AMENDMENT 0002.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

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:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication 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 is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

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

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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 AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

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

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 6

0002 01-13-2025

36C255

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15

3450 S 4th Street Trafficway

Leavenworth KS 66048

36C255

Department of Veterans Affairs

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15

3450 S 4th Street Trafficway

Leavenworth KS 66048

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C25525Q0114

X

X X

** HOUR & DATE for Receipt of Offers is EXTENDED to: 01-21-2025 11:00AM CST

X 1

Guest Wi-Fi Services | St. Louis VAMC and CBOCs

The purpose of this Amendment is to provide all questions and answers for this solicitation., see Continuation Pages and attached documents, “High_Traffic_Areas_Report_-_JB_1736467184” & “High_Traffic_Area_Report_-_JC_1736467219”.

This concludes the question and answer period. ALL quotes are due on or before January 21, 2025, by 11:00 a.m. Central.

Teresa Cabanting

Contracting Officer

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1. Section 3.i states "The Contractor shall provide public wireless security (e.g. for malware, adware, blacklisted sites, P2P connections, etc.)"

Question: Is this statement to provide an additional monitoring software or appliance to secure the network from these threats, or to continue to provide operation to an already existing security service?

ANSWER: The Contractor must provide their own wireless security system, as the VA

Medical Center's guest network operates independently and is not integrated with our main security infrastructure.

2. Section 3.m states "The Contractor shall provide 24/7/365 VGIA technical support via 1-800 number(s) to a call center/ Help Desk for all guest users of the public wi-fi system."

Question: Is there any specific requirement for amount of personnel manning this helpdesk? How is call center/ Help Desk defined?

ANSWER: The Contractor must provide on-site support services and 24/7 technical support via E-mail or phone. The Contractor must respond promptly to any access point issues or downtime across all locations. While there is no minimum staffing requirement, the Contractor must maintain sufficient personnel to ensure reliable communication and prompt resolution of all service issues.

3. Section Summary.c states "The Contractor, COR, and Biomedical Engineering staff shall maintain the equipment in accordance with Section B.4 (g) Conformance Standards. Contractor shall provide unlimited telephone technical support and all required parts.

Question: Is the intention of the contractor to provide any replacements for existing infrastructure? Does all required parts mean parts only for the expansion of the existing network or maintenance of the existing network alone?

ANSWER: The Contractor is responsible for providing the necessary parts for the expansion piece without replacing any existing infrastructure. Additionally, the Contractor must ensure 24-hour coverage and maintenance of the current networking infrastructure.

4. Section 2 CLIN 0002A states "JB-BLDG53 - Replace non Virtual Reality access point with access point that supports VR"

Question: Are there any specific requirements for this VR supported access point?

ANSWER: In addition to the basic networking specifications outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW), the access point must also be VR supported. This will enable our Veterans to seamlessly utilize their VR systems while connected to our Guest Wi-fi network.

5. Section 2 CLIN 0002A, B, C, D all require the installation of new access points.

Question: As a point of clarity for us. It is the intention of the contractor to provide all furnished equipment that is compatible with existing infrastructure procured by Contractor?

ANSWER: The Contractor shall utilize current existing equipment and infrastructure.

6. Question: Do you have a list of all the expected Wi-Fi devices and applications to be supported on the VAMC network, e.g. Wi-Fi voice support on mobile devices and RFID devices, please can you share.

ANSWER: None of the devices connected to the Guest Wi-Fi are linked to the VAMC network. The guest Wi-Fi functions as a distinct network separate from our VAMC Network. It is not possible for the Government to provide an exhaustive list of all the devices used on the Guest Wi-Fi Network, as this is a dynamic situation that can vary depending on the needs of our guests.

7. Question: Do you expect to have different SSIDs (network) for different groups e.g.

Guest, Staff, Management etc. If so, how many. Also, will they require different level content filtering.

ANSWER: This Wi-Fi service is exclusively for guests/patients and is not used by VAMC staff.

8. Question: Is there any Wi-Fi equipment still under OEM warranty, and do you have Aruba network hardware and software equipment that will require license renewal during the contract duration? If so, what dates do they expire.

ANSWER: Currently, all devices, with the exception of the following, have reached their End of Life (EOL) status: Jefferson Barracks: Juniper SRX300 Security Gateway;

Aruba 7205 Wireless Controller; Ubiquiti USW-Aggregation Fiber Switch.

At Jefferson Barracks, although the Access Points (APs) are no longer available, they are fully supported by the Aruba 7205 Controller. In the event of any device failure within the next 5 years, these will be replaced under the ongoing maintenance contract at no additional cost to the Government.

For John Cochran, the EOL Aruba 3400 Wireless Controller must be upgraded to the Aruba 7205 Wireless Controller.

The outdated Juniper SRX210 Security Gateways (1 at John Cochran and 7 at CBOCs) needs to be replaced with a currently available security gateway within the first year of the contract.

All other devices are still fully capable of providing the necessary services for the Guest Wi-Fi network.

9. Question: For technical support, do you require 2-hour initial telephone response time and 24-hour onsite response time? There seems to be a conflict with the summary page 10 of the solicitation, please explain.

ANSWER: Yes, it is required for a 2-hour initial telephone or E-mail response, followed by a 24-hour onsite response time to promptly address any issues regarding the Guest Wireless service.

10. Transition Plan Details: What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for assessing the success of the transition plan to Guest Wireless Services, and what specific benchmarks must be achieved during each phase of implementation?

ANSWER: Ensuring the transition plan utilizes existing equipment and all existing firewalls and existing AP’s are transferred over with minimal down time, 98% uptime guaranteed. All transition plan actions need to remain within the current approved funding parameters, any additional equipment related to this transition causing an increase to the overall cost of this service will indicate an unsuccessful plan of transition.

11. Existing Equipment Compatibility: Are there detailed documentation or configuration settings for the existing VA-owned VGIA equipment, DSL lines, and firewalls (Juniper SRX models) to ensure compatibility and minimize setup time?

ANSWER: The attachment provided with the solicitation includes most of the required details. Additional information is attached with this Amendment 0002.

12. Bandwidth Management: Can you provide historical usage data for the identified high-traffic areas to predict if the 300 Mbps upload/download minimum is sufficient, or should we plan for scalability in high-demand zones?

ANSWER: The attached documents for this Amendment 0002 are the best information that can be provided.

Technical and Operational Specifics

1. Spectrum Analysis Requirements: For the 180-day spectrum analysis, is there an existing baseline of signal-to-noise ratios or known RF interference issues that need to be addressed, and what are the reporting formats preferred by the VA?

ANSWER: There is no information regarding the Guest wireless signal to noise ratios or RF issues because there is no way to monitor or generate a report for the surrounding noise.

2. Public Wireless Security: What specific types of malware, adware, and filtering rules are prioritized in the VA's security parameters, and how often will these parameters need to be updated during the contract lifecycle?

ANSWER: All basic malware, adware, and filtering specifications should be updated every 30 days minimal unless larger patching or updates are required. AP’s need to have base protection from outside sources, and filtering needs to be immediately implemented upon request. Any additional security requirements need to be addressed immediately upon request.

3. Support Expectations: Can you clarify the protocols for escalating technical support issues beyond the 24-hour onsite resolution requirement? Are there penalties for exceeding the 99% service uptime SLA?

ANSWER: Penalties may be incurred for failing to meet contractual obligations;

however, the Government will assess if any complex situations require additional time for completion.

4. CAD Floor Plan Updates: How frequently will CAD floor plans need to be updated, and what level of detail is expected for representing wireless equipment and effective ranges?

ANSWER: The CAD drawings need to be updated annually throughout the duration of the contract. These updates should include access point models, locations, and VGIA equipment lists. Any additional information needed for these floor plan updates will be requested as necessary.

Collaboration and Reporting

Quarterly Utilization Reports: Are there specific metrics or insights (e.g., access point load balancing, peak usage trends, etc.) beyond the typical network traffic data that would provide added value to the VA’s operations?

ANSWER: No