BNJ.docx

Brand Name Justification Enterprise Services Office of Acquisition 1401 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20230

Brand Name Justification for Keysight N9030BU-RTS and N9030BU-BU8 Equipment Upgrades

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

325 Broadway Boulder, CO 80305

1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20230

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This Brand Name Justification is for the award of a Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order in accordance with FAR 13.106 for the purchase of two hardware upgrades (Keysight N9030BU-RTS and Keysight N9030BU-BU8). Approval is requested to award to an authorized dealer/reseller/distributor of Keysight Technologies.

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs:

DOC/NTIA/ITS has a requirement to obtain two hardware upgrades (Keysight N9030BU-RTS and Keysight N9030BU-BU8) to interface an existing Keysight N9030B signal analyzer to a newly-procured Bird data recorder. The Bird data recorder is a piece of test equipment designed to ingest real-time streams of spectrum data for archival and analysis purposes. ITS currently has no test equipment with the ability to output real-time data streams. The Bird data recorder is currently unable to be used to support internal research or support external clients. The Bird data recorder will interface to our existing Keysight test equipment, but these upgrades are required on one existing unit in our inventory to do so.

The total value is estimated for the Keysight upgrades including installation and post-installation calibration services.

(4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

Pursuant to the authority of FAR 13.106, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, and FAR 11.105(a)(i); (2)(i)(ii), Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer.

(5) A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

There are no comparable products capable of performing the same necessary functions required for NTIA/ITS. Keysight Technologies is the sole owner and manufacturer of the required products and only provides its products and solutions to its authorized resellers. No other vendors or distributors can legal obtain access to the product.

Acquisition of these Keysight products is required due to significant investments in Keysight N9030B signal analyzers. The N9030BU-BU8 and N9030BU-RTS hardware upgrades are issued by the manufacturer to only operate on Keysight N9030B signal analyzer test instruments. Pursuing any other avenue would require the purchase of a new signal analyzer and, potentially, a new data recorder with a significant additional cost to the Government. Incorporation of other manufacturers' potentially equivalent equipment will incur extensive additional costs beyond the equipment cost due to associated software modifications, development, and debugging, as well as additional employee training requirements.

(6) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

The Department of Commerce is providing fair opportunity in accordance with FAR 5 and 13 by issuing the Request for Proposal to the authorized resellers of Keysight Technologies on FedBizOpps. Based on market research conducted, it has been determined that there are two small business capable of fulfilling this requirement.

(7) Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government Will Be Fair and Reasonable:

The total price will be determined as fair and reasonable based on a competitive acquisition process. The Government is also afforded the opportunity to request additional discounts from the Offerors to achieve a greater cost savings. Price reasonableness will be performed to ensure that the prices are indeed fair and reasonable to the Government. The Contracting Officer will accomplish this by evaluating historical prices paid for the same/similar items; request the advice and assistance of subject matter experts in the technical field; and compare the total prices to the Government Cost Estimate.

(8) A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

Market research was conducted, and it was determined that this product could be fulfilled by two small businesses which are both authorized resellers. Although the product is proprietary, Trimble Inc. indicated that the product solution can be obtained from its authorized resellers.

(9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

None.

(10) List of Sources, if any, that Expressed Interest in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

None.

(11) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

For the reasons stated above, at this time, only Keysight Technologies products can meet the technical requirements for NTIA/ITS. Based on market research, the contracting activity determined that there are authorized resellers of these products, so the agency is removing barriers to competition by competing this requirement among the authorized resellers.

(12) Technical Representative’s Certification:

As the Technical Representative for this requirement, I certify that the evidence of the supporting data that forms the basis of this justification is complete and accurate.

Technical Representative/Date

(13) Contracting Officer Certification:

I certify that the data provided in support of this recommendation are accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer/Date image1.gif