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Questions and Answers
| FA5422-20-R-0001 |
| Can you please confirm that the delivery time for the service procured under this Solicitation is fifteen (15) days after receipt of order? |
| Fifteen (15) days ARO is correct. |
| Is there a latency requirement for the bandwidth procured under this Solicitation? |
| No |
| If the winning bidder employs a satellite solution for AB201 will the Customer require a valid ARCEP authorized VSAT satellite license? If so, does the Customer have a valid ARCEP authorized VSAT satellite license for a potential satellite solution for the bandwidth requirement at AB201? |
| YES |
| Would any microwave equipment and transmission frequencies that might be installed at AB201 as part of a wireless solution for its bandwidth requirement under this Solicitation need to be approved by a Niger regulatory agency such as ARCEP? |
| YES |
| Will the winning Bidder need to provide the Customer with a valid ARCEP approved license for the provision of any telecom solution for AB201? |
| YES |
| Recently the Niger regulatory agency ARCEP issued a decree that restricts the provisioning of domestic telecom services (satellite, microwave and fiber) to Companies that possess a valid ARCEP license. Will the Customer require the winning bidder to provide a copy of this license for any and all satellite, wireless or fiber services that may be used in their technical solution for AB201 under this Solicitation? |
| YES |
| The Solicitation documents provided by the Customer include Clause 252.229-7001. This Clause suggests that the Customer is exempt from paying the 19% Niger VAT tax and the 3% TURTEL tax for any bandwidth service they purchase under this Solicitation. Will the Customer provide the winning bidder with a valid ARCEP approved VAT and telecom tax exemption certificate for any and all services procured under this solicitation? |
| Per the SOFA agreement between the United States Department of Defense and the Republic of Niger |
“The Embassy also proposes that the United States Department of Defense may contract for any materiel, supplies, equipment, and services (including construction) to be furnished or undertaken in the Republic of Niger without restriction as to choice of contractor, supplier, or person who provides such materiel, supplies, equipment, or services. Such contracts shall be solicited, awarded and administered in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Government of the United States of America. Acquisition of articles and services in the Republic of Niger by or on behalf of the United States Department of Defense in connection with activities under this Agreement shall not be subject to any taxes or similar charges in the Republic of Niger.”
Any issues with ARCEP or tax exemption will be addressed through the embassy per the SOFA Agreement.
| The Solicitation indicates that the service level for this circuit should achieve 100% availability. Can you please confirm that this is the service level a bidder will need to meet in order to be complaint with the Solicitation? |
| 99% will be the minimum. |
| Based on requirement 2.2.3 "Backup circuit must be on a different backhaul network infrastructure to ensure segregation of services" does the government intend for the service to be a separate terrestrial service or a satellite service that can deliver low latency throughput at the 300 Mbps × 50Mbps rate as indicated in 2.2.1? |
| Satellite Service that can deliver low latency throughput at a minimum data rate of 80Mbps Down and 20Mbps Up. |
| As this location is landlocked this commonly leads to issues when it relates to diversity and resilience in terrestrial connectivity, is it the intent of the government to overcome these obstacles by requiring satellite connectivity? |
| Yes |