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BRAND NAME DETERMINATION & FINDINGS FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

(ACTIONS SAT AND BELOW)

1. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROCUREMENT: The Government requires one (1) Polatis Series 6000 Ultra Secure Grade Singlemode SMF28 Optical Matrix Switch with 12 input ports and 12 output ports (Model Number S-OST-12x12-LA1-HMHNS).

2. PROPOSED CONTRACTOR/MANUFACTURER:

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM):

UEI:

CAGE Code:

SAM Expiration Date:

Business Size:

Product Suppliers/Resellers:

UEI:

CAGE Code:

SAM Expiration Date:

Business Size:

3. ESTIMATED TOTAL VALUE: $

4. STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL

AND OPEN COMPETITION: The statutory authority permitting sole source is 41 USC 1901(e), implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i):

_X_ Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

___ Unusual and Compelling Urgency ___ Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert

Services ___ International Agreement ___ Authorized or Required by Statute ___ National Security ___ Public Interest

5. JUSTIFICATION FOR THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE:

The item(s) listed in section one above is available from only one source and competition is precluded for reasons indicated below. There are no substitutes available.

_X_ Compatibility: The item(s) must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing systems presently installed. Describe the equipment you have now and how the new item/service must coordinate, connect, or interface with the existing system:

The Tactical Network Assurance Branch (TNAB; FCDD-RLA-NB) of DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Network, Cyber, and Computational Sciences Division (NCCSD) requires a Polatis Series 6000 Ultra Secure Grade Singlemode SMF28 Optical Matrix Switch with 12 input ports and 12 output ports (Model Number S-OST-12x12-LA1-HMHNS) to integrate the TNAB quantum labs with other government labs connected to the Washington Metropolitan Quantum Network Research Consortium (DC-QNet) quantum network testbed (https://www.quantum.gov/nrl-announces-the-washington-metropolitan-quantum-network-research-consortium-dc-qnet/). The proposed switch will be used to connect quantum network devices in the TNAB quantum labs via optical fiber to other Polatis Series 6000 switches at every other DC-QNet site: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Security Agency (NSA), U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO), and U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The current network topology of DC-QNet consists of fiber optical cross-connects (FOXC) connected to each other at the physical layer using a pair of fibers to accommodate bidirectional connectivity.

Nodes that are not adjacent to each other are logically connected using fiber paths that are dynamically provisioned using a network operational software known as Multiverse Software. This software supports configuration, management, and resource provisioning for the control plane network (IP) and the optical network which carries the quantum signal, time synchronization, and classical communications. This software is specifically coded to run on Polatis Series 6000 optical matrix switches at each site in DC-QNet. The proposed Polatis optical matrix switch will enable ARL to be fully connected to DC-QNet for multi-agency quantum network demonstrations. In addition, the switch requires 12 input ports and 12 output ports to accommodate all optical connections required to connect the TNAB labs to other DC-QNet labs and allow for switching between various quantum network devices in the TNAB labs.

Without the proposed switch, new software programs would need to be written by TNAB researchers to interface their quantum labs with other labs in DC-QNet. Creating new software would require several months of additional labor and does not fall within the expertise of existing researchers in the TNAB quantum team. In addition, use of a different switch with different software will be extremely difficult to integrate with the existing software which runs on the Polatis switches at all other labs in the DC-QNet. Should the Polatis optical matrix switch not be procured, research in the Army priority research area of quantum and in ARL’s Network, Cyber, & Computational Science competency will be significantly restricted and delayed, virtually curtailing the performance of key Research and Development (R&D) activities at ARL. A major loss of productivity will result if the proposed switch is not available for these programs, ARL will not be able to advance its research into developing deployed quantum networks, and ARL will not be able to participate in the multi-government-agency DC-QNet collaboration.

Market research identified only one (1) manufacturer, , that can supply the Polatis optical matrix switch required for experimentation. Although several other companies, e.g.

, manufacture similar optical switches, market research suggests that none make switches that are fully-compatible and integrable with the Polatis Series 6000 optical matrix switches and corresponding control software used by collaborators at other labs in the DC-QNet. Therefore, alternate equipment would prove to be incompatible. While the required Polatis switch is available directly from the manufacturer, , market research suggests that the Polatis optical switch is also available from at least one third-party reseller, .