NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE.pdf

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE

The Department of Commerce (DOC), Economic Development Administration (EDA), intends to negotiate and award a sole source Firm-Fixed-Price commercial purchase order for a performance period of twelve (12) months from date of award and acceptance with four (4) one

(1) year option periods to GCI Communications Corp for commercial telephone and dedicated internet services supporting EDA’s Anchorage Field Office.

This notice is published in accordance with RFO 12.102(a) and RFO Part 5 to determine whether responsible commercial sources exist capable of satisfying the Government’s minimum requirements.

This notice is not a solicitation or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document is available.

Purpose

The Economic Development Administration requires uninterrupted commercial telephone and internet connectivity to support the Anchorage Field Office’s mission of promoting economic development throughout Alaska, including service to rural, remote, and economically distressed communities.

Reliable telecommunications services are required to support:

• Official Department of Commerce Communications

• EDA email and internet connectivity

• Voice communications with Federal, State, Tribal, and local stakeholders

• Long-distance communications throughout Alaska

• Fax transmission capability

• Continuity of Government operations

• Daily administrative and program operations

The Government requires a commercial telecommunications solution capable of delivering secure, continuous voice and internet services from the Government’s federally occupied office space.

Minimum Government Requirements

The contractor shall provide commercial telecommunications services including, at a minimum:

Voice Services

• One (1) business voice line

• Local telephone service

• Long-distance calling capability

• Fax capability

• Reliable commercial telephone connectivity

Internet Services

• One (1) dedicated 10 Mbps internet circuit

• Continuous internet connectivity

• Support for Department email services

• Commercial-grade internet reliability

Installation and Support

The contractor shall provide:

• Installation of all required telecommunications and internet cabling

• Testing and activation of all services

• Maintenance throughout the contract period

• Technical support

• Repair services

• Service continuity

• User support as required

Security Requirements

The contractor shall comply with all applicable Department of Commerce security requirements including:

• Privacy Act requirements

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) safeguarding

• Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) requirements, when applicable

• NIST SP 800-171 requirements for non-Federal systems handling CUI

• Department cybersecurity policies

• Incident reporting requirements

• Required privacy and cybersecurity training

Unique Mission Requirements

The Government requires commercial telecommunications services that:

• Operate within the existing telecommunications infrastructure serving the Federal facility;

• Provide uninterrupted voice and internet services throughout the contract period;

• Support mission-critical communications with stakeholders throughout Alaska;

• Maintain reliable service for Department operations;

• Provide commercial installation and maintenance support at the Government location.

Basis for Sole Source

The Government believes GCI Communications Corporation is the only responsible source capable of satisfying the Government’s requirements because:

• GCI is the only telecommunications provider authorized to provide commercial telecommunications connectivity within the federally managed facility located in Anchorage, Alaska.

• The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages the facility, permits only GCI to connect telecommunications services into the building infrastructure.

• The required voice and dedicated internet services depend upon access to the existing building telecommunications infrastructure.

• The contractor must install and maintain telecommunications cabling and services within the Government-occupied space.

• No other commercial telecommunications provider has authorization to provide service through the existing building infrastructure.

• Award to another source would require unavailable building access or infrastructure modifications outside the Government’s control.

• Transition to another provider would result in unnecessary service disruption and delays to mission-essential communications.

• Continuous telephone and internet service is required to maintain EDA operations supporting communities throughout Alaska.

Capability Statements

Interested vendors, believing they can satisfy the Government’s minimum requirements, shall submit a capability statement demonstrating their ability to provide all required commercial telecommunications services.

Capability statements shall specifically address:

• Authorization to provide telecommunications services within the Government facility located in Anchorage, Alaska;

• Dedicated commercial internet service;

• Business voice services;

• Long-distance capability;

• Fax capability;

• Telecommunications cable installation;

• Service activation;

• Maintenance and repair support;

• Technical support;

• Compliance with applicable Department of Commerce privacy and cybersecurity requirements.

General marketing materials will not be considered sufficient.

As previously stated, this is NOT a solicitation for quotations, quotation abstracts, a request for competitive quotations; or request for competitive proposals; There is no solicitation package available for review due to the Government’s intention to conduct this requirement as a sole source award. If a company determines that their company can meet all requirements mentioned above, the company shall submit a written response within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis for it to be taken into consideration by the Government. Responses must clearly and thoroughly defend any claims or assertions that attempt to refute the Government’s claim. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government.

Information received will normally be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Information received on this notice must eliminate the Government's concerns and address how the required services can be provided.

If no qualified/affirmative responses are received within 15 days of this notice to determine whether a qualified source is more advantageous to the Government, a contract will be awarded to GCI Communications Corp.