Brand Name Justification.pdf

Version 3.0

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

AUTHORITY: 41 U.S.C. 1901

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1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) and National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Dissemination.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a brand name justification for a new requirement. The Purchase Request number for this requirement is NW-WE0000-23-00008 and has a Forecast Identifier Number of REQUIREMENTS-23-00011. A firm fixed price contract is contemplated for award. The Government intends to solicit quotes via a Request for Quotes (RFQ) on SAM.gov as a Small Business Set-Aside.

3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the total estimated value).

The requirement is to provide 800 Digi International, Inc. (Digi) routers model number LR54- AW403 to Frederick, MD, at a total estimated cost of within a month of purchase order award. This will allow the NWS, Office of Dissemination, to accomplish its mission of maintaining the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) as these shall serve as wireless network routers to provide digital Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity from Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) to NWR transmitter sites for delivery of NWR audio content for broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio.

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

☑ 41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

□ 41 U.S.C. 1903, using SAP up to $15M for contingency operations as authorized by FAR 13.500(c) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a brand name as supported below:

Brand Name - This acquisition is proposed to be limited to a sole brand name, Digi, model number LR54-AW403. These Digi routers will be deployed to WFOs and NWR transmitter sites as wireless network routers to provide digital IP connectivity from WFO to NWR transmitter sites for delivery of NWR audio content for broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio.

These routers will become part of the Verizon Wireless network and be incorporated into their backbone, and eventually, they will be integrated with Verizon MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) circuits already existing at NWS WFOs. These routers therefore must be certified as Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 compliant, so they can be managed and monitored by the Network Operations Center. They must also have the Cellular 4G Long

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Term Evolution (LTE) radios built into them for access to the NWR Verizon Wireless private network. Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of over 200,000 hours is critical because of the nature of the NWR network's role as a safety of life system. Without utilizing this particular router model from Digi, the NWR network reliability could be compromised. The current systems have been developed around this particular router and as such there is no substitute for it without extensive testing and re-design of the entire NWR network.

Compatibility to existing systems or equipment - The NWR program has previously performed extensive testing of the Digi LR54 router to verify its interoperability, bandwidth usage, reliability and SNMP support and found it acceptable as a wireless access tool for the NWR Verizon Wireless network. At this point a significant cost to the government would result if an untested substitute router is introduced to the system with potential incompatible network configurations, proprietary software and increased bandwidth usage outside the NWS data plan allowances or other unforeseen interoperability or reliability issues. In addition, the NWR program already has in excess of 150 Digi LR54 routers in field operational use, and has already developed a network support structure and associated technical expertise for these routers, which would need to be re-developed if any other make/model of router was procured.

NWR is a critical life saving system that must be engineered with the highest reliability in mind.

Introduction of different make/model of router into the NWR telecommunication network other than the Digi LR54 adds significant risk to the NWR system, which the program is unable to accept.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

The NWS, Office of Dissemination, and the EAD performed market research to see if other sources carried the model number routers needed. Through this market research it was discovered that due to the router number being discontinued in late 2022, few vendors still can provide for this requirement. However, due to the results of a Sources Sought conducted the requirement is being planned to be solicited on SAM.gov as a small business set-aside.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based

(i) Market research; and (ii) Comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases. Prior to award of the proposed order, cost or price information shall be obtained from the contractor and a price/cost analysis will be performed and documented to sufficiently determine that the cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition will be fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted by the NWS, Office of Dissemination, and the EAD to identify available sources and to evaluate the availability of the marketplace to meet the requirement as follows:

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12. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Office of General Counsel Concurrence

Concur

14. Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval

I certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approve