36C10A23Q0152 Sole Source Justification_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 1701 Directors Blvd Austin, TX 78744

2. Description of Action.

This proposed action is for a firm-fixed price contract with Golden West Telecommunications, (Golden West) South Dakota (SD) for continued local exchange carrier (LEC) telecommunication voice and data services.

3. Description of Supplies or Services.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information Technology (OIT), Development Security Operations, Solution Delivery, Telecommunications Provisioning Office Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) requires continued telecommunication voice and data services at VA facilities located in SD. These services include Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) Line Measured and Line Flat Rate, Caller ID feature on POTS, Hunting/Rollover, Primary Rate Integrated (PRI) Services Digital Network (ISDN), Direct Inward Dialing (DID) for each line, Caller ID on PRI, and Call Forwarding, at the Service Delivery Points (SDP) in Hot Springs, Pine Ridge, and Martin, South Dakota.

The Contractor shall provide LEC voice and data communication services in accordance with Section 1 Requirements of the Product Description (PD). The period of performance for this contract shall be a twelve (12) month base period with one (1) 12-month option periods. The total estimated value of this proposed action is inclusive of all options.

4. Statutory Authority.

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1): For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.

Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

5. Reason for Authority Cited.

The proposed source for this action is Golden West, 415 Crown Street, Wall, SD 57790, a large business. Based on market research, as described in sections 6 and 8 of this justification, it has been determined that only Golden West is capable of providing the aforementioned LEC telecommunication voice and data services. Golden West is the sole provider of both fiber optic and copper cabling to these SDPs. Any other vendor would need to and the necessary equipment

LEC Services, South Dakota to provide replacement services. Golden West also provides the necessary technical staffing to maintain the level of service required by the Federal Communications Commission. To request these services from any other vendor would require an to replace the current services. VA requires a continuity of services because they are a fully functioning facility and cannot experience any interruption in LEC services as it would be detrimental to the Veterans that are served. No other vendor has the fiber optic and copper cabling in place to supply the locations with the circuits necessary to sustain the LEC telecommunication voice and data services.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition.

Market research was conducted, details of which are in section eight (8) of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government�s requirements by the specified need date. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition that can meet the required transition timeline.

Procurement data does not include any unnecessary requirements that may inhibit competition. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities website in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated.

7. Actions to Increase Competition.

In order to remove or overcome barriers to competition in future acquisitions for this requirement, VA will continue to conduct additional market research so that other solutions can be considered. We anticipate the requirement will be able to be competed under the National Local Exchange Carrier- Next Generation (NLEC-NG) Indefinite- Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract by issuing an Request for Task Execution Plan at least 120 days before the end of contract expiration.

8. Market Research.

Market research efforts were conducted by the VA subject matter experts in May 2023 by contacting all six (6) NLEC-NG IDIQ contract holders to ascertain their capability of providing LEC services to the VA locations in South Dakota. Five (5) responded stating that they cannot provide either some or all services, and one (1) responded that services could be provided with a transition time of 90 days. Although this requirement is within the scope of the NLEC-NG suite of contracts, the contractor cannot deliver the services without a break in service. In addition, the Contract Specialist conducted market research by issuing a Request for Information /Sources Sought on Contract Opportunities on May 30, 2023. The announcement closed on June 9, 2023 with no responses received.

9. Other Facts. None