FOCI II JEFO FY25_HCA Signed REDACTED.pdf

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO) – FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)

Exceeding the SAT

Date: September 12, 2025 PR Number: 20152172

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition (OA), prepared this Justification For Exception to Fair Opportunity

(JEFO).

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

CBP has a requirement to award a one (1) year TACCOM II task order on a sole source basis for Fiber Optic Cable Installation (FOCI) II, including engineering services and materials to deploy fiber optic sensing cable along the southern and northern U.S. border to provide situational awareness in support of CBP operations. The estimated cost includes deliverables to deploy a total of ~163 miles of fiber optic cable at sites along the southern border and ~27 miles of fiber optic cable at sites along the northern border at an estimated cost of .

The proposed contractor is:

Chartis Consulting Corporation 18822 Woodburn Road Leesburg, VA 20175

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

Due to the issuance of Executive Order 14154, Securing Our Borders, dated January 20, 2025, the Linear Ground Detection System (LGDS) program has been directed to accelerate the deployment, installation, training, and maintenance of signal/data processors in support of the Administration’s national security priority.

The contractor will procure, install, and test fiber optic cables to fill ~163 miles of construction gaps along the U.S. southern border at locations in Tuscon, Big Bend, and El Paso sectors and ~27 miles of construction gaps along the U.S. northern border at locations Blaine and Spokane sectors.

Total Estimated Procurement Value:

Total:

Fiber optic strands will be used as a critical sensor component of a Distributed Acoustic Sensor System capable of registering seismic vibrations in remote, rugged terrain. System performance relies on the following:

Durable low-attenuation optical fiber.

Exceeding the SAT

Minimizing signal attenuation by ensuring: a) close coupling of the fiber optic cable with the soil; b) maximizing light signal propagation with fiber optic cable by maximizing longer spools of cable as much as possible to minimizing the number of intermediate splices along the intended run; and c) using specifications to maximize high performance of the fiber optic cable.

Accurate and consistent placement of optical fiber cable regardless of obstruction.

Install “GPS Marker Balls” inside each hand hole to allow easier finding of the handholds, junction boxes, or splice trays during the fiber maintenance activity.

Frequent quality checks and testing before, during and after installation.

4. Identify the exception to fair opportunity and supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited.

___X____FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C). The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to a task order already issued under the TACCOM II contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

Rationale:

Due to the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 14154, Securing Our Borders, dated January 20, 2025, the LGDS program has been directed to accelerate the deployment, installation, training, and maintenance of signal/data processors in support of the Administration’s national security priority.

LGDS, per the Section 4(c) of EO 14154 dated January 20, 2025, calls for completion of “technology coverage of at least 2,000 contiguous miles of the Southern Border by the end of Fiscal Year 2028,” and directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue an implementation plan within 90 days [after 20 JAN 25]. This condensed schedule compresses deployment efforts originally planned through FY30 into an FY25–FY28 window, creating urgent operational and contractual demands that justify use of a logical follow-on to avoid disruption. LGDS initial requirement was to deploy ~1,300 miles of fiber optic cable by Q4, FY 2030. New guidance from the Administration has accelerated the completion date to Q4, FY2028, two years ahead of schedule, with an additional 722 miles of fiber optic cable (or a total of 2,122 miles) to cover.

An itemized breakdown is the following: 1) operationalization ~194 miles of fiber optic cable along the southern border, 2) deploy and operationalization ~474 miles of fiber optic cable along the northern border, 3) operationalize ~500 miles of Border Wall fiber optic cable along the southern border, and 4) operationalize ~1100 miles of Water Barrier fiber optic cable along the southern coastal region. All fiber optic cable installed and operationalized over land and water needs to be completed no later than Q4, FY2028.

In September 2024, CBP competitively awarded a task order to Chartis Consulting Corporation for Fiber Optic Cable Installation. The initial Fiber Optic Cable Installation task order (FOCI) only consisted of a one (1) year period for $17,388,525.07.

Exceeding the SAT

The government has determined that a sole source task order to Chartis Consulting Corporation is the most efficient and economic procurement strategy to meet the Administration’s direction for the LGDS Program to accelerate deployment, installation, training, and maintenance of signal/data processors in location gaps in the US northern border, location gaps in the US southern border and southern coastal region in support of a national security priority.

Transitioning to another vendor for fiber optic cable installation will necessitate comprehensive site surveys and the deployment of specialized assets, coupled with an initial equipment purchase that will likely involve substantial financial investment. The long lead time required for procuring and integrating this equipment will cause significant delays in project timelines that will hinder CBP’s ability to meet project milestones. Furthermore, during the transition period, there will be overlaps between the incumbent and potential new awardee, leading to additional costs as services are duplicated. All new personnel involved will need to undergo extensive training to adapt to the LGDS system and will require the necessary security clearances which will be both time-consuming and costly. Another consideration is the technical capability of the vendor and subcontractors. There is risk introducing a new vendor and their ability to meet the same technical scope of the ongoing effort and the likely need to ramp up their operations or hire another subcontractor to fill the gaps. This process will be costly and time-consuming, leading to higher expenses. Collectively, these factors will contribute to increased costs, schedule delays, and result in inefficiencies for the Government.

Table 1: Additional Cost

1. New vendors will need to perform end-to-end surveys across more than 623 deployment miles.

2. Procurement of trenching equipment, fiber optic spools, armored casings, GPS marker systems, and mobile deployment tools required for initial investment.

3. Clearance processing and onboarding of new technical staff

4. LGDS integration training and operational familiarization

5. Maintaining incumbent vendor support during new vendor ramp-up introduces duplication in mobilization, engineering, and supervision

CBP has determined that attempting to compete this requirement in FY 2025 would not be in the Government’s best interest, for reasons of economy and efficiency.

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

The Contracting Officer will use the independent government cost estimate and historical contract pricing that pricing is fair and reasonable.

Total Cost 1 Site Survey 2 Equipment and Material Procurement 3 Security Clearance and Personnel Vetting 4 Training and Onboarding ( 5 Operational Overlap Cost

Total

Additional Cost

Exceeding the SAT

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

In FY 2024, Chartis Consulting Corporation was determined to be the most technically capable business with the ability to deploy fiber optic cable using advanced drilling techniques and technologies in the southern border’s harsh and challenging geological environments.

Since the contract award, Chartis Consulting Corporation has demonstrated their ability to effectively deploy fiber optic cable along the southern border and navigate challenging deployment obstacles to meet program requirements. Furthermore, they have developed a proprietary trenching and installation method, including customized backfill and armoring techniques, that have passed all testing criteria and are currently in use at high-risk locations.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

CBP is beginning market research to determine an acquisition strategy for a competition in

FY2026.

8. CBP intends to post this requirement on Sam.gov pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C).