CORHQ-26-R-0342 A0001 Questions and Answers Update Solicitation.pdf

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF AWARD

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (If applicble)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

FDIC 3700/56 (3-08)

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICIATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended, is not extended.

Offer must acknowledge receipt of this amendment by signing in Block 15b below and including the signed amendment with the offeror's proposal.

12. N/A

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

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

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO THE CHANGE ORDERS CLAUSE

B. THIS MODIFICATION IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE FDIC CONTRACTING OFFICER

C. THIS MODIFICATION IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO MUTUAL AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remain unchanged and in full force and effect.

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (No., street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

CORHQ-26-R-0342 / 0001

NONPUBLIC//FDIC INTERNAL ONLY#

# Question FDIC Response

Is there any incumbent/recompete or this is a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past.

This requirement is a recompete. Equinix is the incumbent and they brought similar services in the past.

Section L states that FDIC intends to award a single-award BOA, while other solicitation language reserves the right to award one, more than one, or no contracts. Please confirm whether FDIC intends a single BOA award covering all three initial Task Orders.

Single award BOA with all three Task Orders

May an offeror satisfy portions of the colocation, backbone, cloud connectivity, office connectivity, and NOC requirements through qualified subcontractors while the prime contractor retains overall contractual and service-delivery responsibility?

yes

Please confirm that the qualifications, capabilities, resources, and relevant past performance of critical subcontractors may be considered in evaluating the offeror's ability to perform the Phase I and Phase II requirements.

Confirmed.

Must all critical subcontractors and underlying telecommunications providers be definitively identified in Phase I, or may portions of the carrier and subcontractor team be finalized before Phase II?

Subcontracting information should be submitted as part of Phase I, see 7.3.2-24. Subcontracting information can be excluded from the 8-page Volume I limit.

SOW 3.2.1.4 references the Washington, DC/Northern Virginia metropolitan area near Virginia Square, while the pricing materials reference Ashburn. Please clarify whether the required colocation location must be in Ashburn or may be elsewhere within the Washington, DC/Northern Virginia metropolitan area.

Yes, it may be within Northern VA/Washington DC area.

Please confirm whether the four direct cloud-interconnection locations are Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and specifically Ashburn, or Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and another technically acceptable Washington, DC/Northern Virginia facility.

Yes, it may be within Northern VA/Washington DC area.

The SOW indicates that an alternate colocation location may be preferred where validated cost savings can be achieved. What technical-proximity, latency, resiliency, and cost criteria will FDIC use when evaluating an alternate facility?

If offeror proposes utilizing portions of their own network infrastructure for segments of the circuit distance, they should provide information they deem necessary for FDIC to evaluate the proposed approach.

References to redundant "20GB" direct cloud-connect circuits appear to mean 20 Gbps.

Please confirm the required bandwidth is 20 Gbps per circuit.

Updated SOW 3.3.1 in the solicitation to 10gb primary and 10gb backup.

Which commercial cloud providers does FDIC currently use or anticipate requiring at contract start, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Google Cloud Platform?

Azure at this moment, but can add additional providers at any given time

Please clarify the anticipated quantity and type of virtual connections associated with the requirement for unlimited virtual connections.

4 at this moment, but can add additional connections at any given time

Where two circuits have identical source and termination locations, should offerors assume that each circuit must use a different underlying carrier and a physically diverse route?

Yes

How does FDIC define "separate providers" for redundant circuits? Must the circuits use separate Tier-1 carriers, or may a managed/wholesale provider satisfy the requirement through demonstrably separate underlying carriers, facilities, local loops, and physical paths?

The requirement can be satisfied with separate underlying carriers, facilities, local loops, and physical paths

CORHQ-26-R-0342 Enterprise Wan Questions & Answers

What documentation will FDIC require from the contractor to demonstrate physically diverse fiber routes and separate building entrances?

Route maps illustrating diverse paths

SOW 3.4.3 states that a total of two 10-Gbps circuits will be installed and subsequently identifies multiple locations. Please confirm whether FDIC requires two 10-Gbps circuits at each identified location.

Confirmed

SOW 3.4.5 states "a total of one (2) 10G circuits." Please confirm that the required quantity for the DFW data center is two 10-Gbps circuits.

confirmed - Two (2)

Please identify which Regional, Area, and Field Offices require dual/provider-diverse connectivity and which locations require only a single 1-Gbps circuit.

See Attachment 1

Will FDIC identify the incumbent and/or underlying telecommunications carriers currently supporting backbone and office connectivity?

Equinix is the incumbent

Will FDIC provide the awardee with existing circuit IDs, carrier information, service addresses, contract expiration dates, and other relevant circuit inventory information necessary to support transition planning?

No

What is FDIC's desired date for completion of the full Enterprise WAN migration following the anticipated February 1, 2027 start of performance?

The completion date will be based on the offeror's proposed system architecture and is unknown at this time.

Does FDIC anticipate a period of parallel operation between the incumbent WAN and the new WAN? If so, what duration should offerors assume?

Yes, up to the vendor proposed transition timeline.

Should offerors include costs associated with parallel incumbent and replacement connectivity during the transition period?

No

What testing, burn-in, or operational-stability period will FDIC require before accepting newly provisioned backbone and office circuits?

within 10 business days

Please identify anticipated FDIC GFE interfaces, equipment types, and technical requirements relevant to MACsec interoperability and circuit handoffs.

Single-Mode ethernet handoff to Juniper WAN routers

Must each underlying carrier provide native MACsec functionality, or is the requirement satisfied when FDIC GFE performs line-rate MACsec 256 encryption across a transparent Ethernet service?

FDIC GFE will perform the MACSEC encryption across the transparent ethernet service

May the centralized 24x7x365 NOC be operated by a critical subcontractor or telecommunications partner if the prime contractor retains overall incident-management responsibility and FDIC receives a single accountable service interface?

Yes

May the portal requirement be satisfied through an integrated service-management platform that consolidates APIs, monitoring information, ticketing, and operational data from multiple carriers, colocation providers, and other service providers?

Yes

Please clarify the expected authorization boundary for the contractor-supported ATO.

Does the ATO encompass the contractor management portal and NOC systems, carrier infrastructure, colocation services, or the complete proposed service architecture? Will be determined during the ATO process based on offeror's proposed architecture.

Is there an existing system security package, system boundary, control baseline, or ATO documentation that the successful contractor will inherit or update?

The vendors will need to create a new package base on the solution they propose.

Must the prime contractor independently maintain ISO 27001, SOC 1 Type II, and SOC 2 Type II certifications, or may applicable requirements be satisfied through the certified telecommunications, colocation, cloud, and infrastructure providers delivering those services?

The BOA awardee will serve as contractual customer for the services in the RFP.

Please clarify the anticipated applicability of HIPAA and PCI DSS to the contractor's WAN, colocation, portal, and NOC environments.

If any listed framework are not applicable, the offeror should provide the rationale.

Please clarify whether BOA NTE pricing may be refreshed, reduced, or otherwise modified during option periods to accommodate technology changes, bandwidth evolution, commercial price reductions, or changes in the underlying telecommunications market.

Modifications are not anticipated at this time.

During the 15-year BOA period, may FDIC add or substitute higher-bandwidth services or successor technologies through task orders or modifications to the BOA?

Yes

Should extraordinary special-construction charges, building-entry construction, conduit work, and similar site-specific costs be included within the NTE circuit pricing, or may such costs be separately proposed at the applicable task-order level?

Special charges will be evaluated at TO level post award on a case by case basis.

Should all recurring third-party colocation cross-connect charges be incorporated into the proposed colocation or circuit MRC?

Yes

Should regulatory fees and other applicable telecommunications carrier surcharges be included within the proposed NTE monthly recurring charges?

Yes

If an individual redundant circuit experiences an outage but overall FDIC connectivity remains available through the redundant path, will the affected circuit independently trigger an SLA credit?

Yes

Are SLA credits cumulative across multiple circuits and incidents during a billing period, or will FDIC apply a monthly maximum or other limitation on cumulative SLA credits?

Per circuit Per month

The solicitation states that exceeding applicable page limits may result in a proposal being determined non-responsive. Please identify the maximum page count applicable to Volume I, Technical Approach.

Volume I page limit is 8 pages, see 7.3.2-15.

Please confirm whether network architecture diagrams, carrier matrices, implementation schedules, and supporting tables or appendices count toward the Volume I page limitation.

Confirmed.

What financial information or documentation does FDIC anticipate requesting for the pass/fail Financial Capability evaluation, particularly where an offeror serves as prime contractor and significant telecommunications and colocation charges are provided through subcontractors?

The FDIC will do their own checks. Vendors do not need to submit anything regarding financial information.

42 Is this a new requirement or re-compete? If so, who is the incumbent?

This requirement is a recompete. Equinix is the incumbent.

43 What is the anticipated date of notification for Phase I down select?

We are targeting end of week 10/30. It depends on how many Phase I proposals we receive.

Will the Government issue the Phase I advisory notifications in a timely fashion, say within a week after October 19, 2026, so that the offerors can prepare the remaining volumes by the November 16th deadline or the extend the date if Phase I advisory notifications are delayed?

We are targeting end of week 10/30. It depends on how many Phase I proposals we receive.

There are no volume instructions for Volume II - Management Approach, however there are instructions for Management Plan. Is Volume II meant to be Factor B Management Plan, or it is Management Approach?

Yes, they're the same. Will update.

There is no Attachment B-1 provided in the solicitation documents. Can the government please clarify whether Enterprise Wan Task Orders 1-3.xlsx is Attachment B-1? Is BOA Pricing Enterprise WAN.xlsx required? What is the purpose of this file? Can you clarify what Pricing file should be used?

Yes, Attachment B-1 is the Task Order pricing. Both the BOA level and Task Order level pricing should be completed as part of the proposal.

The guidelines for Mission Capability include an 8 page maximum for subfactors 1 and 2, however the instructions for Technical Approach include no such restriction. Can the government please clarify the page count limits for Technical Approach's subfactor 1 and 2 and whether Mission Capability instructions apply to Volume I? Please confirm that the 8-page limit applies to the entire Volume I Technical Approach and includes all narrative responses to Sub-factors A.1 and A.2, but excludes the items identified in 7.3.2-09(f).

Yes, Technical Approach volum should be max 8 pages, which includes subfactor 1 and 2.

There is a confusion between the Mission Capability and Technical Approach volumes.

Are they the same? Should one of those be deleted? Approach includes all narrative responses to Sub-factors A.1 and A.2, but excludes the items identified in 7.3.2-09(f).

Offerors should respond to the Technical Approach requirements for Phase I. Specifically, Volume I must address Factor A and its two sub-factors: Circuits and Cloud Connectivity and Transition Plan. “Mission Capability” is the evaluation framework under which the technical and management factors are assessed; it is not a separate set of proposal instructions or a separate volume. First sentence of provision 7.3.2-15 - Mission Capability - Proposals Instructions has been updated to say "...Phase I Technical Approach (Mission Capability) Volume..."

Can the page count limit please be expanded to 20 pages to adequately address the requirements of Volume I, Technical Approach?

No, please keep Volume I to 8 pages, but exclude the items identified in 7.3.2-09(f).

Beyond the resume 2 page guideline, there are no page restrictions for the Management Plan volume. Can you confirm this is correct?

Management Plan volume will be limited to 8 pages, which includes the 2 resumes (2 pages max per).

Can the Government please provide the addresses for Column C in greater detail. The full addresses are not provided in the PWS. Site addresses are needed for Customer Locations to price these circuits.

Please refer to attachment 1 which will be uploaded to sam.gov.

Sections 7.3.2-25 and 7.3.2-26 provide different required resume content. Section 7.3.2- 25 requires name/title, education, years of relevant experience, certifications, former employers, and detailed experience, while 7.3.2-26 requires name/title, education, experience, and accreditations. Please confirm which requirements govern the Key Personnel resumes.

7.3.2-25 expands on the requirements for key personnel resumes.

Please confirm that PPQs must be received by FDIC no later than the November 16, 2026 Phase II proposal deadline, rather than the October 19, 2026 Phase I deadline.

To be considered for this opportunity, offerors shall provide all information required in the in the Phase I Technical Approach Section of the RFP, by 2 p.m.

Monday, October 19, 2026, and Phase II by 1:00 p.m.

EST, Wednesday, November 16, 2026.

Please confirm that the required 120-day offer validity period is measured from the November 16, 2026 Phase II proposal due date, rather than from the October 19, 2026 Phase I submission date.

Yes, that is correct.

Please confirm that the Factor definition in Section M is correct, and should be used the same in Section L.

Phase I Factor A - Technical Approach Sub-factor A.1 - Circuits and Cloud Connectivity Sub-factor A.2 - Transition Plan

Please refer to 7.3.2-17.

The Pricing file specifies a term of 60 months for pricing. Please confirm that pricing are for fixed 60 months term, and that there is no termination of convenience at 30 days notice.

Yes, pricing should be provided for the 60 month base period, option period 1, and option period 2. For questions on termination of convenience, please refer to 7.6.6-01 which is incorporated by reference at https://www.fdic.gov/buying/goods/acquisition/index.ht ml

It looks like total 1 circuits include diverse pairs; For example, 3.4.2.1 One (1) 10G from San Francisco Colo to Denver, CO Colo

3.4.2.2 One (1) 10G from San Francisco Colo to Denver, CO Colo. Please confirm that this is correct.

Confirmed, please see 3.4.2

It looks like Section 3.4.3.1 through 3.4.3.10 are separate 10 locations, each requiring a diverse circuit pair, for total of 20 circuits. Please confirm.

Confirmed, please see 3.4.3

Please provide Attachment 1 for FDIC office locations, including exact addresses, and coordinates if possible. That is required for circuit Pricing.

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

a. Please clarify the intended contracting and billing model for the underlying colocation, interconnection, Internet, WAN backbone, and office connectivity services. Is the BOA awardee/task-order contractor expected to serve as the contractual customer of record for these services, including procuring the services from third-party providers, paying those providers, and invoicing FDIC?

The BOA awardee will serve as contractual customer for the services in the RFP.

b. Alternatively, if FDIC intends to contract with and/or pay any underlying service providers directly, please identify which services would be procured directly by FDIC and provide additional detail regarding the anticipated contracting and billing structure. For any FDIC-contracted services, please also clarify the BOA contractor’s expected responsibilities for provider coordination, service management, incident escalation, SLA management, and ongoing operational support.

The BOA awardee will serve as contractual customer for the services in the RFP.

a. Attachment 1 – I received the RFP, BOA excel file and Task order excel file. The RFP mentions Attachment 1 as the location list in section 3.4.6.1. While the cities and states are listed in the task orders, the addresses are not. To avoid any confusion, could you provide the associated addresses for the locations?

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

It looks like total 17 diverse circuits pairs, making it total 34 circuits at 10G. Please confirm that this is correct.

No. We are requesting 17 backbone circuits that are one-directional (e.g. SF to Denver) - See 3.4.2

These 10 diverse circuits are in PWS Sections 3.4.3.1 through 3.4.3.10, but not in the Enterprise WAN Task Orders 1 -3 Excel File. Please confirm that these 10 circuits are required and should be in the Excel File. If yes, please provide the updated Excel File.

They are in the TO 3 tab. See Attachment 1 which will be uploaded to sam.gov.

65 What is the Z location for these circuits? The Z location should be the nearest COLO.

What is meant by Fabric? Is this Cloud connectivity from these four locations, each 2 x 10Gbps?

Fabric is referring to cloud connectivity. Please see 3.3.1.

These circuits are not in the Enterprise WAN Task Orders 1 -3 Excel File. If these circuits are needed, please update the Excel file so that these circuits can be reflected in Total price.

They are in the TO 3 tab. See Attachment 1 which will be uploaded to sam.gov.

These circuits are not in the Enterprise WAN Task Orders 1 -3 Excel File. If these circuits are needed, please update the Excel file so that these circuits can be reflected in Total price.

They are in the TO 3 tab. See Attachment 1 which will be uploaded to sam.gov.

These circuits are not in the Enterprise WAN Task Orders 1 -3 Excel File. If these circuits are needed, please update the Excel file so that these circuits can be reflected in Total price.

They are in the TO 3 tab. See Attachment 1 which will be uploaded to sam.gov.

Where should these Cross Connects be priced? Can you please update the Excel file as appropriate.

They should be included in the TO 1 Colocation Services tab.

Where should these Cross Connects be priced? Can you please update the Excel file as appropriate.

They should be included in the TO 1 Colocation Services tab.

Will the FDIC please confirm whether the completed Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors must be submitted during Phase I or Phase II? If required during Phase I, may it be included as an appendix to the Technical Volume? If required during Phase II, should it be submitted in Volume V – Additional Information?

Phase II, Volume V.

Section 7.3.1-06 askes for Software License, Maintenance and Support Agreeements to be submitted with the offeror's proposal. Could the FDIC please confirm that the Software License, Maintenance, and Support Agreements should be submitted in Phase II as part of Volume V - Additional Information?

Phase II, Volume V.

Could the FDIC please provide the anticipated date for notifying offerors of the Phase I selection decision?

We are targeting end of week 10/30. It depends on how many Phase I proposals we receive.

Section 7.3.2-15 refers to a Mission Capability Volume that appears to include requirements assigned to Volume I – Technical Approach (Section 7.3.2-15(a)-Sub-factor 1 and 2) and Volume II – Management Plan (Sections 7.3.2-15(b) and (c)- Subcontracting Information and Key Personnel Resume and Letter of Commitment). Could the FDIC please clarify which volume constitutes the Mission Capability Volume? If it is a separate volume, please confirm when offerors must submit it and what it should contain.

For this requirement, there is no separate Mission Capability Volume. The phrase “Mission Capability Volume” in Section 7.3.2-15 is a general reference to proposal content evaluated under Mission Capability.

Submit the content as follows: (1) Section 7.3.2-15(a), including Circuits and Cloud Connectivity and the Transition Plan, in Volume I—Technical Approach; and (2) Sections 7.3.2-15(b) and (c), including subcontracting information and required key-personnel resumes and letters of commitment, in Volume II—Management Approach. The eight-page limit applies only to Factor A and its two sub-factors. No additional Mission Capability volume or submission date applies. See Section L, 7.3.1- 06(c)–(e), pp. 81–82; Section L, 7.3.2-09, pp. 81–82; Section L, 7.3.2-11, p. 82.

Section 7.3.2-15(b) requires offerors to submit subcontracting information. Could the FDIC please confirm whether this information must be submitted during Phase II as part of the Management Proposal? If it must instead be included in the Phase I Technical Volume, please confirm that it is excluded from the volume’s eight-page limit.

Subcontracting information should be submitted as part of Phase I, see 7.3.2-24. Subcontracting information can be excluded from the 8-page Volume I limit.

Could the FDIC please confirm the page limit for Volume II – Management Approach and whether key personnel résumés are excluded from that limit?

Management Plan volume will be limited to 8 pages, which includes the 2 resumes (2 pages max per).

As an alternative to the existing contract vehicle defined within the solicitation (BOA), would FDIC consider allowing offerers to propose their solution under alternative contract vehicles such as GSA EIS contract vehicle or other GWAC contract vehicles?

No.

Would the FDIC consider an alternate network solution besides point to point circuits, such as switched ethernet, for the office connectivity network to reduce the number of access circuits into key locations?

Yes, as long as it's a transparent layer 2 circuit with MACSEC connection utilizing GFE.

For the Virgina Square Campus, is the requirement for 1x10G circuit into 3501 Fairfax Dr that is diverse from 1x10GE circuit into 3503 Fairfax Dr or is the requirement for 2 diverse 10G circuits into 3501 Fairfax Dr and 2 diverse 10G circuit into 3503 Fairfax Dr.?

1x10GB for each location.

Please provide the data center addresses and providers for the hub data center locations?

The offeror should provide the COLO locations as part of their proposal.

For the 17 private line backbone circuits that interconnect the seven "hub" locations, is the requirement for all 17 private line circuit to be completely diverse from one another through provider path diversity or diverse providers or is the diversity just for multiple paths between two specific hubs? The diversity is for multiple paths between two specific hubs.

Will the FDIC clarify the requirement that Internet connectivity should not be extended via circuits? Is the FDIC's intent to gain Internet connectivity to the hub sites without access circuits to the Internet Service Provider's backbone?

Internet connectivity should be local to the COLO facility.

Would FDIC please provide addresses and suite/room/DMARC info for all locations, where connectivity is needed.

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

Commercial data centers typically follow the ASHRAE TC9.9 Standards for humidity, using them as the baseline for operational and HVAC set points. The ASHRAE environmental envelopes for Class 1 equipment are from 20-80% relative humidity.

Would the FDIC consider adjusting the colocation requirements to match the ASHRAE standard?

No.

Can FDIC elaborate on the requirement for staging? Is it limited to removing combustible packing materials and placing the equipment inside the customer cage? Or does it include any configuration, installation, or testing of the equipment?

No installation, configuration, or testing is required.

The examples provided in Section 3.3.3.1, indicate that the cloud service providers (CSPs) that FDIC uses are Azure (Express Route), Oracle (Fast Connect), and AWS (Direct Connect). Are there additional CSPs that FDIC is currently using or planning to use? Additionally, what are the CSP regions and availability zones that FDIC is connected to?

Azure at this moment, but can add additional providers at any given time

Would the FDIC allow the provider to install equipment at the edge to meet the requirement of proactive monitoring stated in Section 3.6.1

Yes.

Would the FDIC consider extending the proposal submission deadline for each phase by one month from the date offerors receive the FDIC’s responses to questions? This extension would provide offerors sufficient time to assess the responses, incorporate any resulting changes, and submit well-developed, competitively priced proposals.

No.

Will the offeror's NOC receive calls from FDIC's help desk/NOC or the calls will be made by the end users? Calls will be from the FDIC NOC.

The offeror is respectfully requesting to increase the page limit to 25 pages for Volume 1 Technical Approach volume. This will allow the offeror to respond most appropriately to FDIC requirements and provide any alternate options that may be of benefit to the agency.

No.

92 Please identify which sites are required to comply with Trusted Internet Connection.

The 4 COLO sites with internet connectivity, see 3.3.2.

Is "dedicated" defined as a strict 100% FTE allocation, or simply as the primary point of contact? Primary point of contact.

Similarly, is this role defined as a strict 100% FTE allocation, or simply the primary point of contact? Primary point of contact.

95 Please define automated connectivity examples.

Provisioning a virtual connection to a cloud provider.

96 Please provide Attachment 1 for all FDIC office locations with addresses.

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov and will be included in the updated solicitation.

97 Please clarify the exact definition of "automated" notification being used here?

Government stakeholders should be able to subscribe to outage notications which are pushed to them as updates become available.

98 § Please provide language to the referred clause - 7.5.2-03 Background Investigations.

Background investigations (BI) are not required for the two key personnel listed in the solicitation. Provision 7.5.2-04 - Contractor Submittal Of Current Personnel where background investigations was referenced will be removed from the solicitation.

99 § Please confirm if Background Investigations can be completed by the contractor, or is an FDIC Background Investigation required?

Background investigations (BI) are not required for the two key personnel listed in the solicitation. Provision 7.5.2-04 - Contractor Submittal Of Current Personnel where background investigations was referenced will be removed from the solicitation.

100 Please confirm that the risk level designation for functional responsibility is low.

Yes, see 7.5.2-08

101 Are underlying vendors (carriers) classified as subcontractors?

No.

102 Please clarify the volumes expected for the completion of the bid package.

The complete proposal consists of five volumes:

Volume I—Technical Approach (Phase I Advisory Down Select); Volume II—Management Approach; Volume III—Past Performance; Volume IV—Price; and Volume V—Additional Information. Volume I is due October 19, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Volumes II through V are due November 16, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. EST. Representations and certifications, exceptions, and other required additional information must be submitted in Volume V.

Any reference identifying Volume IV as “Additional Information” should be read as Volume V—Additional Information; Volume IV is the Price Volume. See Section L, 7.3.1-06(c), pp. 81–82; Section L, 7.3.2-25,

pp. 87–88; Section M, 7.3.2-17(b), pp. 89–90.

103 § Should Management Approach be renamed Management Plan or vice versa?

Offerors should use the title “Volume II—Management Approach,” consistent with the solicitation’s proposal-volume structure. Volume II must address the requirements in Section 7.3.2-25, titled “Management Plan.” For purposes of this solicitation, “Management Approach” and “Management Plan” refer to the same required proposal response. See Section L, 7.3.1-06(c),

pp. 81–82; Section L, 7.3.2-15(a), pp. 82–83; Section L, 7.3.2-24, pp. 85–87; Section M, 7.3.2-17 and 7.3.2-18,

pp. 89–90.

104 § Should Mission Capability be included in the Technical Approach Phase I or completed as a separate volume?

Mission Capability should not be submitted as a separate volume. The Phase I submission is Volume I—Technical Approach, addressing Factor A and its two sub-factors. Mission Capability is the evaluation framework applied to the relevant proposal content.

See Section L, 7.3.2-11(d).

Would you please confirm that providing annual filings sufficient to comply with this requirement?

If the question is referring to the Certificate of Insurance requirements, the Annual filings alone are not necessarily sufficient. The offeror must provide a bank reference and certified balance sheets and income statements prepared by an independent auditor for the current and preceding two fiscal years, or an acceptable equivalent. Annual filings may satisfy the financial-statement portion if they contain the required audited statements and cover the required periods, but the bank reference must still be provided.

If the required statements are unavailable, the offeror must explain why and provide other suitable evidence of financial responsibility. See Section L, 7.3.1-06(c),

pp. 81–82; Section L, 7.3.2-15(a), pp. 82–83; Section L, 7.3.2-24, pp. 85–87; Section M, 7.3.2-17(b)–(c) and 7.3.2-18, pp. 89–90.

Is there a limit to the number of attachments we can provide as supporting documentation such as certifications/policy documents/SLAs.

These should be included in Volume 5, no limit to number of attachments.

Regarding BOA Vendor Services and BOA Office Connections, without defined service locations for the WAN Backbone and Office Location requirements, offerors cannot accurately validate service availability or develop pricing for the requested bandwidth options. Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

Additionally, for Fabric services, several requested bandwidth increments are not standard commercially available offerings. Should offerors price the nearest available service tier, or propose an alternative solution to meet the requested capacity?

These can be provided via multiple circuits aggregated together.

Some backbone routes appear twice (for example, SF-Denver in 3.4.2.1/3.4.2.2 and DC- Dallas in 3.4.2.16/3.4.2.17), while others appear only once (for example, SF-Dallas, Chicago-New York, and Dallas-Atlanta). Please confirm whether the separate-provider and diverse-path rule applies only between the paired circuits on the same route, or across all 17 circuits. Please also state any minimum separation distance or shared-risk (conduit, right-of-way, building entrance) rules FDIC will use to judge diversity, and whether KMZ route maps are required with the proposal. The diversity is for multiple paths between two specific hubs. We will evaluate the diversity data that is provided, KMZ route maps are preferred if available.

Please define the required service type for backbone and office circuits: Layer 1 wavelength, Layer 2 Ethernet Private Line (EPL), or EVPL. Please also confirm the required transparency for MACsec (802.1AE EtherType 0x88E5, L2 control protocols, VLAN tags), the minimum MTU/jumbo frame size, and the handoff optic (e.g., 10GBASE- LR). Separately, the Data Circuits section says circuits must meet "latency thresholds," but none are given. Please provide any latency, jitter, and packet-loss requirements per route.

Required service type for backbone and office circuits should be proposed by the offeror. Required transparency is Layer 2 ethernet. Circuit should support jumbo frames. Handoff should be 10GB single mode.

T.O. 3 lists 26 x 10 Gbps rows, and several do not terminate at the closest colocation site.

Examples: Kansas City (KCM) and Arlington (VAS) terminate in Dallas, Carrollton (DFW) terminates in Washington DC, and three circuits (FST, HQS, VSP) terminate at "FDIC Virginia Square," which is not a colocation site. Please confirm the A and Z locations for each 10G circuit, and confirm whether circuits ending at Virginia Square are office-to-office links. Please also correct the address errors: 3.4.3.1/3.4.3.2 list Washington, DC with ZIP 22429, and 3.4.3.3 (3701 Fairfax Dr) differs from 3.4.4 (3501/3503 Fairfax Dr).

Arlington (VAS) and Carrollton (DFW) were mixed up in the spreadsheet. We will provide an updated version.

The three circuits (FST, HQS, and VSP) are direct connections between FDIC locations and do not utilize a COLO. For A to Z locations, see Attachment 1. DC zip should be 20429. Re: Fairfax Dr, 3701 is a separate location from 3501/3503.

The PWS says "one (2)." T.O. 3 lists three 10 Gbps DFW circuits: one terminating in Dallas and two in Washington DC. Please confirm the exact number of Carrollton circuits and the Z-location of each. Please also confirm that the building has two separate carrier entrances and meet-me rooms, and state whether FDIC or the landlord will provide building access, conduit, and riser pathways to the FDIC space. Updated solicitation to list three (3) 10GB circuits for both Arlington VA and Carrollton TX locations.

T.O. 3 includes a 1 Gbps circuit for San Juan, PR (SAN) terminating in Atlanta. Please confirm that San Juan is in scope. Please also confirm that the Section 7.0 restriction applies only to contractor personnel and not to service delivery locations, and whether the same 99.9% availability SLA, diversity rules, and MACsec transparency apply to this circuit, given it requires submarine cable capacity. Please also confirm whether any other OCONUS locations (e.g., Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories) may be added through the

BOA.

Confirming San Juan to Atlanta circuit is in scope.

Confirming section 7.0 is for personnel. Availability SLA and MACsec apply. No other OCONUS location.

Please define "Allowed Outage Duration." Is it the roughly 43 minutes a month allowed by the 99.9% target? Please also confirm whether the credit is the greater of $100 or the prorated amount, per circuit per outage or per month. Please state whether availability is measured per circuit or per redundant pair. Finally, the only SLA defined covers circuit availability. Please confirm whether SLAs and credits also apply to colocation (99.99% power and 99.9% environmental/cross-connect in 3.2.3), cloud interconnect, Internet, and the NOC response times in 3.6.1.5.

Yes, roughly 43 minutes a month allowed by 99.9% target. Yes, greater of $100 or prorated amount.

Availability measured per circuit. SLA is for circuit availability.

The T.O. 1-3 tabs include an NRC column in the Base, Option Period 1, and Option Period 2 tables, which suggests installation charges would be counted three times in the evaluated price. Please confirm whether NRC should be entered only in the Base Period, with $0 in the option periods. Please also confirm whether offerors may propose different MRCs for each option period (escalation or technology refresh). The single BOA NTE price covers Years 1-15, so please confirm that no escalation is allowed on BOA items.

TO 1-3 OP1 and OP2 NRC should be determined by the offeror based on understanding of the solicitation requirements and assumptions made. MRC rates should be determined by the offeror based on anticipated events and assumptions. Single BOA price should be applicable for years 1-15 - de-escalation, if any, can be addressed in the task order pricing.

We request an extension to the quote due date by two weeks from the release of questions & answers to provide sufficient time for offerors to provide a complete, compelling, and compliant offer.

To be considered for this opportunity, offerors shall provide all information required in the in the Phase I Technical Approach Section of the RFP, by 2 p.m.

Monday, October 19, 2026, and Phase II by 1:00 p.m.

EST, Wednesday, November 16, 2026.

117 Is there an incumbent contractor, and if so, who? Equinix is the incumbent

Section 7.3.2-09 lists Volume I - Technical Approach (Phase I Advisory Down Select) as required for submission. Content instructions are provided for both Technical Approach and Mission Capability in Section L as a submission requirement.

Technical Approach is list as Factor A in 7.3.2-17 as being evaluated but is not mentioned anywhere else in Section M. Mission Capabilty (7.3.2-18) is listed in Section M as part of the evalaution. Should offerors write to the requirements for Technical Approach or Mission Capability?

p pp requirements for Phase I. Specifically, Volume I must address Factor A and its two sub-factors: Circuits and Cloud Connectivity and Transition Plan. “Mission Capability” is the evaluation framework under which the technical and management factors are assessed; it is not a separate set of proposal instructions or a separate volume. First sentence of provision 7.3.2-15 - Mission Capability - Proposals Instructions has been updated to say "...Phase I Technical Approach (Mission

SOW Section 3.1.6 states that a comprehensive system architecture will be evaluated as part of the proposal; however, Sections L and M do not specifically instruct offerors to provide a system architecture nor identify where it should be included. Please clarify whether a system architecture submission is required and, if so, where it should be included in the proposal.

3.1.6 is required to address requirements in 3.2 to 3.6.

It should be addressed in subfactor I Circuit and Cloud Connectivity.

Please confirm which proposal volume should contain the required bank reference and audited financial statements.

Phase II, Volume V.

The Statement of Work refers offerors to Attachment 1 for the list of current FDIC locations. Could FDIC please provide Attachment 1 and confirm that it contains the complete list of locations in scope.

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

To support development of an accurate technical solution, could FDIC please provide or confirm, for each location in scope, the complete service address, demarcation point, required handoff location, bandwidth, diversity requirements, and any other applicable site-specific design information?

Attachment 1 and the SOW should be sufficient to support development of a technical solution. Required handoff location is the FDIC server room.

Could FDIC please confirm whether the Project Manager and dedicated Circuit Vendor Coordination Lead are expected to support the engagement only during transition and implementation, or remain assigned throughout the full contract term?

Remain throughout as the primary point of contact.

Could FDIC please confirm whether the Project Manager and Circuit Vendor Coordination Lead are expected to be two separate, dedicated individuals, or whether one qualified service delivery resource may fulfill both sets of responsibilities?

Two separate individuals

If more than one co-location provider is required to meet geographic coverage, will FDIC accept access through multiple provider portals, or must all co-location and network information be presented through a single interface?

Single interface.

Are there any facility-specific, interconnection, or implementation requirements not otherwise identified in the solicitation that offerors should consider when developing their co-location approach?

No.

Please provide the complete Attachment 1 FDIC Office Locations file in an editable format, including full service addresses, site codes, required bandwidth, circuit quantities, demarcation locations, building contacts, and target colocation termination points that represent the authoritative initial network inventory.

Attachment 1 will be uploaded to sam.gov.

Where the Statement of Work and pricing workbook contain different circuit quantities, bandwidths, or termination points, please identify which source takes precedence.

Solicitation and Attachment 1 updated for consistency.

Please confirm whether a separate circuit is required for every duplicate location entry in the pricing workbook, including locations showing multiple 10 Gbps circuits.

Yes, separate circuit.

Please provide the required service address, ZIP code, and demarcation information for 550 17th Street and 1776 F Street in Washington, DC, because Section 3.4.3 lists ZIP code 22429 for those locations.

Zip code will be updated to 20429.

Please provide a logical topology showing the intended relationship among the 17 backbone circuits, seven colocation hubs, distributed-connectivity hubs, major FDIC offices, and field offices. The offeror should provide the proposed system architecture as part of their proposal.

Please confirm whether each of the 17 backbone circuits must be a dedicated point-to-point Ethernet service or whether an Ethernet virtual private line, wavelength, provider backbone, or other logically private service is acceptable.

Yes, as long as it's a transparent layer 2 circuit with MACSEC connection utilizing GFE.

Please identify the required Ethernet service attributes for backbone and office circuits, including committed information rate, frame size, maximum transmission unit, Class of Service, traffic transparency, and Layer 2 control protocol handling. Circuits should be line-rate transparent layer 2 with support for jumbo frames.

134 Please define the minimum acceptable evidence for validating physical route diversity. We will evaluate the diversity data that is proposed;

KMZ route maps are preferred if available.

Please clarify what FDIC considers a “validated approach” for using portions of the offeror’s network to reduce cost without degrading availability.

If offeror proposes utilizing portions of their own network infrastructure for segments of the circuit distance, they should provide information they deem necessary for FDIC to evaluate the proposed approach.

Please confirm that the contractor is not required to provide the MACsec encryption devices and that FDIC Government-Furnished Equipment will originate and terminate all MACsec sessions.

Confirmed.

Please specify whether the required single-mode LC handoff is 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, or another optical interface. The bandwidth should be based on requested circuit speed.

Please identify if a contractor-managed network interface device is permitted within FDIC space. Yes.

Please confirm whether FDIC requires a physically enclosed private cage at every hub or whether a secured private suite or equivalent physical security configuration is acceptable.

The cabinets must be located in a private secured space.

Please define “closest proximity” to each identified FDIC office and indicate whether FDIC has a maximum acceptable fiber-route distance or network latency. “Closest proximity” refers to both operational accessibility and network performance.

Please confirm whether the proposed colocation facility must be within the named metropolitan area or whether an adjacent market is acceptable when the offeror demonstrates cost and performance benefits.

The proposed colocation facility should account for both operational accessibility and network performance.

Please confirm whether all cabinets, cages, vertical power distribution units, patch panels, ladder racks, grounding, cable management, and installation labor must be included in the colocation price.

Yes.

Please clarify whether FDIC requires exactly 240V, 40A, single-phase redundant circuits per cabinet or whether an electrically equivalent power configuration may be proposed. Electrical equivalent may be proposed. Updated solicitation SOW 3.2.3.4.

144 Please provide the anticipated initial and maximum power draw per cabinet.

Anticipated initial should be ~20A and max is 40A.

145 Please confirm whether the specified cabinet width dimensions are 19 or 23 inches.

Please clarify whether cabinet growth from six to eight and from two to four cabinets must be physically contiguous within the initial cage footprint.

Yes.

Please identify the required timeframe for adding additional cabinets and power after an FDIC request. Unknown at this time as this may be a future requirement.

Please provide estimated remote-hands usage, including anticipated hours per month, response expectations, and whether remote hands should be included or priced per use.

Remote hands should be included into the MRC.

Historically, we have used minimal to zero remote-hands hours in a year.

Please define the acceptance methodology for the 99.99 percent power, 99.9 percent environmental, and 99.9 percent cross-connect availability requirements.

Per 3.1.1, the offeror's online portal should provide real time monitoring of all environmental metrics for all COLO space.

Please identify the required commercial cloud providers for each of the four cloud-connectivity hubs.

Azure at this moment, but can add additional providers at any given time

Please identify the native cloud interconnection services that must be supported, such as AWS Direct Connect, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute, Oracle Cloud FastConnect, or Google Cloud Interconnect.

Azure ExpressRoute at the moment but can add additional providers at any given time.

Please clarify whether each 20 Gbps cloud connection must be a single 20 Gbps physical interface or whether 40 Gbps physical interface may be acceptable.

40 Gbps is acceptable

Please define “unlimited virtual connections” and confirm whether this means an unlimited number of virtual circuits, virtual interfaces, cloud connections, or logical network instances without additional contractor charges.

Confirmed, this means an unlimited number of virtual circuits, virtual interfaces, cloud connections, and logical network instances without additional contractor charges.

Please provide the anticipated number of cloud virtual connections at initial deployment and the projected maximum during the period of performance.

4 at this moment, but can add additional connections at any given time

Please confirm whether cloud-provider port charges, egress charges, virtual-circuit charges, cross-connect charges, and marketplace fees must be included in the proposed price. They should not be included in the proposed price.

Please clarify whether FDIC or the contractor will own and manage the cloud-provider accounts, cloud ports, virtual circuits, routing configuration, and letters of authorization.

FDIC will own and manage the cloud-provider accounts, cloud ports, virtual circuits, routing configuration, and letters of authorization.

Please clarify the required routing model for cloud connectivity, including Border Gateway Protocol ownership, autonomous system numbers, route limits, and whether FDIC will provide all routing equipment.

FDIC will provide all routing equipment and ownership of protocols and autonomous system numbers.

Please confirm whether the redundant 10 Gbps internet services at each hub must use different internet service providers and physically diverse paths.

Internet connectivity should be local to the COLO facility and include diverse ISP connectivity.

Please specify whether the internet services must be dedicated internet access, IP transit, burstable internet, or another service type.

Dedicated internet access.

Please identify required internet routing services, including Border Gateway Protocol, provider-independent addressing, IPv4, IPv6, full routes, default routes, route filtering, and Distributed Denial of Service mitigation.

BGP, IPv4, IPv6, default route

Please confirm that the contractor is financially and…