminal equipment furnished by the Government, the Contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, and supplies required to provide the service which includes the Data Service Unit (DSU) configured with Data Communications Equipment (DCE) interface. If required, signal element timing shall be provided by the Contractor’s facility.

(c) The Contractor shall provide all equipment, materials, and supplies required to provide and maintain the service. The Contractor shall coordinate the service and shall be responsible for the technical sufficiency of the circuit, including services necessary to establish, operate, and restore the circuit. The Contractor is not responsible for Government network equipment connecting to the on-premises ISP Router/L3 switch.

Page 20: Subsection 1.2.2.2 General (e)

(e) Services. This is a firm fixed-price contract for the lease of one full period, full duplex, clear channels, digital circuits and internet leased lines capable of supporting synchronous traffic. For the clear channel circuits, they shall be completely transparent to 2,048 kbps data or different if specified on the service requirements, with no bits added to or deleted from the bit stream provided to the interface of the Department of State equipment.

(e) Reserved.

Page 25: Subsection 1.2.3 QUALITY ASSURANCE AND SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

Performance Objective Scope of Work Performance Threshold

Services.

Performs all Television and Internet services set forth in the Scope of Work.

Subsection 1.2.1 Part 1 - Television Services and Subsection 1.2.2 Part 2 - Internet Services

All required services are performed and no more than one (1) internet related customer complaint is received per month and no more than two (2) television related customer complaints are received per month.

Performance Objective Scope of Work Performance Threshold

Services.

Performs all Television and Internet services set forth in the Scope of Work.

Subsection 1.2.1 Part 1 - Television Services and Subsection 1.2.2 Part 2 - Internet Services

All required services are performed and no more than one (1) internet related customer complaint is received per month and no more than two (2) television related customer complaints are received per month.

1.2.3.1 Surveillance. The COR will receive and document all complaints from Government personnel regarding the services provided. If appropriate, the COR will send the complaints to the Contractor for corrective action.

1.2.3.2 Standard. The performance standard is that the Government receives no more than one (1) internet related customer complaint is received per month and no more than two (2) television related customer complaints are received per month. The COR shall notify the Contracting Officer of the complaints so that the Contracting Officer may take appropriate action to enforce the inspection clause (FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items), if any of the services exceed the standard.

1.2.3.3 Procedures.

(a) If any Government personnel observe unacceptable services, either incomplete work or required services not being performed they should immediately contact the COR.

(b) The COR will complete appropriate documentation to record the complaint.

(c) If the COR determines the complaint is invalid, the COR will advise the complainant. The COR will retain the annotated copy of the written complaint for his/her files.

(d) If the COR determines the complaint is valid, the COR will inform the Contractor and give the Contractor additional time to correct the defect, if additional time is available. The COR shall determine how much time is reasonable.

(e) The COR shall, as a minimum, orally notify the Contractor of any valid complaints.

(f) If the Contractor disagrees with the complaint after investigation of the site and challenges the validity of the complaint, the Contractor will notify the COR. The COR will review the matter to determine the validity of the complaint.

(g) The COR will consider complaints as resolved unless notified otherwise by the complainant.

(h) Repeat customer complaints are not permitted for any services. If a repeat customer complaint is received for the same deficiency during the service period, the COR will contact the Contracting Officer for appropriate action under the Inspection clause.

Subsection 3.1.2 (g) Volume 7, 5 of the RFQ is hereby amended to revise as follows:

(c) Plan of ensuring quality of services including but not limited to contract administration and oversight; and

(d) (1) If insurance is required by the solicitation, a copy of the Certificate of Insurance(s), or (2) a statement that the Contractor will get the required insurance, and the name of the insurance provider to be used.

(c) A list of basic TV channel package as required under subsection 1.2.1.1 (a).

(d) Plan of ensuring quality of services including but not limited to contract administration and oversight; and

(e) (1) If insurance is required by the solicitation, a copy of the Certificate of Insurance(s), or (2) a statement that the Contractor will get the required insurance, and the name of the insurance provider to be used.

February 21, 2025

Questions-and-Answers (Qs&As)

Request for Quotations No. 19JA8025Q0001 TV and Internet Services for the U.S. Embassy Tokyo, Japan

Question 1:

“Pg 12 of 74; 1.2.1 Part 1 – Television Services The purpose of Part 1 is to obtain TV services for the U.S. Embassy Chancery building, the Ambassador’s Residence (CMR) and locations at the Mitsui Housing Compound (MHC) in Tokyo, Japan in accordance with the work statements below.

Q1-1:

Does MHC allow other vendors to provide television or high-speed internet alongside this proposal?

Due to contract stipulations with television programmers, they require the content to be distributed on a closed network.

Q1-2:

Will the Selected Contractor be allowed to offer additional premium content to the residents of the MHC, to include Premium channels and High-Speed Internet?”

Answer 1:

A1-1:

MHC residential service is not part of this RFQ.

A1-2:

MHC residential service is not part of this RFQ.

Question 2:

“Pg 12 of 74; 1.2.1.1 Required TV Services (a):

The Contractor shall provide a Basic TV Channel Package including at the minimum the Embassy Channel, AFN, AFN Sports, AFN Family, AFN Movie, AFN Atlantic, AFN Pacific, AFN Spectrum, AFN Channel Guide, BBC, and all Japan local “off-air” television channels. Contents licensing and fees are the responsibility of the Contractor.

Embassy of the United States of America

Tokyo, Japan

Q2-1:

Can you please expand on what channel is AFN? All AFN Channels have some secondary word describing the content, so is this supposed to be AFN Sports 2 or AFN News (both of which were omitted from the requirement)?

Q2-2:

What version of BBC is required? Since BBC is usually not part of the free tier, if it's to be included in the Basic TV Channel Package, we will need to know the total number of potential viewers in MHC to negotiate price.

Q2-3:

Can you please list the local Japanese ‘off-air’ channels currently being provided?”

Answer 2:

A2-1:

The American Forces Network (AFN) is a television broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Available AFN channels should all be provided. AFN may change the channels available. See revised subsection 1.2.1.1 (a) in Amendment No. 0001.

A2-2:

BBC is not required and has been removed from subsection 1.2.1.1 (a) of the RFQ.

See revised subsection 1.2.1.1 (a) in Amendment No. 0001.

The quoter shall provide their list of basic TV channel package at time of submitting quotation.

See revised subsection 3.1.2 (g) Volume 7, 5. (c) A list of basic TV channel package in Amendment No. 0001.

A2-3:

US Digital Network: NHK G, NHK E, NHK BS1, Nihon TV, TV Tokyo, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi Japanese Digital Network: NHK G, NHK E, NHK BS1, Nihon TV, TV Tokyo, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi See revised subsection 1.2.1.1 (a) in Amendment No. 0001.

Question 3:

“Pg 14 of 74; 1.2.1.3 Maintenance and Support (a):

(a) The Contractor is responsible for maintenance services for all Contractor-furnished equipment and if reused, Government-furnished equipment. In case there are issues with TV reception such as complete loss of signal, snowy or grainy pictures, or poor sound and so on, the Contractor will provide, at no additional cost, on-site maintenance services upon "service-call" and correct the problem until it meets normal industry acceptable quality and standards. In case of failure of equipment not installed by the Contractor, the Contractor shall provide a quote for equipment and labor required to restore normal operations. The Contractor will not proceed with chargeable repairs until authorized by the Embassy. On-site services will be performed during business hours except in cases of major outage.

As the Contractor would be responsible for TV reception and on-site maintenance, can you please provide current design drawings of the existing Television system to include infrastructure, actives, passives, conduit runs, rack elevation drawings…all preferably in Computer-Aided Design software (CAD). These drawings are necessary to determine the quality of current design or whether a redesign is required. In addition, if maintenance and/or replacement of GFE is required, current design drawings will be necessary to expedite repairs.”

Answer 3:

Diagrams are not available for disclosure. Upon awarded, available diagrams and/or other technical information will be provided to the successful quoter by U.S. Embassy Tokyo via the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Any updates or correction to be made in the provided diagrams and information stated above during the performance period shall be reported and shared with the COR.

Question 4:

“Pg 16 of 74; 1.2.2.1 Required Internet Service (a):

32 Public IP addresses (/27 subnet) for VPN equipment, network mask, and default gateway IP address.

Q4-1:

Is DHCP required to issue the public IP addresses we provide, or will the Embassy IT Personnel statically assign the IPs themselves on their equipment?

Q4-2:

It states 32 IP addresses in a /27 subnet. This will not result in all 32 IP addresses being usable. One address is the network IP address and the other is the broadcast IP address, both of which are unusable to the network. This /27 results in 30 actual usable IP addresses. One of those 30 would be assigned to NTT (our Provider side) and “the successful Quoter” would need one IP address for our router. This would result in only 28 IP addresses for Embassy use. Is this acceptable? I assume so, because in (1.2.3 … QASP) it states “…the contractor is responsible for management and quality control….”.”

Answer 4:

A4-1:

DHCP is not required.

A4-2:

Understood that only 28 IP would be available for use.

Question 5:

“Pg 19 of 74; 1.2.2.2 General (b):

These digital services shall be via Optic Fiber. The service shall be for the exclusive use of the Department of State, 24-hours per day, 7 days per week, and 52 weeks per year.

Will it be permissible to allocate a portion of the bandwidth to the Contractor’s Network Performance monitoring solution? It is recommended that any equipment installed by the Contractor be equipped with a method for remote monitoring and adjustments remotely, if needed.”

Answer 5:

The vendor may allocate a portion for performance monitoring and should indicate the bandwidth portioned to monitoring.

Question 6:

“Page 5 of 74 Part 2 – Internet Services as detailed in Subsection 1.2.2 Scope of Work, Part 2 - Internet Services request Unit Price for 0009 Internet Services 1Gbps, and 0010 Internet Services 20 Mbps.

There is no place to record the Unit Price and Total Price for the requirement detailed on Page 19 of 74 section 1.2.2.2 General.

(a) We would like to request clarification regarding the requirement for a full-period, full-duplex, clear channel digital circuit at 2.048 Mbps (E1). Specifically:

(1) Is a dedicated E1 circuit required?

- If so, what are the two end points for this circuit?

(2) Data Communications Equipment (DCE) Interface:

- Do you require BNC 75 Ohm connectors or the standard 120 Ohm RJ-45 interface?

(3) Line Coding Preference:

- Is HDB3 (High-Density Bipolar 3) encoding required for this circuit?

(b) We seek clarification regarding the specified bandwidth scalability requirement in 1.2.2.2 General Section (a) of the RFQ, which states:

"The Department of State reserves the right to increase or decrease this digital circuit bandwidth requirement from no less than 64 kbps and up to 15 Mb within 30 days written notice to the Contractor. The desired intervals for circuit bandwidth are as follows: 1Mb, 2Mb, 4Mb, 6Mb, 8Mb, 10Mb, and 15Mb. The Contractor is to provide fractional T-1 fixed cost pricing for this increase or decrease of digital service."

(1) Request for Clarification: E1 Circuit Scalability

a) An E1 circuit operates at a fixed speed of 2.048 Mbps and does not inherently scale between 64 Kbps and 15 Mbps unless multiple E1 circuits (NxE1) are bonded.

b) Traditional fractional E1 services can support lower speeds (e.g., 64 Kbps to 2.048 Mbps), but E1 technology does not scale to 15 Mbps.

c) Could you clarify whether the intent is to provide NxE1 circuits (e.g., multiple bonded E1s up to 15 Mbps), or if a different technology such as Ethernet or MPLS-based service is preferred?

(2) Alternative Scalable Transport:

a) If true bandwidth scalability from 64 Kbps to 15 Mbps is required, a Metro Ethernet, SDH/SONET, or MPLS VPN solution over fiber would be more suitable.

b) Would the Embassy consider an Ethernet Private Line (EPL) or Internet Leased Line (ILL) as an alternative to E1?

(3) Fractional T1 Pricing Reference

a) The RFP references "fractional T1 pricing," but T1 is a North American standard (1.544

Mbps), whereas E1 (2.048 Mbps) is used internationally, including in Japan.

b) Would you like pricing based on fractional E1 increments (64 Kbps up to 2.048 Mbps) or an

Ethernet-based scalable solution (64 Kbps to 15 Mbps)?”

Answer 6:

Neither line will use E1 or T1 technology and these specs have been removed from subsection 1.2.2.2 (a) of the RFQ. See revised subsection 1.2.2.2 (a) in Amendment No. 0001.

Question 7:

“1.2.1 Part 1 – Television Services “All U.S. Digital Standard contents shall be provided over private internet connection.” We would like to request clarification regarding the 1Gbps Internet Circuit requirement and its potential use for TV content distribution. Specifically:

- Is it authorized to allocate a portion of the 1Gbps Internet Circuit for TV content transmission, or

- Is a separate, circuit required for TV content so as not to share bandwidth with the 1Gbps Internet circuit?”

Answer 7:

A separate circuit shall be provided. TV contents shall not share the 1Gbps Internet line.

See subsection 1.2.2.1 (1) (a) Internet Services Quality.

Question 8:

“Incumbent Contractor Information:

Could you confirm the name of the incumbent contractor currently providing TV and internet services? Additionally, are there performance benchmarks or specific pain points the Embassy would like the new contractor to address?”

Answer 8:

The incumbent is ALLIED TELESIS CAPITAL CORP., 3041 Orchard Pkwy, San Jose, CA 95134-2017, United States.

The Contractor shall meet all requirements stated under the Scope of Work in Subsection 1.2 and terms and conditions of the RFQ.

Question 9:

“Existing Infrastructure and Equipment Usage:

Is the current contractor utilizing the Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE), and will it be fully available for the incoming contractor? Are there any compatibility or performance concerns that could impact a smooth transition?”

Answer 9:

See subsections 1.2.1.2 Equipment for the list of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) for TV Services. The current Contractor is utilizing the listed COAX Amplifier equipment on the TV network.

This equipment will remain available. The signal to all TV locations is currently good. Each Contractor shall use their own expertise to determine whether to reuse or include the cost of replacement in their quotation, as stated in subsection 1.2.1.2 (a).

Question 10:

“Transition and Installation Requirements:

What are the key handover milestones or transition requirements the Embassy expects to minimize downtime and ensure uninterrupted service during installation?”

Answer 10:

See subsection 1.2.2.2 General (i) Term of Contract. The required circuits shall be active and usable on July 1, 2025. All testing and installation shall be completed before July 1, 2025.

Chancery Internet Services must be online and available for use on the first day of the contract. The public IP range should be provided as early as possible. Mitsui internet services should also be active on day one.

The TV head end should be prepared for day one cutover. The Ambassador Residence known as CMR (US Digital) and Public Affairs (JP Digital) TV segments will be the top priority to reestablish TV services. It is understood that signal strength adjustments may be required, and parts of the TV network may have poor quality while adjustments are made.

Question 11:

“Evaluation Criteria and Preferences:

How will the Embassy prioritize technical performance versus pricing during the evaluation process?

Specifically, would value-added services like advanced redundancy or enhanced cybersecurity measures increase our competitive standing?”

Answer 11:

See SECTION 4 – EVALUATION FACTORS of the RFQ. Quoters must provide evidence that minimum technical requirements as expressed in the Scope of Work in Subsection 1.2 are met as a condition to entering into the Comparative Evaluation phase of the acquisition.

Also see subsection 4.1 (b) 2.1 Technical for MINIMUM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TV, MINIMUM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNET, and Non-Price/Quality Discriminators.

Question 12:

“Historical Cost Data:

To ensure a competitive and fair proposal, could you provide any historical cost data or incumbent pricing details from previous contracts?”

Answer 12:

The U.S. Government does not believe the current and historical contract pricing information is relevant since there have been changes to the requirements and terms and conditions in this new competitive solicitation. Therefore, the U.S. Government believes each prospective quoter must review the solicitation requirements and terms and conditions to make their own pricing assumptions in developing their quoted prices for the base year and each option year for these required services.

Question 13:

“Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Risk Management:

Beyond the NDAA Section 889 requirements and the C-SCRM questionnaire, are there additional cybersecurity expectations related to supply chain risk that we should address?”

Answer 13:

The Contractor shall follow the guidance stated within the RFQ.

–End of Qs&As-