FD UCS Bridge Justification_Redacted 031626.pdf

AO 370B (12/18)

JUDICIARY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY (JEFO)

Under Multiple Award Contract e.g. NASA SEWP

1. Agency name, contracting activity and requesting office (provide identification of judiciary organization requesting the procurement, i.e., Administrative Office of the US Courts, department, office OR court unit or federal public defender organization)

Agency Name: Administrative Office of the United States Courts Contracting Activity: Acquisition Management Office Requesting Office: Defender Services Office (DSO) – National IT Operations and Applications Development (NITOAD)

2. Nature and description of the action and the estimated dollar value of proposed order

Managed Unified Communications services for Federal Defender Offices

3. Contract under which order is being issued

Name of Contracting Agency: GSA

Name of Contractor: AT&T

Contract number: GS00Q17NSD3000

4. Description of supplies/services required to meet judiciary needs

Subscription to a managed Cisco Unified Communications (UC) service offered by AT&T which supports approximately 3300 users across 135 physical locations.

The solution includes voice telephone services, managed Cisco Call Manager environment, connectivity to the public switched telephone network, connectivity to the private federal defender wide-area network, integration with FDO servers, support for paging, technical support, and necessary software licensing.

Period of Performance:

Base Period: 04/01/2026 – 09/30/3026 Option Period 1: 10/01/2026 – 03/31/2027 Option Period 2: 04/01/2027-09/30/2027

5. Basis for exception to fair opportunity process

Brand Name/Items peculiar to one manufacturer - FAR 16.505 (a)(4)(i)

The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays - FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A), Guide Vol. 14 § 410.30.70(a)

Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized - FAR

16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), Guide Vol. 14 § 410.30.70(b)

The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it

JUDICIARY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY (JEFO)

Under Multiple Award Contract e.g. NASA SEWP is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract and all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order - FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), Guide Vol. 14 § 410.30.70(c)

Order to satisfy a minimum guarantee under the IDIQ contract - FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(D), Guide Vol. 14 § 410.30.70(d)

6. Supporting rationale (explanation of the unique nature of products/services being procured, contractor's unique qualifications, or other factors supporting use of the authority cited)

NITOAD currently receives unified communications (UC) services through AT&T via the General Services Administration (GSA) Networx telecommunications contract, which is set to expire in May of 2026 with no possibility of extension. These services support approximately 3000 users spread across 150 different federal defender organization (FDO) offices, where reliable telephone communication is essential to maintaining attorney-client contact particularly for clients without access to alternative methods such as video conferencing or email.

To prepare for the contract’s expiration, NITOAD awarded a replacement contract for UC services to Lumen in January 2022 through GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract vehicle. That contract number is GS00Q17NSD3006/USCA22F3002.This award was made through a competitive bidding process to all EIS approved vendors. However, significant delays have impeded the transition.

In December of 2022, GSA placed Lumen under a corrective action plan (CAP) for billing violations related to usage-based services, halting all new service orders. As a result, NTIOAD was unable to initiate UC service orders or begin transition activities. GSA lifted the restriction in March 2024 after Lumen completed the CAP, allowing NITOAD to re-engage on transition planning.

These setbacks have pushed the projected completion of the UC migration to October 2026 – five months beyond the expiration of the current Networx contract.

The transition plan requires new hardware deployment, migration of the Cisco Call Manager environment to a FedRAMP-compliant instance, and on-site support at all 150 FDO locations.

NITOAD is actively working with Lumen to refine the deployment schedule and accelerate implementation where possible.

Continuity of UC services remains mission critical. Any lapse in telephone service would directly impair FDO attorneys’ ability to communicate with clients, jeopardizing legal

JUDICIARY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY (JEFO)

Under Multiple Award Contract e.g. NASA SEWP representation and the organization’s core mission. NITOAD is exploring contingency options to maintain uninterrupted service until the Lumen transition is complete.

Given AT&T currently provides UC services, technical support, and maintains the associated infrastructure, they are the only solution provider that can continue to provide the necessary functionality in the designated timeframe. All other vendors would be required to undergo a lengthy and complex transition to the new platform, including assistance on-site during transition, like what NITOAD is working through with Lumen.

To avoid any lapse in service, NITOAD intends to put in place a new order with AT&T to bridge the gap until the services can be transitioned to the contract with Lumen, USCA22F3002.

In the event the transition cannot be completed by the end of September 2026, NITOAD may extend this new contract as needed to maintain continuity of services so that there is not a lapse in these critical services.

7. Description of market research conducted and the results, or explanation why market research was not conducted

Comprehensive market research was conducted to assess Unified Communications (UC) service options available through vendors under the EIS contract. Of the seven vendors, three—AT&T, Lumen, and Verizon—offered potential solutions that could meet NITOAD’s managed UC requirements.

The remaining vendors did not provide services compatible with existing Government- Furnished Equipment (GFE) and would have required significant hardware investments. Even with new hardware, their offerings would remain incompatible with the managed solution already awarded to Lumen.

Among the viable options, NITOAD is currently transitioning UC services to Lumen under contract USCA22F3002 while maintaining existing AT&T services. Verizon’s solution would require a similarly complex and duplicative transition effort to Lumen’s, offering no operational or cost advantage.

AT&T remains the only vendor capable of leveraging existing GFE, thereby minimizing transition complexity, avoiding redundant costs, and ensuring compliance with Networx contract deadlines. A transition to AT&T would involve minimal technical effort and could be executed through straightforward contractual updates, rather than full technical migration.

JUDICIARY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY (JEFO)

Under Multiple Award Contract e.g. NASA SEWP

8. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

The Government is in the process of migrating UC services to Lumen under contract USCA22F3002.

That contract was previously fairly competed among the EIS vendors. This new contract to AT&T is needed for the transition period and is limited in duration and scope to the UC services described above.