EIS_RFP_QTA0015THA3003_-_SF30_Amendment_0015_Final.docx

OMB Approval 2700-0042

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6)

CODE

General Services Administration/FAS/ITS Office of Acquisition Operations 1800 F Street, NW, 4th Floor Washington DC 20405

QTA0015THA3003

1710 H. Street, NW, 7th Floor

10/16/2015

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

X The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is X extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning 1 copy of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATA SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and data specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor _ is not, _ is required to sign this document and return 1 copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

SEE ADDITIONAL PAGES

Except at provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

Timothy Horan Contracting Officer

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

RFP # QTA0015THA3003

Amendment #0015

This amendment includes the following:

· Instructions for acknowledging the amendment.

· Changes to the due date for final proposal revisions.

· Clarifications regarding the RFP.

Amendment Acknowledgement

Offerors shall acknowledge this amendment in the Business Volume of their final proposal revision.

Due Date for Final Proposal Revisions

The due date for final proposal revisions is changed to November 4, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Clarifications to the RFP

Question:

The RFP is very vague when it states in G.3.3.3.2 that "Certain services, including self-provisioned services, lend themselves to rapid provisioning"�. There is no mention of rapid provisioning in Section C Technical, although there is mention of Expediting for Ethernet bandwidth upgrades, along with a CLIN in Section B. G.3.3.3.2 also indicates that an order is subject to rapid provisioning if "the service ordered is specified as subject to rapid provisioning in the contract or the TO."� Currently the RFP does not specify a service that is required to be subject to rapid provisioning, other than Ethernet bandwidth on demand. Non-incumbents do not have the inner circle intelligence to know specifically what services the Networx customers expect to be rapidly provisioned. We agree that there are services, particularly among the optional services, that may lend to more rapid provisioning. However, the RFP as currently written does not provide a specific direction on which types of services that GSA expects to be rapidly provisioned. Are these mandatory services or are they optional services? Since the specification may not come until a Task Order is issued, can this be considered a mandatory requirement? Is an offeror considered to be noncompliant if it does not provide current specifics but agrees to propose specific rapid provisioning when Task Order specifics are clarified? Certainly the bidders will propose many different things. But the RFP does not provide enough specifics to establish what an acceptable response is. If this is a request for informational purposes only, that is understandable. But if this is a mandatory requirement that will become included in the contract, then it will be likely that no bidder will have agreed to the same rapid provisioning clause. This presents issues since there are no CLINs established for this service, and some bidders may have to add unrecoverable development costs in the initial stage for undefinable specific service requirements, rather than wait to see what agencies require and evaluate at the Task Order level. Therefore we respectfully ask that you clarify the implications of not offering any rapid provisioning specifics and what are the specific service expectations of GSA in this Final Proposal.

Answer:

GSA does not require the offeror to propose any service beyond those specified as mandatory. The offeror may, at its discretion, choose to identify one or more of the services it is proposing as subject to the rapid provisioning rules. Alternatively, the offeror may state that it is not proposing any services under rapid provisioning. Additionally, GSA does not require any services to be included under rapid provisioning except as specified in Section G.8.2.2.4.

If the offeror proposes a service as a rapid provisioning service in response to a TO and the service is not listed as a rapid provisioning service on the offeror's contract then the offeror must submit a contract modification and receive approval from GSA to list the service as subject to rapid provisioning prior to processing orders for that service.