LLTS_Solicitation_Q and A.pdf

Local & Long-Distance Telecommunications Services Solicitation Questions & Answers 08 September 2026

1. Existing Circuits and Interconnection Agreements The PWS permits offerors to utilize existing physical circuits if the necessary agreements can be secured with the existing circuit provider. Please identify the current circuit provider(s), if releasable, so prospective offerors can appropriately evaluate interconnection, transition, and pricing requirements.

Answer: The current circuit providers are GCI for the local services and MCI Communications Services LLC for the long-distance services.

2. Current Technical Environment

Please provide or confirm the current SIP trunk architecture, number of active trunks/circuits, carrier-provided equipment, and interconnection configuration at the two identified Points of Presence.

Answer: The Government has two redundant Session Border Controller pairs:

- Building 10488, 10488 Necrason Avenue

- Building 652, 652 Richardson Drive

The proposed solution must support at least 192 concurrent calls at each service address using the PCMU-8000/G.711 codec at approximately 80 kbps per call. It must also support inbound and outbound load balancing and end-to-end Quality of Service. The approved SIP trunk is currently not activated, and a formal installation date has not yet been established; installation is being performed under the current LTS contract. The Government has attached the approved SIP Infrastructure Diagram following this Questions and Answers document for vendor reference. The current operational baseline utilizes eight (8) PRI T-1s and one (1) CAS T-1 (a total of 216 channels). This legacy trunking infrastructure will be fully decommissioned once the new SIP trunk is activated.

3. Incumbent and Government-Owned Equipment

What telecommunications equipment is currently owned, operated, and maintained by the incumbent provider, and what equipment is Government-owned?

Answer: The two Session Border Controllers are Government-owned. The Edge Boundary Controller, if available and used, is also Government-provided. Vendor-controlled customer-premises equipment, transmission equipment, cabling, gateway or multifunction edge-routing equipment, and contractor-provided relay racks are contractor-owned, maintained, and monitored. The Government provides rack or floor space, environmental controls, and primary and emergency conditioned power.

4. Transition / Cutover Support The PWS provides for a 90-day cutover following award. Will the incumbent provider be required to cooperate with and provide reasonable transition assistance to the successor contractor during installation and cutover?

Answer: The successor contractor is responsible for developing and executing the installation and cutover plan, coordinating with the Government, resolving transition issues, and notifying the Government when the incumbent’s equipment is no longer required. The PWS does not impose a transition-support obligation on the incumbent provider. Any required incumbent assistance will be subject to the terms of the incumbent’s existing contract and coordination by the Contracting Officer.

5. Carrier Requirements Is the prime contractor required to be an ILEC or CLEC itself, or may a qualified small-business prime contractor provide the overall solution while utilizing appropriately licensed telecommunications carriers and subcontractors for underlying carrier services?

Answer: The prime contractor is not expressly required to be an ILEC or CLEC. A vendor may use qualified carriers or subcontracted ILEC/CLEC facilities, provided it submits the applicable interconnection or leasing agreements and meets all PWS requirements. The prime contractor remains fully responsible for performance, including end-to-end Quality of Service, availability, maintenance, and outage restoration.

6. Local Alaska Presence Does the Government require the prime contractor itself to maintain a physical telecommunications presence in Alaska, or may the prime contractor satisfy local and on-site response requirements through qualified employees, carrier partners, field-service organizations, and/or subcontractors?

Answer: The PWS does not expressly require the prime contractor itself to maintain a permanent physical telecommunications presence in Alaska. The contractor may satisfy personnel, local support, and on-site response requirements through qualified employees, carrier partners, field-service organizations, or subcontractors. All contractor personnel shall be Alaska resident in accordance with R-DFARS 252.222-7000.

7. 99.999% Reliability Measurement Please clarify how the 99.999% reliability requirement will be measured—for example, independently at each Point of Presence, by circuit, by SIP service, or across the overall end-to-end telecommunications solution.

Answer: The 99.999% reliability requirement will be measured separately at each Point of Presence (PoP) for the end-to-end telecommunications service delivered at the Government demarcation point. A failure at either PoP that prevents the required service from being delivered at that location will be recorded as downtime for that PoP.

Reliability will be calculated as:

\text{Reliability} = \frac{\text{Total measurement time}-\text{chargeable downtime}} {\text{Total measurement time}}\times100

The measurement period will be based on the contract Period of Performance.

Government-approved scheduled maintenance performed within an approved maintenance window will be excluded, provided the contractor complies with all notification and coordination requirements. Outages attributable solely to Government-owned equipment, Government power beyond the supported emergency-power period, or Government-directed service interruption will also be excluded. All other contractor, carrier, subcontractor, CPE, transmission, and underlying network failures will be included. At 99.999% annual reliability, the maximum chargeable downtime is approximately 5 minutes and 15 seconds per PoP per year.

8. High-Priority Outage Response The PWS requires an on-site response within one hour for high-priority outages. May this requirement be satisfied through qualified local carrier or field-service personnel operating under the prime contractor's management, SLA, and overall responsibility?

Answer: See response to question number 6.

9. Small Business / 8(a) Acquisition Strategy

Did the Government conduct small-business market research before issuing this solicitation as unrestricted? If so, how many qualified small businesses and SBA-certified 8(a) firms were identified?

Answer: Market research was conducted in full compliance with RFO Part 10 to evaluate commercial marketplace capabilities, including small business participation.

10. Consideration of an 8(a) Set-Aside Would the Government consider revisiting the acquisition strategy and amending the procurement to a competitive 8(a) set-aside if qualified 8(a) firms demonstrate their ability to satisfy the technical, carrier, installation, cutover, service-level, and performance requirements?

Answer: The Government will not amend the acquisition strategy or convert this procurement to an 8(a) set-aside. However, this solicitation is unrestricted, and all qualified vendors—including SBA-certified 8(a) small businesses—are eligible and encouraged to submit quotes in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation.

11. Office of Small Business Programs Review Has this requirement been reviewed by the appropriate Office of Small Business Programs or Small Business Professional? If so, could the Government share the resulting recommendation regarding a small-business or socioeconomic set-aside?

Answer: Coordination with the appropriate Small Business Professional has been conducted in compliance with statutory requirements prior to solicitation.

12. Incumbent Contractor Please identify, if releasable, the current incumbent telecommunications provider, contract/task order number, contract vehicle, period of performance, and current contract value.

Answer: As Local & Long-Distance Telephone Service (LLTS) is a new requirement for 673 CONS, no incumbent combined service provider to identify.

13. Current Service Provider / ILEC Who currently serves as the local exchange carrier and long-distance telecommunications provider supporting JBER?

Answer: The current Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) is GCI (add contract number), and long-distance carrier services are currently provided by AT&T (add contract number) via a Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) contract vehicle.

14. Anticipated Award Date What is the Government's anticipated contract award date?

Answer: The Government anticipates contract award in November 2026. Please note this date is an estimate and subject to change based on quote evaluation timelines.

15. Service Commencement Date What is the required date for the successful contractor to assume full operational responsibility for the telecommunications services?

Answer: No more than 90 days after the period of performance begins.

16. Current Contract Expiration When does the incumbent telecommunications contract expire? Is the contemplated 90-day transition and cutover period expected to be completed before expiration of the incumbent contract?

Answer: A 90-day transition/cutover period will commence from the date of contract award. The transition and cutover activities are planned to ensure full operational capability and seamless service continuation.

17. Estimated Contract Value / IGCE Has the Government established an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), anticipated annual value, or total estimated contract value that can be shared with industry?

Answer: The IGCE and internal estimated contract values will not be disclosed.

18. Period of Performance Please confirm the anticipated Base Period and the number and duration of any option periods.

Answer: Refer to amended Attachment 3: LLTS Pricing Schedule.

19. Small-Business Prime Contractor Model Would the Government accept an SBA-certified 8(a) small business as the prime contractor responsible for overall program management, service integration, SLA management, engineering, monitoring, operations, customer support, and contract performance while utilizing licensed telecommunications carriers for the underlying circuits and carrier services?

Answer: Yes. The Government will accept quotes from SBA-certified 8(a) small businesses as prime contractors, provided the vendor meets all mandatory requirements set forth in the solicitation.

20. Industry Engagement Would the Government consider conducting an Industry Day, vendor engagement session, or technical exchange to allow qualified small businesses, including 8(a) firms, to demonstrate their capabilities and discuss potential technical and acquisition approaches?

Answer: The Government is not conducting vendor engagement sessions at this stage of the acquisition. The market research phase, including the Request for Information (RFI) and Sources Sought posting, concluded prior to solicitation.