Pre-proposal Conference Minutes - NEC Data Telecommunication Services.pdf

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

Embassy of the United States of America

July 14, 2022

Embassy of the United States of America Paseo de la Reforma No. 305, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, 06500 Mexico City.

Minutes from Pre-Proposal Conference of July 14, 2022

Introduction

The Contract Specialist welcomed all attendees, introduced the Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist and COR

Speakers: Contracting Officer, Jim Nunno

Contract Specialist, Veronica Tecuatl

Contracting Officer´s Representative, Jose Ignacio Medina

Purpose:

The purpose of this pre-quotation conference was to brief all prospective offerors about the solicitation and to make them aware that doing business with the U.S. Government differs from commercial practice because the solicitation and award processes are regulated under FAR.

Minutes disclosure:

Attendees were notified that Pre-proposal conference minutes will be posted on Contracts Opportunities o in order that other vendors are not in disadvantage for not being able to join this virtual meeting.

General directions for this conference:

This Pre-proposal conference was held in English and Spanish so that all the attendees had a thorough understanding of the solicitation process. For that reason, attendees were asked to avoid interrupting the speakers during the conference and to write any questions arising in the chat box. Attendees were told that if time was available at the end of the conference we would try to read and answer some of the question posted.

The contracting team compiled all questions in a single file and will be included in the Q&A document, along with all the questions received via e-mail as per RFQ instructions. This file will be also posted on beta.sam.gov.

Attendants’ attention was called to the following:

Statements:

The statements made during the conference do NOT change the solicitation. All changes will be made by written amendment to the solicitation.

Amendments:

Amendments are necessary during the solicitation period for such reasons as:

Issues raised by prospective offerors, either in a pre-proposal conference or otherwise;

The need to change the closing date for receipt of offers;

The need to correct ambiguities; or

Changes in quantity, specifications, or delivery schedules.

All amendments will be posted on Contracts Opportunities on sam.gov. The U.S.

Government implements the Fair Release of information, in other words, what you tell one, you must tell all.

Questions

As previously requested, all questions that arise from this meeting should be written on the chat box and will be compiled and included in the Q&A file. Questions that have been received via email will also be compiled and included in the Q&A file.

The Q&A will be posted on Contracts Opportunities in beta.sam.gov.

Discussion of the Solicitation Package

The following sections of the solicitation were highlighted:

SF-1449

Blocks to be filled out by the offeror were highlighted.

Blocks 12, 17, 19-24, and 30 as appropriate

Section 1 – Pricing & Scope of Work

1.2 SCOPE OF SERVICES

The Contractor shall complete all work, including furnishing all engineering, labor, tools, materials, equipment, supplies and services, unless otherwise specified herein, required under this contract for stated services within the time specified herein. The price listed below shall include all labor, materials, overhead, and profit. In consideration of satisfactory performance of all scheduled services required under this contract, the Contractor shall be paid a firm fixed-price for all services.

1.4 TYPE OF CONTRACT

This is a multiple award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) type contract with firm-fixed rates.

(a) Orders will be placed by firm-fixed task orders

1.5 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

1.5.1 INSTALLATION

The Contractor shall complete all work installation activities within eight (8) months from the date of issuance of the Notice-to-Proceed (NTP) by the Contracting Officer.

1.5.2 SERVICES

The performance period for the Dedicated Internet Services to be provided under this contract will commence on the date listed in the Services Notice to Proceed. and continue for twelve months with four (4) one-year options for renewal.

1.6 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AMOUNTS

During the Base Year of the Contract, and during any option year that might be exercised, the U.S. Government shall place orders totaling a minimum of $100.00 U.S. dollars. The amount of all orders shall not exceed $850,000.00 U.S. dollars per option year. This reflects the contract minimum and maximum per each 12-month period of the contract.

The maximum annual amount stated above ($850,000.00 U.S. dollars) is the maximum aggregate dollar value of all task orders awarded to all contractors during any one-year period. This ceiling is not being subdivided equally amongst the number of contracts, nor is it being multiplied by the number of contracts.

1.7 PRICING

In consideration of satisfactory performance of the services required under this contract, the Contractor will be paid a firm-fixed-price (FFP) at the prices stated in the schedule below for the Installation (non-reocurring), Base Year, and four Option Years.

The prices listed below shall include all engineering, labor, drawings, layouts, materials, tools, equipment (hardware, firmware, electronics, etc.)1 , local permits, coordination with other utilities and tenants, overhead, profit, and transportation necessary to provide the required Dedicated Internet Services to the U.S. Embassy Mexico City and to perform all the tasks and work as described in the Contract. The Government will not pay any additional expenses.

Section 3 Solicitation Provisions

3.2.1 SUMMARY OF INSTRUCTIONS

Electronic quotes and offers will be accepted. Offerors shall submit their proposals in 2 separate volumes.

Each quotation must consist of the following:

3.2.1.1 Volume I

1. A completed solicitation, in which the SF-1449 cover page (blocks 12, 17, 19-24, and 30 as appropriate

2. A completed pricing schedule under Section 1, The Schedule, Continuation to SF-1449, block 23 (the rates shall be all inclusive).

3. Attachment 3, 4, or 5, Payment Registration Form (as applicable), filled out and signed (see Section 1, paragraph 1.7.1).

4. Unique Entity ID and NCAGE number.

5. Active SAM registration.

6. A completed Section 5, Representations and Certifications.

7. If your company is from one of the excepted countries a W-14 form shall be provided with your offer.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-14 https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw14

3.2.1.2 Volume II

1. Experience and Ability to Perform

Information demonstrating the offeror’s ability to perform and meet the solicitation requirement, including, at a minimum:

1All equipment must comply with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) all traffic from the U.S. Embassy must be routed on a path that does not touch Huawei or ZTE 5G equipment on the service provider´s network.

(a) A list of clients over the past 5 years, using dedicated circuits at 100Mbps or higher via fiber optic from the offeror. Provide customer’s name, services and references (customer’s point of contact, telephone and email address). Offerors are advised that the past performance information requested above may be discussed with the client’s contact person. In addition, the client’s contact person may be asked to comment on the offeror’s:

(b) Evidence that the offeror can provide the necessary personnel, equipment, and financial resources needed to perform the work;

(c) Offeror´s Strategic Plan for the installation of the demarcation site for Dedicated Internet Services to include but not limited to:

i. A work plan taking into account all work elements in Section 1, Performance Work Statement.

ii. Identify types and quantities of equipment, supplies and materials required for performance of services under this contract. Identify if the offeror already possesses the listed items and their condition for suitability and if not already possessed or inadequate for use how and when the items will be obtained.

iii. Address the Quality Control Plan in sufficient detail to demonstrate that the offeror shall provide prompt, courteous service with the lowest available fares, including but not limited to contract administration and oversight.

iv. (A) If insurance is required by the solicitation, a copy of the Certificate of Insurance(s), or (B) a statement that the contractor will get the required insurance, and the name of the insurance provider to be used.

3.2.1.3 Management Information

(a) Company profile;

(b) Project Manager information as stated in Section 1, paragraph 1.20.1.

(c) Evidence that the offeror operates an established business (web site) with a permanent address and telephone listing.

(d) Evidence that the offeror has a valid Concession Title from the IFT to provide such services. The concession title ID shall be provided in the format FETXXXXXXCO-XXXXXX and will be verified in the site https://rpc.ift.org.mx/vrpc.

3.2.1.4 Technical Information

(a) Network coverage map incluiding the Tier 1 connections to the United States and the ISP names.

(b) List of all services offered by the provider, including those not mentioned in this Solicitation.

(c) Topology map with the proposed fiber route from the Point of Presence to the CTSEF

(d) Network diagram from the Service provider node(s) to the CTSEF specifying any physical layer changes along the way.

(e) Location of the POP and the distance to the CTSEF.

(f) A materials list and site drawings for the proposed demarcation.

(g) Technical Specifications of switching equipment (manufacturer, model, specific feature set, operating system, etc)

(h) Information, specifications, and details of all the equipment to be used , nomenclature, fiber type, connector types, patch panels.

(i) Timeline for Demark installation (activities and duration of each).

(j) Description and screen shots of the monitoring tool that would be used for monitoring and troubleshooting the circuits.

(k) Timeline for issue resolution after an incident is reported.

(l) Escalation procedures and trigger points for each level.

(m) Safety Management Plan

3.3 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Questions related to this Solicitation shall be submitted in writing and in English language to the following e-mail address: MexicoCityGSOContracts@state.gov

The deadline to submit a question is Thursday, July 21, 2022 before 12:00 hours (noon), local time.

3.7 UNIQUE ENTITY ID & NCAGE/CAGE

Interested Offerors, to include foreign firms, must have a SAM Unique Entity ID and a NCAGE/CAGE code. These numbers shall be submitted with your Offer in Volume 1. See Attachment 6, for further guidance.

3.8 SAM REGISTRATION

In order to receive an award, Offerors must also have an active registration in the System for Award Management at the following link https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.

International offerors need both their Unique Entity ID and NCAGE before registering in SAM.

American companies will obtain a CAGE code when requesting their Unique Entity ID for the first time. Submit a copy of your active registration with your Offer in Volume 1. See attachment 6, for further guidance.

Section 4 Evaluation Factors

4.1 GENERAL

To be acceptable and eligible for evaluation, proposals must be prepared in accordance with Sections 3 and 4, and shall meet all the requirements set forth in the other sections of this solicitation.

4.3 AWARD WITHOUT DISCUSSIONS

The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

4.4 SELECTION PROCESS

This selection process will utilize FAR 13 procedures.

After preliminary consideration of all offers, the Department will no longer consider offers that do not meet basic standards to be eligible for award. The offers that remain will be subject to a comparative evaluation.

4.6 COMPARATIVE EVALUATION

A comparative evaluation will be performed in accordance with FAR 13.106- 2(b)(3). A comparative evaluation is defined as the act of comparing two or more offers in response to the RFQ. The item-by-item comparison is performed by comparing each offer to directly to one another to determine which provides the best value to the Department utilizing technical, past performance criteria and price as described below. This is NOT a low price technically acceptable or trade-off process. This solicitation neither requires nor prohibits the selection of the lowest priced acceptable offers.

Section 5 Representations and Certifications

Some clauses of this does not have to be completed when the information is updated in sam.gov.

Submission deadlines:

1. Questions: Thursday, July 21, 2022 before 12:00 hours (noon), local time.

2. Proposals: Thursday, September 8, 2022, before 17:00 hours, local time.

Q&A Time:

All questions written in the chat box were added to the Q&A file as questions Q8-Q15.

Conclusion

The conference concluded and attendees were thanked for their presence and expression of interest in serving the U.S. Government. The meeting was adjourned.

Sincerely, Jim Nunno Contracting Officer