Brand_Name_Justification_for_Aviat.pdf

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition Western Area Power Administration

FAR 6.303 & 6.304 - Brand Name Justification

Purchase Requests 16WA115128

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, Upper Great Plains Region (UGPR), North Dakota Maintenance Office, PO Box 1173, Bismarck ND, 58502-1173

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

Brand name justification for hybrid microwave radios. The Aviat IRU 600 radios may be purchased from any qualified vendor.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs.

The requested brand name is required to match existing recent installations and maintain a consistent design throughout UGPR as the transition is made from a traditional SONET architecture to a hybrid (TDM and Ethernet) architecture communication system.

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

Citation: 41 USC 1903

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

UGPR currently has approximately $ 1 million in Aviat radios, software, spares, and management system (20+ hops) in Aviat microwave radio equipment installations throughout the region. These radios are being utilized to replace the existing manufacture discontinued radios in the region. They are also the radios that Western and East River have deployed in the new Joint Communications System in South Dakota.

The continued purchase of Aviat radios will allow UGP staff to leverage existing EEC training, maintain a smaller spare parts inventory, streamline overall system engineering time, utilize the Aviat radio management software (ProVision) to a more efficient extent, allow a more cohesive communications system with connecting utilities that also utilize the Aviat radio platform, and allow an easier expansion of the existing network with IT. Aviat is the only radio vendor we found to be able to provide traditional TDM and Ethernet services in one radio platform. In addition, the Aviat radios are capable of being licensed in the commercial spectrum, government 4, 7, and 8 Ghz.