CS2 and CS2-SB Q A-part 5_CS2 specific.pdf

CS2 and CS2- Small Business General Questions and Answers (Part 5): CS2 Specific

Question 1-77: Reference CS2, RFP Attachment J-9, 2.3:

Should Offerors assume that ruggedized equipment for the LRDUs and the ORDUs will be required?

Answer: The offeror should select equipment based on the operational requirements and environment of the STO. The offeror should explain its rationale for the equipment selected.

Question 1-78: Reference CS2 RFP Section J-9, 2.3.1:

Can GSA/DISA provide specific cities that need coverage for MWR satellite coverage in Mali?

Answer: The Contractor should state its assumptions and propose what it believes is the best solution for distribution of RDUs within each region. The Contractor should explain the rationale for its selection.

Question 1-79: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-9, 2.4 Under Engineering Support for the MWR STO, would the Government provide some guidance on the anticipated traffic profile at a remote site with respect to the amount of simultaneous voice and data traffic, such as bandwidth required per laptop, number of simultaneous voice calls, and webcam sessions at a remote site? Does the Government have any specific requirements in terms of maximum contention ratios for the provided service? Without these parameters, Offerors may make vastly different assumptions, making it difficult for the Government to compare performance and associated prices.

Answer: The Offeror should perform appropriate engineering analysis, stating assumptions, and propose what it believes is the best solution. The Contractor should explain the rationale for its selection.

Question 1-80: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-9, 2.5 The cited section of the MWR STO states that “the Contractor shall provide a satellite network availability of at least 99.7 percent.” Availability of 99.7 percent as defined in Section 2.5 is generally considered difficult and expensive to achieve for a TDMA type of network with all the subsystems included. An availability of 99.5 percent is considered the industry standard for this type of service. Would the government consider lowering availability to 99.5 percent, or lower?

Answer: The Offeror shall meet the stated requirement.

Question 1-81: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-9, 2.3 In the MWR STO, does the Government want a generator that runs for 24 hours straight or will the Government refuel the generator for the contractor during an outage?

Answer: The Offeror should perform appropriate engineering analysis, stating assumptions, and propose what it believes is the best solution. The Offeror should explain the rationale for its selection.

Question 1-82: Reference CS2 RFP Attachments J-9, J-10, and J-12

The Government stated that all Task Orders will use Firm Fixed Pricing, but is asking for information regarding cost controls. To ensure we understand the Government’s intent, please provide the rationale for the Government’s requirement for an explanation of the Contractors’ cost controls, especially for the full and open contracts?

Answer: Although these are Firm Fixed Price task orders, an Offeror’s ability to control costs is a measure of its management ability.

Question 1-83: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 What is the size of the teleport antenna presently used for the GETN primary uplink?

Answer: Antenna sizes are as identified in Attachment J-10 Section 1.2. The Offeror should propose equipment consistent with its proposed architecture.

What is the make & model of the receive-only antennas & LNBs presently deployed for GETN?

What is the make & model of antennas, LNBs, BUCs, and modems presently deployed for 2-way GETN sites? Do all GETN remote antennas use non-penetrating mounts, permanent ground-mounted king-post, or a combination? If the latter, how many of each?

Answer: The current GETN equipment varies across the 2000+ downlinks. The offeror should identify and propose required equipment to be consistent with its proposed architecture.

Question 1-84: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 How much bandwidth is presently allocated for outbound & inbound channels for 2-way GETN sites, and how many of each channel type?

Answer: For proposal purposes, assume that the current GETN system uses a dedicated 32MHz of bandwidth.

Question 1-85: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10, 2.4 Regarding the GETN Communications Infrastructure Availability, Section 2.4 states, “The MDLS shall have a system availability of at least 99.5%.” Please provide specifics regarding what elements the Government wants to be included in the availability computation.

Answer: The Offeror should perform analysis, stating assumptions, and propose what it believes is the appropriate system availability. The Offeror should explain the rationale for its selection.

Question 1-86: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 We are making the assumption that during the migration period from DVB S-1 to DVB S-2, the contractor will be required to broadcast content in both formats. Can the Government provide the number of sites that are currently DVB S-1 and those that have migrated to DVB S-2? Is there a migration schedule available?

Answer: The current system requires video only. It is up to the offeror to propose the solution most advantageous to the Government.

Question 1-87: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 Is this a purely video requirement meaning that no data will be broadcast?

Answer: For proposal purposes please assume a standard configuration as identified in J-10 Section 1.2.

Question 1-88: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 There is a Footnote #4 on Page 1 of STO #2 that identifies Model numbers 9235, 9234, 0934 and 9865. Is this a complete list of the PowerVu equipment or are there additional encoders and/or decoders that need to be considered?

Answer: For proposal purposes please assume a standard configuration as identified in J-10 Section 1.2.

Question 1-89: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-10 Is there a standard configuration for remote classrooms in regards to number of students, availability and configuration of workstations and IP network?

Answer: It is up to the offeror to propose a solution. Current GETN class sizes vary but there are nominally 20 students per classroom. Students do not have currently have workstations, and therefore no existing IP network.

Question 1-90: Reference CS2 RFP Section J, Attachment J-12, Paragraph 2.5, page 2 of 6 “The Contractor shall be required to perform background checks for satellite operations staff (commercial, U.S. civil, or foreign).”

Please clarify the Government’s definition of “satellite operations staff.”

Answer: Satellite operations staff refers to any personnel who could operate the space segment resources associated with the Blue Personnel Tracking STO.

Question 1-91: Reference CS2 RFP Attachment J-2 Information Assurance Minimum Security Controls Checklist. Please clarify whether or not the Offeror is to complete the Attachment and submit the completed Attachment with its proposal. If yes, in which Volume should it be included and will it be excluded from page count?

Answer: The Information Assurance Minimum Security Controls Checklist is not required with proposal submission. Please refer to Section F.6, which specifies delivery of this checklist.