HC1013-21-R-0005 U.S. Dark Fiber OM JA Final_Redacted.pdf

U.S. Dark Fiber, Facilities and Equipment Operation and Maintenance – JA21-033

Page 1 of 7 Pages 6 Oct 2020

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6 Justification & Approval (J&A), Supporting

Procurements under FAR 12, and FAR Part 15

Purchase Request Number: Not Applicable (N/A)

Contract Number: To be Determined

Task/Delivery Order: N/A

Procurement Title: U.S. Dark Fiber, Facilities and Equipment Operation and Maintenance

(O&M)

Estimated Value:

Statutory Authority: 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 2304(c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Justification for OTFAOC Number: JA21-033

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Senior Procurement Executive, hereby approve the use of other than full and open competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the statutory authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) and regulatory authority of FAR

6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy

Agency requirements.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

a. The Requiring Office:

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)

Infrastructure Executive (IE16), Capacity Management Branch

Fort Meade, Maryland 20755-0549

b. The Contracting Office:

DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization/PL8231

2300 East Drive, Building 3600

Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 62225-5406

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

This Justification and Approval is to obtain approval for issuance of a sole-source follow-on award for continued O&M services for the existing DISA fiber infrastructure contract awarded to Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Level 3) under a 25-Year Indefeasible Right of

Use (IRU) term. The existing O&M support services, under HC1047-12-D-0002, will expire on September 30, 2021 with seven years of the IRU term remaining. This follow-on will be a Firm-Fixed Price, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Individual task orders (TO) will be issued for the O&M of the existing infrastructure as well as for technology refreshes, fiber relocations, and technology enhancements as required.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

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DISA has a requirement for continued high operational network availability and information assurance via dedicated contractor-owned, Government-acquired and operated, dark fiber and commercial facilities to support Department of Defense (DoD) users in the Continental

United States. Continuation of O&M services is critical for the continued operation of the contractor-provided diverse fiber infrastructure, co-location facilities, network optical equipment and O&M support services currently provided via the HC1047-12-D-0002 contract. This requirement includes contractor-owned, buried diverse backbone fibers, secure and dedicated co-location facilities, power and environmental support services for the operation of critical optical amplification, junction node, and regeneration equipment. O&M support of the end-to-end provided network infrastructure (e.g., fiber, facilities, environmental support, maintenance, repair and equipment hosting) and custom diverse fiber access laterals is required. The physical elements of this requirement entails of contractor-owned diverse and specific fiber provided under the IRU lease, diverse access laterals connecting , and the use of for operation and support of critical network Intermediate Line Amplification, Dense Wave Division Multiplexing and Optical

Transport Networking equipment. The critical performance for this requirement is an operational availability of 99.99%.

This requirement includes support for technology refreshes, fiber relocations, and system enhancements and upgrades, to include modified infrastructure O&M. A technology refresh provides necessary support for legacy equipment replacement, removal, acquisition and installation of new equipment and capabilities to ensure maximum functionality and economic use of the infrastructure through the life of the fiber IRU. The fiber relocation requirement is in response to periodic occurrences caused by scheduled and unscheduled construction, facility relocations, building or road/railway modifications, or other construction activities that necessitate relocation of the existing fiber. An enhancement or upgrade is similar to a technology refresh, except at a smaller scale. A technology enhancement or upgrade provides additional features and capabilities, but is typically implemented with a software upgrade or card replacement and not a full replacement of the optical transport equipment. Since the specific requirements and scope of the technology refresh, fiber relocation, and enhancements/upgrades tasks that are anticipated to occur throughout the contract are unknown at this time, the Government intends to award this contract as an IDIQ and issue TOs for these individual requirements.

The IDIQ contract will consist of a seven-year base period commencing on October 1, 2021 and ending on September 30, 2028. Option periods will not be included as the IRU agreement expires on September 30, 2028. TOs awarded against the IDIQ contract may be inclusive of option periods. The period of performance will coincide with the remaining seven-year term of the existing IRU agreement.

The Period of Performance (PoP) and estimated lifecycle value for this acquisition is as follows:

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Table 1 – Lifecycle Value

Contract Year Period of

Performance

Total

Base Period Year 1 1OCT21 –

30SEP22

Base Period Year 2 1OCT22 –

30SEP23

Base Period Year 3 1OCT23 –

30SEP24

Base Period Year 4 1OCT24 –

30SEP25

Base Period Year 5 1OCT25 –

30SEP26

Base Period Year 6 1OCT26 –

30SEP27

Base Period Year 7 1OCT27 –

30SEP28

GRAND TOTAL

4. IDENTIFICATION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(l) and FAR 6.302-1.

5. DEMONSTRATION OF CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS:

(a) Description of events:

DCA100-03-C-4057 was awarded to acquire specific dedicated fiber property assets under a 25-year IRU between Level 3 and DISA. The 25-year IRU period is from September

2003 to September 2028. DCA100-03-C-4057 provided the initial eight years of O&M through December 2011. The first follow-on, HC1047-12-D-0002, was awarded to incorporate the transfer of the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) IRU. HC1047-12-D-

0002 was a sole source follow-on, awarded to Level 3 on January 1, 2012 for

$541,912,897 to support O&M through September 30, 2021. The IRU agreement will have seven years of life remaining upon completion of the current contract. This J&A will provide the ability for the Government to retain utilization of the capital property lease

(fiber infrastructure, co-location facilities, and access laterals) per its capital investment made in the procurement of the original 25-year IRU. An alternative to Full and Open

Competition would require capital replacement of the IRU and is estimated at $61.5M, plus an approximate $200M in duplicative O&M costs as DISA must pay for O&M under the 25-year IRU capital lease.

Level 3 Communications, Inc. has since been acquired by Lumen Technologies

Government Services, Inc. (Lumen). This justification for OTFAOC documents the sole source nature of this follow-on requirement which will be awarded to Lumen.

(b) Justification:

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(1) Minimum Government requirements:

The minimum Government requirement is seven years of continued O&M and sustainment support services for the existing Government acquired fiber infrastructure

IRU agreement and associated access to co-location facilities and equipment. This

O&M support must commence no later than October 1, 2021, as the current contract for O&M expires September 30, 2021. This requirement is a DISA core mission and a vital part of the DoD Information Network (DoDIN) that provides the defense enterprise critical capabilities and functionality necessary for the operation of the

(2) Proposed sole source contractor:

Lumen has the experience, resources, technical expertise, and security qualifications required to repair and maintain components of the infrastructure to meet the

Government’s needs (performance, security, reliability, availability and sustainability) and established Defense Information System Network (DISN) security guidelines.

Lumen built, installed, maintained and operated the fiber, facilities and equipment essential for this fiber optic backbone and currently serves as the DoD enterprise optical layer maintenance provider for the DISN. Lumen is in the unique position to install the equipment required for upgrades and can continue to provide maintenance and repairs at the commercial facilities. No source, other than the existing contractor, is capable of providing the services required by the Government to continue to operate and maintain the network without impacting and/or impairing the ability to accomplish missions in support of national security objectives. If another source other than the incumbent were to be used, it impacts the mission by requiring re-procurement of the infrastructure, access laterals, equipment, and re-creation of the network at a substantial duplication (as illustrated in Table 2, below) of cost and mission diversity assurance. Lumen is the owner of the fiber infrastructure and co-location facilities and, as such, the only source allowed and capable of performing

O&M for the Government acquired and operated contractor-owned infrastructure.

Facility based carriers do not grant uncontrolled access to wholly owned network infrastructure and/or support facilities to any competitors, nor allow third party providers to install equipment into any element of proprietary core network infrastructure.

(3) Discussion regarding cause of the sole source situation:

The original requirement was initially awarded via a full and open competitive solicitation for a 25-year fiber infrastructure IRU. The contract stipulated provisions that parties agree the Government has the unequivocal right to enter into follow-on contract(s) for continued O&M services throughout the life of the IRU term.

Competition is not practical as the infrastructure and facilities are owned by Lumen, and the Government equipment is located inside Lumen facilities. No other source has access to the facilities, fiber, or the engineering data on the fiber to complete the work. Any competition would require abandoning the current IRU, substantial duplication of cost to recreate the existing infrastructure, and a costly transition to a

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7. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST:

The KO will determine whether Lumen’s proposed price is fair and reasonable before award.

Certified cost or pricing data is not required for this commercial acquisition in accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b)(3). Proposal pricing of the sole source provider will be compared to an Independent Government Cost Estimate, historical data, and published market prices for the service.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

DISA-IE16 conducted market research, to include a sources sought, review of recent market research for similar services, program knowledge of procuring these services, and a review of source lists for similar services. The market research resulted in the determination that no other contractor can support this effort. As stated above, a combined Notice of Intent-

Sources Sought was posted and no responses were received. Lumen is the only contractor uniquely positioned to meet the stated operational mission needs. Lumen owns or controls access to the facilities where all of the DISN equipment is located for the existing fiber IRU network and no other competitor is permitted access. This is standard protocol for any telecommunications provider with a facilities-based environment.

9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: None

10. LISTING OF INTERESTED SOURCES: Lumen Technologies Government Services, Inc.

(Lumen)

11. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

(a) Procurement History:

(1) Contract Number: DCA100-03-C-4057

Contractor: Level 3 Communications (at time of award)

Contract Period: September 23, 2003 - December 31, 2011

Type of Acquisition: Sole Source

(2) Contract Number: HC1047-12-D-0002

Contractor: Level 3 Communications (at time of award)

Contract Period: January 1, 2012 – September 30, 2021

Type of Acquisition: Sole Source

(b) The sole source nature of this action is driven by the IRU agreement between DISA and the contractor and the fact that Lumen is the owner of the fiber and facilities where the existing equipment is located. Upon expiration of the IRU, the Government will examine its evolving needs and the available technology in the market to meet those needs to discern if requirements can be met using competitive procedures.

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TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Michael Giles SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Contracting Officer Representative, IE16

PHONE: (301)-225-2429 DATE:

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Christopher Paczkowski SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Senior Technologist Executive, Infrastructure Directorate (IE)

PHONE: (301) 225-2000 DATE:

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Corinne Heck SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Contracting Officer/PL8231

PHONE: (618) 418-6753 DATE:

APPROVED BY:

SENIOR PROCUREMENT EXECUTIVE APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since this justification for OTFAOC exceeds $100M, this review serves as approval.

NAME: Major General Garrett S. Yee SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Senior Procurement Executive

PHONE: (310) 225-6010 DATE:

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO Katie

Day at katie.s.day.civ@mail.mil or (618) 418-6265.