JA16-038A_Thule_Amendment_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6 Justification & Approval (J&A), Supporting Procurements under FAR Part 12, FAR Subpart 13.501, and FAR Part 15

Purchase Request Number: CMTIE116B012 Contract Number: HC1013-16-C-0006 Procurement Title: Thule Tracking Station DS3 Service Contracting Office: Defense Information System Agency (DISA)/Defense Information Technology Contracting Office (DITCO)(PL8222) Estimated Value:

Statutory Authority: 10 United States Code (U.S.C.)§2304(c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Amendment Justification for OTFAOC Number: JA16-038A

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve the use of other than full and open competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C.§2304(c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

a. Requiring Agency:

DISA

IE132 – Infrastructure Executive, Capacity Management Branch Fort Meade, MD 20755-0549

b. Contracting Office:

DISA/DITCO/PL8222

2300 East Drive, Building 3600 Scott Air Force Base, IL 62225-5406

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

Amendment A: FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services was exercised on the previous contract for one month. This amendment was issued to correct Period of Performance (PoP) dates only for the follow-on contract, no other actions.

This J&A is to justify the use of a sole source firm fixed price contract with a one year base period and four 1-year option periods to the incumbent vendor, SES Government Solutions, Inc.

(SES-GS). This procurement is to provide a sole source follow-on contract for continued Operation and Maintenance (O&M) services for the existing DISA bandwidth.

Thule Tracking Station DS3 Service-JA16-038A

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3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

(a) The Government has a continuing need for the following design requirements and performance parameters.

Design Requirements:

(1) One (1) dedicated (full period) DS3(44.736 Mbps), full duplex, symmetrical, serial communications digital circuit between Thule Air Base (AB) (J-Site) and SchrieverAir Force Base (AFB) (Building 614)utilizing commercial satellite bandwidth, contractor-provided hub equipment, teleport services, and contractor-provided antennas. This leased telecommunication service between Thule AB, Greenland and SchrieverAFB, Colorado will support critical Command, Control, Computer, and Intelligence (C4I) Communication mission requirements as well as provide real time command and control communications to thewarfighters.

(2) Full-time (24/7/365) management, operation, monitoring, control, and maintenance of the uplink, downlink, and the confidence downlink monitoring of the space segment. Manage, operate, and maintain all services end-to-end to provide all required connectivity and space capacity to include the terrestrial and satellite backup/restoral capability.

(3) Provide end-to-end data transmission satellite service and ensure technical sufficiency of the service from the demarcation point to the uplinks, space segment, and equipment. Provide restoral capabilities of any part of the service to include complete space capacity, downlink, connectivity to the uplink, and the uplink itself.

(4) Provide and maintain necessary equipment racks, power requirements, and space for the Government furnished equipment at the uplink and downlink sites.

(5) Provide prime and backup power for all facilities outside of the Government offered property and for the proposed terrestrial connectivity equipment.

(6) Provide restoral capabilities for all parts of the service to the uplinks and the space segment. The uplinks shall have redundancy of all required equipment/systems and connectivity at the earth station gateways. This equipment and connectivity must be immediately available. The backup/restoral transponder and satellite capacity shall be available within six hours after it has been determined by the vendor that the primary transponder and/or satellite have failed. The backup/restoral transponder and satellite capacity shall meet the same specifications as for the primary satellite capacity.

(7) Continuously monitor the performance of the end-to-end service. The monitor and control (M&C) capability shall include, at a minimum, frequency, spectrum analysis, unauthorized user-new carrier detection, signal parameters monitoring on an as-changed basis, and out-of-tolerance measurements and alarms.

Page 5 of 12 Pages first constructing new facilities and replicating existing infrastructure at Thule, which is currently owned and operated by SES-GS or by proposing to partner with the incumbent.

However, SES-GS stated that they will not team or partner with another vendor to provide this service.

Amendment A: Changed following sentence section (a) below; The requested action and requirement for this J&A is the issuance of a sole source follow-on leased DS3 satellite communications and O&M services with a period of performance for May 3, 2016 to May 2, 2021.

(a) Description of events.

The TTS DS3 requirement was awarded via sole source contract on April 20, 2011 to SES-GS. The award was for one (1) dedicated (full period) DS3 (44.736 Mbps), full duplex, symmetrical, serial communications digital circuit between Thule AB (J-Site) and Schriever AFB (building 614) and O&M for a term of five (5) years. The contract utilizes commercial satellite bandwidth as well as SES-GS owned hub equipment, teleport services, and antennas. The five (5) year contract will conclude on April 2, 2016. Thus, the requested action and requirement for this J&A is the issuance of a sole source follow-on leased DS3 satellite communications and O&M services with a period of performance for April 3, 2016 to April 2, 2021.

Amendment A: Changed section (b) below to read; This DS3 communication service and O&M support must commence on May 3, 2016 and conclude on May 2, 2021.

(b) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government requirements. The minimum Government requirement is five years of continued leased DS3 communications and associated O&M services between Thule and Schriever AFB. This DS3 communication service and O&M support must commence on April 3, 2016 and conclude on April 2, 2021.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor. The proposed sole source contractor for this requirement is SES-GS. SES-GS, then named GE American Communications, was competitively awarded (DCA200-00-C-5000) the Thule requirement on October 29, 1999 and was the only vendor to respond to the proposal. The contract was a performance based firm-fixed priced contract which included a three year base period with seven 1-year options. SES-GS was subsequently awarded a sole source follow-on contract on April 20, 2011 to continue providing the required services.

SES-GS owns and operates its own hub equipment, facilities, and antennas at Thule, and is currently the only commercial source for satellite services at Thule.

(3) Discussion regarding cause of the sole source situation. The contract (DCA200-00-C- 5000 – TTS CCS) was initially awarded via a full and open competitive solicitation in 1999. The Government did not provide funding for the contractor satellite earth satellite facilities and equipment required to support this service. The TTS CCS contract was awarded to SES-GS who had the infrastructure in place to support the requirement.

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On October 29, 2009, the last of the option periods available under the TTS CCS contract expired. The Government awarded three 6-month extensions following the expiration of the DCA200-00-C-5000. The first extension was required to prepare for a new solicitation in an effort to competitively acquire the required service at Thule.

A second extension was required to transition to the new vendor. This effort failed in 2010 after the new vendor failed to successfully deliver the required service at Thule.

The third 6-month extension was required to prepare and award the sole source contract to the incumbent, SES-GS.

(4) Demonstration of unique source. The issues encountered described above in 2010 highlight the geographical and technical challenges service providers face with providing broadband satellite services in the Thule region. The arctic environment, unpredictable weather patterns, and near-horizon location are further challenged by theoretical and persistent orbital mechanics constraints, i.e., satellites moving under the influence of gravity, atmospheric drag, and thrust. Thus, a new vendor could not prove the sought service without first constructing new facilities and replicating the existing infrastructure at Thule which is owned and operated by SES-GS.

Construction of a new facility yields significant logistic obstacles, as well. Major construction projects are shipped to Thule via Operation Pacer Goose (OPG). OPG’s primary mission is to resupply fuel and other hazardous cargo, space is severely limited, thus construction materials for major construction projects routinely take two years to complete. 1999, SES-GS has established its unique qualification as the only proven and reliable source of critical telecommunication capabilities at Thule Tracking Station.

(5) Procurement discussion. SES-GS wholly owns the hub equipment, teleport services, and antennas at Thule. No other potential vendor currently has infrastructure in place to provide this service and SES-GS is under no obligation to allow another vendor to provide service and/or perform O&M functions at its facilities.

The incumbent, SES-GS, is currently the only commercial provider of high bandwidth satellite service into Thule, Greenland. SES-GS is the only commercial communications company that has a proven capability to deliver the sought service and already has in place all the equipment, facilities, and infrastructure needed to provide, operate, and maintain the requested service. No other source has the necessary infrastructure at Thule AB to meet the requirement.

A new vendor would need to construct new facilities in order to provide service at Thule. Market research revealed that it would take up to two years to complete construction in Thule (See Section 8 for further details). The need for construction of

Page 7 of 12 Pages new facilities coupled with environmental constraints of Thule’s arctic environment, unpredictable weather patterns coupled with three (3) consecutive months of 24-hours of complete darkness and nine (9) months of full sun or twilight, severely limit its annual construction cycle (approximately 3 months) and near-horizon location have been the most significant obstacles to new market entrants at Thule as well as the Government’s ability to realize competition for over 25 years.

Overcoming the geographic and technical limitations are significant cost-drivers, which prevent most commercial satellite industry partners from investing capital into supporting near-horizon locations, such as Thule.

(6) Impact. If the sole source action is not approved, the Government would be at risk incurring an unacceptable gap in critical Department of Defense C4I Communication mission requirements between Schriever AFB and TTS in support of the warfighter.

This is a remote region of the world that currently has limited communication resources and is dependent on this leased communication service to meets its mission requirements.

6. FEDBIZOPPS (FBO) ANNOUNCEMENT/POTENTIAL SOURCES:

(a) A Sources Sought announcement was posted on FBO September 14, 2015 and five responses were received. Of the respondents, only one vendor was identified as being experienced to deliver service in environmental and geographical conditions similar to Thule AB.

(b) A synopsis for this requirement will be published on the FBO website as required by

FAR 5.2.

7. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST:

The contracting officer will determine whether SES’ proposed price is fair and reasonable before award. Certified cost or pricing data is not required for this commercial acquisition, in accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b)(3). Proposal pricing of the sole source provider will be compared to an independent government cost estimate (IGCE), historical data, and published market prices for the service.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

DISA-IE132 conducted market research for this subject requirement. A Sources Sought was placed on the FBO Website on September 14, 2015. The following five companies responded to the Sources Sought solicitation: SES Government Solutions, Inc.; SintelSat Satellite Services Inc.; STS Global: United Teleports, Inc.; and Signal Mountain Networks Inc. Market research also reviewed historical data in the HC1013-11-C-0102 contract file.

Previous procurement actions and market research identified several significant and unique challenges for establishing communications into Thule AB. Thule's arctic environment, unpredictable weather patterns, and near-horizon location (extremely low look-angle, -3° to

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4.5°) provide unique communications challenges. These challenges are driven by the physical attributes and limitations of its location; and theoretical and persistent orbital mechanics constraints, i.e., satellites moving under the influence of gravity, atmospheric drag, and thrust. Peak temperatures occur in July and seldom reach over 50°F. The extreme weather conditions, coupled with three (3) consecutive months of 24-hours of complete darkness and nine (9) months of full sun or twilight, severely limit its annual construction cycles (approximately three months). This further hinders the possibility of performing major communications infrastructure enhancements by the Government or commercial industry partners.

In addition to the short, three-month construction season, this requirement has a significant logistical challenge as equipment and supplies are shipped to Thule AB via OPG. OPG is the military’s annual summer sealift resupply mission and is the main supply line to the area.

Space is limited since OPG’s main mission is to resupply fuel and other hazardous materials.

Due to the priority of OPG’s main mission, construction materials for major projects routinely take two years to complete.

All telecommunication services are provided by either the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) or commercial satellite as there is no long-haul terrestrial infrastructure into the Thule region. The Sources Sought responses identified one vendor, the incumbent SES- GS, who is experienced in delivering service in environmental and geographical conditions similar to Thule AB and no other source is currently operating in the region.

Currently, the incumbent, SES-GS, is the only commercial vendor with a satellite earth terminal and associated equipment located at Thule AB to support mission critical satellite communications. SES-GS owns and operates the satellite terminal, equipment, and facilities at Thule AB. A new vendor would need to either subcontract to use SES-GS facilities or construct a new satellite earth terminal and, depending on the vendor’s architecture, a new satellite terminal at Schriever AFB as well. Several respondents from the Sources Sought indicated that they will be relying on leasing satellite earth station capabilities at Thule AB, but SES-GS is under no obligation to allow another vendor to use its facilities. During previous acquisition activities for the existing contract, the incumbent indicated that they would not sell or lease any part of their infrastructure to another vendor. Market research reconfirmed their stance. Since partnering with SES-GS is not an option, a new vendor will need to spend their own capital to build the infrastructure at Thule AB and at Schriever AFB as well, if they do not currently have a presence there. The market research responses identified optional architectures that would utilize a commercial teleport, therefore, eliminating the need for new construction at Schriever AFB and reducing capital expenditures. However, the vendors would still incur significant capital expenses at Thule AB since Government does not plan to fund the construction of new satellite earth station at Thule AB and/or Schriever AFB. Based on discussions with DISA Government and contractor personnel familiar with the requirements of this contract as well as other similar acquisition contracts, the cost to build a new earth terminal is estimated at per location.

This includes the cost of construction, spares, logistics, training, radomes, and upgrades.

This cost does not include equipment shipping costs to Thule AB. A new vendor could be expected to spend in excess of to support this requirement.

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If a new vendor were to build the new satellite infrastructure, it would take almost two years to transition from one vendor to another due to the time required to acquire and ship a new system to Thule AB and install it during the limited weather-impacted construction window.

The time needed to acquire the knowledge and training to bring the team members on board would require additional funding and an extensive lead time to begin work. This lead time for a transition period along with the uncertain implementation schedule would result in additional costs and excessive risks to the Government.

This is a remote region of the world that currently has limited communication resources and is dependent on leased communication service provided by SES-GS in order to meet mission requirements. No other commercial satellite industry partners have a presence at Thule AB.

In addition, commercial satellite industry partners are reluctant to invest capital into supporting near-horizon locations, such as Thule. The geographic and technical limitations are significant cost drivers in supporting the critical Department of Defense C4I Communication mission requirements. The vendors who responded to the Source Sought could not provide the required service without first constructing new facilities and replicating existing infrastructure at Thule, which is currently owned and operated by SES-GS or by proposing to partner with the incumbent. However, SES-GS stated that they will not team or partner with another vendor to provide this service.

Prior to the 2011 contract award to SES-GS, DISA explored other options to competitively acquire an alternate technical solution via other contract vehicles. However, there were no suitable vehicles that could meet all of the requirements. In addition, DISA explored options under the DTS-PII contract. However, this effort did not result in a solution that provided an acceptable level of connectivity due to the extremely low look-angles, and the contract was terminated eight months into the effort. Since then, there have been no other systems implemented that present a competitive option to the current satellite communication solution for Thule AB.

Based on the findings of this market research, it is recommended to sole source the follow-on contract to SES-GS. This conclusion is based on the following:

Amendment A: Changes sentence one below to read; SES-GS is the only commercial provider currently providing high bandwidth satellite service in Thule and capable of providing service by May 2, 2016.

Original J&A:

SES-GS is the only commercial provider currently providing high bandwidth satellite service in Thule and capable of providing service by April 2, 2016.

SES-GS has the equipment, facilities, and infrastructure needed to continue providing, maintaining, and operating the required service.

SES-GS is under no obligation to lease or sell their existing equipment, facilities, and infrastructure to another competitor, and have indeed confirmed that they are not willing to do so.

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Environmental, geographical, and logistical challenges with building a new satellite earth station at Thule AB could take up to two years or longer to complete and would require a significant financial investment by the vendor.

Previous efforts to competitively acquire this service through other contracts did not result in a technically acceptable solution. The market research did not identify any viable options to the current solution.

Amendment A: Therefore, it is in the Government’s best interest to pursue a sole source award to ensure that the mission critical C4I Communication requirements between Schriever AFB and Thule AB as well as provide real time command and control communications to thewarfighter will continue to be available beyond May 2, 2016.

Original J&A: Therefore, it is in the Government’s best interest to pursue a sole source award to ensure that the mission critical C4I Communication requirements between Schriever AFB and Thule AB as well as provide real time command and control communications to thewarfighter will continue to be available beyond April 2, 2016.

9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: Not applicable.

10. LISTING OF INTERESTED SOURCES:

(1) SES Government Solutions, 11790 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 300, Reston, VA 20190

(2) Signal Mountain Network Inc., 2320 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, GA 30341

(3) SintelSat Satellite Services, Inc., 373 Nesconset Hwy, #133, Hauppauge, NY 11788

(4) STS Global, CEWIT Bldg. #231, 1500 Stony Brook Road, Stony Brook NY 11794-6040

(5) United Teleports Inc., 19000 NE 5th Ave, Miami, FL 33179-3907

11. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

(a) Procurement History.

The incumbent SES-GS, then named GE American Communications, was awarded the TTS CCS contact (DCA200-00-C-5000) in 1999 to provide leased satellite services between Thule AB and Schriever AFB. The Government released a full and open solicitation to industry for services at Thule, but only the incumbent responded with a proposal. Efforts to competitively acquire the sought service at Thule AB through the DTS-PII contract failed in late 2010. Despite approximately 8 months of avid efforts by the government and the contractor to meet acceptable thresholds of performance the requirement ultimately could not be met. The long-haul communication services provided by a contractor under the DTS-PII contract could not provide the necessary acceptable level of dependable connectivity (without excessive errors) in a timely manner. The failure of this effort established SES-GS’ unique qualification as the only proven and responsible source of critical telecommunication capabilities at Thule AB. In 2011, SES-GS was awarded a sole source contract (HC1013-11-C-0102) to continue providing critical

Page 11 of 12 Pages communications between Thule AB and Schriever AFB and upgrade the bandwidth to

DS3.

(b) DISA conducted market research to assess whether the competitive landscape in the Thule region for wideband satellite communications currently offers other sources for the services sought between Thule AB and Schriever AFB. Market research indicated that the incumbent is the only viable provider of these requirements. However, the Government will continue to assess the competitive landscape in this geographic region of the world ensuring that if/when a viable source other than SES-GS exists that competition can be realized in the acquisition of the TTS DS3 services.

12. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP):

In accordance with the exceptions under DARS 7.103(S-91)(h) an acquisition plan is not required.

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TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Tisa R. Dantzler SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Contracting Officer’s Representative, PHONE: DATE: April 27, 2016

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Christopher H. Knight SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Section Chief, PHONE: DATE: April 27, 2016

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Lora T. Benhoff SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Contracting Officer, PHONE: DATE: April 27, 2016

PROCURING ACTIVITY COMPETITION ADVOCATE APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Since this justification does not exceed $13.5M, this review serves as approval and my written determination that the aforementioned FAR circumstances apply.

NAME: Gay Arnold SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, PHONE: DATE: April 27, 2016

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO

Lora T. Benhoff, 618-229-9499, lora.t.benhoff@civ@mail.mil or Tamara J. Norrenberns, 618-229-9386, tamara.j.norrenberns.civ@mail.mil