rfq_rf_planning_tool_v5_final_(2).docx

Source Selection Information See FAR 3.104

Date: June 3, 2013

To: All Prospective Offerors

From: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Acquisition Management, Acquisition Solutions Division

Subject: Request for Quote (RFQ) # SA1301-12-RP-0018 for RF Planning Tool and Maintenance Agreement

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Acquisition Management, Commerce Acquisition Solutions Division is issuing this competitive RFQ to solicit quotes for a RF Planning Tool with Maintenance Agreement. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will conduct this acquisition using Part 12 and 13 under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

This requirement is open to full and open competition.

Quotes are due no later than 3:00 P.M, June 17, 2013. Submissions shall be made via email to William Thuman atwthuman@doc.gov, who also be reached by phone on 202-482-1470. Failure to submit a response by the time and date established will result in the proposal not being considered. Contractors are requested to notify Mr. Thuman via the above email address of their intent to submit a proposal as soon as possible.

NOTE: Due to email and server limitations, please limit the size of each email to no more than 3 MB.

By submitting proposals, contractors agree to comply with all terms and conditions as set forth in this solicitation/request for quotation, including the Statement of Work (SOW).

Quote Submission and Evaluation Criteria/ BPA Issuance Proposals shall be comprised of TWO separate submissions. The first shall contain copies of the pricing submission and the second shall contain the technical submission.

The following evaluation criteria will be used. The non-price (technical) factors are Technical Capability of The Quoted Items Offered To Meet The Government Requirement, and Past Performance. The non-price factors are listed in descending order of importance. The non-price factors, when combined, are considered to be significantly more important than price.

Technical Quote (Non-price factors) – Offerors shall submit the following technical (non-price) information.

1. Technical Capability of The Quoted Items Offered To Meet The Government Requirement: Describe your company’s capability to deliver items that meet the specifications provided within this RFQ.

2. Past Performance: The Offeror shall provide description of past projects/experiences that demonstrate relevant past performance or affirmatively state that it possesses no relevant past performance. Relevant past performance is performance under contracts or efforts (currently being performed or performed within the past five years) that are of a similar or directly related scope, magnitude and complexity to that which is described in the solicitation. The Government will consider the quality of the Offeror’s relevant past performance. Information provided in response to this factor will assist the Government in determining the degree of risk associated with award of this project to the Offeror in question based upon that Offeror’s past and present performance on other projects/contracts.

The Offeror shall submit a maximum of three (3) projects/contracts for evaluation. Where teaming arrangements are proposed, an additional maximum of three (3) projects for the subcontractor or other partner shall be submitted. For each submitted project/contract, the Offeror shall include references with current points of contact (telephone number and email address). The Government reserves the right to obtain information for use in the evaluation of past performance from sources other than those identified by the Offeror to upgrade or downgrade the Past Performance rating. An evaluation of relevance will be done for no more than three projects submitted by the Offeror. The Offeror is therefore cautioned to submit only its three most relevant efforts. If the Offeror submits more than three projects for consideration, only first three as displayed within the quote from front to back will be considered.

The Government will determine the relevance of a past performance project/contract by the size, scope and complexity in relation to the required services.

Price Quote:

Price quote shall be submitted in a separate file from the information provided on the technical (non-price) information described above. Using the price schedule provided within Section B of this RFQ, Offerors are required to submit firm fixed prices for each line item listed. To be considered for award, rates must be submitted for each and every line item listed on the pricing schedule. DOC will evaluate the price offered by extending the unit price by the estimated total units for each performance period (base and additional ordering periods, as appropriate). The total price for each period will be added to determine a total overall price. Prices will be examined to determine reasonableness to perform the requirements as established in the RFQ.

Questions Please submit any questions regarding this requirement immediately via email but no later than June 10, 2013 to whthuman@doc.gov . Any prospective Offeror may contact us while preparing a quote to obtain clarification of our specification or other information needed to prepare a quote. We will provide pertinent information in that regard to Offerors, as appropriate.

Sincerely, LaVonne Jinks-Umstead Contracting Officer

Attachments

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

Standard Form 1449, SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

See http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/115922 for the SF 1449.

Commercial Items Contract - Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

Section B, Price Schedule and Specifications

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a hard copy solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) following FAR Part 13 procedures. The North American Industry Classification System code is 511210 (Software Publishers) with a business size of $35.5 average annual receipts for the last three years. The proposed contract type will be firm-fixed-price. This requirement is being solicited under full and open competition.

B.1 Price Schedule

Base Year

Software License Maintenance and support

----- units -----

Implementation Service

Training

Geo-data Nationwide 25 to 30 meter resolution requirement

10 meter resolution requirement for Census Urban Areas

5 meter resolution and 3D building vector requirement for dense urban areas

Option Year One

----- units -----

0. Nationwide 25 to 30 meter resolution requirement

10 meter resolution requirement for Census Urban Areas (pricing for term of agreement)

5 meter resolution and 3D building vector requirement for dense urban areas (pricing for term of agreement)

Option Year Two

----- units -----

Nationwide 25 to 30 meter resolution requirement

10 meter resolution requirement for Census Urban Areas

5 meter resolution and 3D building vector requirement for dense urban areas (pricing for term of agreement)

Option Year Three

----- units -----

5 meter resolution and 3D building vector requirement for dense urban areas (pricing for term of agreement)

Option Year Four

----- units -----

5 meter resolution and 3D building vector requirement for dense urban areas (pricing for term of agreement)

B.2 Specifications

The items shall meet the following specifications:

1. Background The First Responder Network Authority needs the capability of a Radio Planning tool to assist with various activities related to planning and deployment of a Radio Access Network as specified in Public Law 112-96. This document specifies the requirements that such a tool must meet.

2. General Characteristics

2.1 Operating System & database support

· Built and maintained on Microsoft supported versions of the Windows Operating System

· Configurable to support either a multi-user (server based) or single user environment

· Support of industry standard relational database

· Data Management support including:

· Data centralization with data consistency management and synchronization

· Multi user collaboration on planning projects including multi-user change tracking

· Flexible user management: shared licenses on stand-alone, centralized or distributed configurations.

2.2 GIS and data presentation features

· Support of industry standard professional grade GIS formats

· Ability to import and use the following cartographic data:

· Digital Elevation models

· Land usage

· 3D building models

· Demographic data

· Vector data

· Raster based maps

· Bing or Google maps native support and Open Street maps base imagery

2.3 Application Interface/software development kit

Ability for users to customize and develop new functions

3. RAN specific capabilities

3.1 General

· Drive test import and visualization in industry standard formats

· Antenna support:

· Ability to load antenna characteristics in elevation and azimuth and use both for path loss prediction.

· Ability to produce all required FCC reports and plots

3.2 LTE specific features

· Automatic PRACH planning

· Automatic Cell ID planning

· Model fading accounting for signal correlation

· Support of MIMO, including spatial multiplexing and diversity modes of operation, and automatic selection of MIMO mode, depending on signal and interference conditions. Support must include standardized configurations up to 4x4 on downlink and up to 4x4 on uplink.

· Modeling of various industry recognized scheduling algorithms

· Modeling of ICIC and Hetnets

· User defined SINR versus throughput tables

3.2.1 Monte Carlo Simulation capability as follows:

· Data rate determination based on QoS classes and priorities

· Simulation of ICIC and scheduler behavior

· Ability to set load limit on both up and down link

· Simulation of spatial multiplexing and diversity modes

· User defined SINR versus throughput tables.

· PRACH overhead modeling

· Support of Release 10 UE specific resource elements

· A variety of reports covering throughput at cell and user level, and loading level on both up and downlink by cell.

3.2.2 Analysis:

· Coverage

· Interference

· Coverage probability

· RSRQ coverage

· RSRP coverage

· Best server coverage

· Synchronization channel analysis

· Composite uplink and downlink coverage

· Per coding scheme analysis

· Achievable throughput (uplink and downlink)

· Spectral efficiency

· ICIC analysis

· uplink and downlink resource block analysis

3.3 Propagation Models- Basic capability

· Tool shall support a number of propagation models as part of the basic tool capability (i.e. not an optional model). The models supported should have the following characteristics:

· Applicable for 3GPP Band Class 14 frequencies

· At least one Empirically based model and one deterministic based model should be included

· Applicable for base station antenna heights deployed by commercial carriers in the USA on towers, masts, monopoles and externally on buildings in the 800 MHz cellular band.

· Applicable for mobile equipment heights of 1 to 10 meters

· Ability to account for terrain elevation

· Ability to account for clutter height, clutter clearance and clutter type, including ground electrical characteristics. At least one of the models supplied should be able to exploit separate geo data parameters for :

· Terrain height

· Clutter height

· Clutter absorption

· Clutter clearance

· Electrical characteristics of the ground

· Suitable for ranges in excess of 35 km down to a few hundred meters.

· Models should be capable of being calibrated with drive test data.

3.4 Propagation model: calibration with drive test data

· Tool shall support auto calibration of propagation models against imported drive test data, with the ability to generate accuracy reports of the calibration, such as mean error, standard deviation etc.

3.5 Propagation Models: Orange Labs Universal Model option

· Tool shall support the Universal Model developed by Orange Labs in addition to other empirical and more deterministic models supported by the tool.

3.6 Automated LTE planning capability

FirstNet requires automated LTE planning capability which includes the features developed by PSCR for the Mentum PLANET RF tool using the Mentum PLANET Application Interface (API), or equal.

The required capability is as follows:

· Classification of the country by various demographic and topographic criteria, which would include but not be limited to any of the following or combination thereof:

· Population and 1st responder geo density

· Census boundary files of all types

· Land cover

· Terrain roughness and elevation

· Other land form classifications than above

· Highway and road type, such as primary & secondary roads defined by the US census bureau for each state, or the roads which are part of the National Highway System as defined by the Federal Highway Administration

· Assign separate radio planning criteria to each type of demographic and topographic classification. This would include amount of margin for in building coverage loss by type of land cover, and height of new sites by type of land cover (urban, suburban rural flat, rural hilly, forested etc.)

· Assign a traffic profile per user which shall allow specification of a number of services per user, with each service given in terms of:

· Percentage of time transmitting and percentage of time receiving

· Required data rate per service on the uplink and downlink.

· Estimate the number of sites needed across the entire country for each demographic/topographic classification with no manual intervention for site placement or selection, and using Monte Carlo simulations to take account of:

· User geo distribution and density

· Traffic profile per user as given previously

· Air interface characteristics of the LTE system, including: SINR needed for various data rates as a function of LTE transmission mode and resource block availability; MIMO configuration of UEs; mix of Class 1 and Class 3 UEs.

· The impact of system loading on the needed Resource Blocks to support the services of each user in the Monte Carlo Simulation, with users and areas being marked as un-served if insufficient resource blocks available to meet the SINR to support the user service data rates.

· The effect within each topographic/demographic classification of terrain elevation and land cover (i.e. clutter, morphology) on propagation.

· The estimation of number of sites needed should also include:

· An automated site selection and placement algorithm that gives preference to specified existing site types (such as Land Mobile Radio sites) over other existing site types (such as commercial sites). The preference rating should be adjustable.

4. Geo-data & settings for supported propagation models

4.1 Nationwide 25 to 30 meter resolution

Vendor shall provide geo-data for the conterminous United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana and South Central Alaska with the following features:

· Digital Elevation Model having 25 to 30 horizontal meter resolution

· Clutter data in at least 16 classifications including:

· Dense urban

· Urban

· Open urban

· Commercial- industrial

· Residential few or no trees

· Residential trees

· Forested/ dense vegetation

· Rural

· Agriculture

· Seawater

· Freshwater

· wetlands

· Airport

· Transportation

· All 2010 Census TIGER/Line Shape files currently available as specified on http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tgrshp2010/availability.html in a format supported by the offered planning tool

4.1.1 Propagation model settings

Vendor shall provide best representative settings for the values of all geo-data dependent parameters within the offered propagation models for use in conjunction with the supplied geo-data.

4.1.2 Source requirements

Vendor shall provide Digital Elevation Model based on the USGS National Elevation Dataset based on 1:24,000 mapping or better. Vendor shall be able to demonstrate traceability for processing and quality control of provided data from source. Vendor must be able to provide supporting data that shows supplied data equals or exceeds quality of USGS National Elevation Data Set Vendor shall state source of clutter data and provide traceability to that source, and details of subsequent processing and quality control. Vendor will be required to submit samples of geo data to FirstNet for assessment of suitability for LTE planning at 700 MHz. (Note that Land clutter classifications based solely on the National Land Cover Data Base are not considered adequate) 4.1.3Timing The need is immediate

4.2 10 meter resolution geo-data for Urban Areas Vendor will be able to provide geo data with a horizontal resolution of 10 meters for all 2010 Census defined Urban Areas, and with separate parameters for the following:

· Terrain elevation

· Clutter height

· Clutter clearance

· Clutter absorption

· Ground electrical characteristics All geo-data parameters must be delivered with pre-set values for each and every resolvable unit of area suitable for the offered propagation models to minimize the need for model tuning and calibration with drive test data. In other words, data supplied with 10 meter resolution would require parameter settings tailored and preset for each and every 10 meter by 10 meter area.

Vertical accuracy will be of the order of 3 meters.

4.2.1 Quality and accuracy of data

Vendor will be required to supply traceability details of source data and subsequent processing and Quality control

4.2.2 Timing

There is an immediate requirement for 50,000 square km anywhere within 2010 Census urban areas and data for the remaining urban area is to be an option, available at any time after initial order for the term of the agreement

4.3 5 meter resolution and 3D building vector geo-data for dense urban areas.

Vendor shall be able to provide geo-data for high rise and dense urban areas with the following characteristics:

· Terrain elevation, Clutter height and type (including buildings) with vertical accuracy of 2-3 meters and horizontal resolution and accuracy of 5 meters

· 3D building vector data with RMS vertical accuracy of 1 meter All geo-data parameter values must be pre-set for each and every resolvable unit of area suitable for the offered propagation models to eliminate/minimize the need for model tuning with drive test data. In other words, data supplied with 5 meter resolution will require parameter settings tailored and preset for each and every 5 meter by 5 meter area.

4.3.1 Quality and accuracy of data

Vendor will be required to supply traceability details of source data and subsequent processing and Quality control

4.3.2 Timing

There is an immediate requirement for 300 square km anywhere within downtown areas of major metropolitan areas, with an additional 2,000 square km available as an option at any time after initial order for the term of the agreement.

5. Maintenance support

· Vendor shall quote for software maintenance which will include:

· all major and minor upgrades

· Software patches

6. Implementation Service Vendor will provide implementation services as follows, assuming software will be installed on servers or PCs owned by NTIA, where NTIA is responsible for Hardware installation, maintenance and configuration.

· Initial installation and configuration of all vendor’s software on a server based system and individual PCs

· Handling and resolving all day-to-day system configuration issues and providing support and administration which will include the following:

· Creation of user and system accounts, and related permissions

· Recovery from system crashes and hangs

· Loading of geo-data, antenna data, existing site data, and other external files as needed, and creating any necessary project areas.

· Creation in consultation with FirstNet to develop usage guidelines including directory structures and permission policies

· Guidance and coordination between NTIA and vendor experts on clarification of server hardware and configuration requirements (although not required to execute hardware remedies and configurations directly)

· Any other installation and implementation services needed to ensure NTIA environment stays fully operational

· Training on tool use

6.1 Timing

Immediate need for 60 days of service with an option for 20 more at any time during the term of the agreement

7. User support User support is required as follows:

· Unlimited phone and email support

· Guaranteed response times for different types of issues (such as full or partial system failure, “how to” and informational requests). At a minimum, FirstNet requires response times as follows:

· Quarterly meetings to review helpdesk activity, service performance, training requirements and areas of concern.

Section C, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items, Contract Clauses

C.1 CAR 1352.215-70 (APR 2010) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

(a) The base period of performance of this contract is from date of award through May 31, 2014. If an option is exercised, the period of performance shall be extended through the end of that option period.

(b) The options that may be exercised are as follow:

(c) The notice requirements for unilateral exercise of option periods are defined in FAR 52.217-9.

(End of Clause)

a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor five (5) business days prior to contract expiration provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend ten (10) days prior to the first day of the option period. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 5 years.

(End of Clause)

C.2 CAR 1352.201-70 (APR 2010) CONTRACTING OFFICER’S AUTHORITY

LaVonne Jinks-Umstead is hereby designated Contracting Officer (CO).

The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

The CO is located at:

Commerce Acquisition Solutions

The Alternate Contracting Officer (ACO) is located at:

Ajay Akinsola

Commerce Acquisition Solutions

C.3 CAR 1352.201-72 (APR 2010) CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

Wayne Ritchie is hereby designated as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Laura Pettus is hereby designated as the Alternate COR (ACOR). The COR/ACOR may be changed at any time by the Government without prior notice to the contractor by a unilateral modification to the contract.

The COR’s contact information is as follows:

To Be Named At Contract Award

The responsibilities and limitations of the COR, are as follows:

(1) The COR is responsible for the technical aspects of the contract and serves as technical liaison with the contractor. The COR is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all deliverables and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the contract.

(2) The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes which affect the contract price, terms or conditions. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly or through the COR. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may designate assistant or alternate COR(s) to act for the COR by naming such assistant/alternate(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation to the Contractor.

C.4 PROCEDURES FOR INVOICING

The Federal Register, Page 52591, Volume 64, No. 188, dated September 29, 1999, requires that submitted invoices must include specific information in order for the Government to make payment. Contractors may use Standard Form 1034 – Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other than Personal (Part 53 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation under FAR 53-301-1034) or they may submit a company-generated voucher. However, no matter what type of voucher is submitted, it must contain the information described below.

To comply with the above requirements, two (2) copies of each voucher/invoice must be delivered to the Accounts Payable Division of the Office of Acquisition Management, U.S. Department of Commerce before it is considered received by the Government.

THE CONTRACTOR IS NOTIFIED THAT IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENSURING THE VOUCHERS/INVOICES ARE DELIVERED TO THE FINANCE DIVISION, AND THE COR ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE ADVANCED COPIES OF THE VOUCHERS/INVOICES ARE PROVIDED TO THE FINANCE DIVISION.

C.5 PROPER INVOICE INFORMATION

(a) To constitute a proper invoice, the invoice must include, at a minimum, the following information:

· Name and Address of Contractor

· Contact Name, Title and Telephone Number

· Government Contract Number or Other Authorization for Delivery of Goods or Services

· Date of the Invoice

· Invoice Number, Account Number, and/or any other identifying number agreed to by the contract (At a minimum there must be an invoice number)

· Include the Actual date when services were performed or goods delivered.

· Include the Period of Performance on all invoices.

· Description – Including, for example, contract line/subline number, price, and quality of goods and services rendered.

· Include discount terms.

· Shipping and Payment Terms (Required unless mutually agreed that this information is only required in the contract – Contact the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist for clarification)

· Taxpayer Identifying Number (TIN) (Required unless agency procedures provide otherwise.)

· Address for mailing payment

· Banking Information such as name and address of bank, routing & account number (Required unless agency procedures provide otherwise, or except in situations where the EFT requirements is waived under 31 CFR, 208.4.) (This information is seldom required, check with the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist to determine if information is needed.)

· Name, telephone, and email address of assigned Contract Specialist

· Other Substantiating Documentation or Information as required by FAR 52.232-7 Payments Under T&M and Labor Hour Contracts (FEB 2007)

There shall also be three statements and signature lines included in the invoice. The wordings for these statements are:

I hereby certify, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that the services set forth herein were performed during the period stated above are current, accurate and complete.

The above statement will be signed by a representative of the Contractor.

and

I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief that the services/supplies shown on the invoice have been performed/furnished and are accepted.

(Date) (Name & Title: COR, Task Manager, etc) (Signature)

The above statement will be signed by a Government representative, usually the COR or a Task Manager with authority to certify.

and

Pursuant to authority vested in me, I certify that this voucher is correct and proper for payment.

(Date) (Name & Title, Contracting Officer) (Signature)

The above statement will be signed by a government representative who has authority to approve the invoice. The representative signing this statement will be the Contracting Officer.

If there is insufficient space in the Standard Form 1034 to provide all of the required information, the Contractor may include the remaining information on bond paper. However, if bond paper is used, the contract and task order numbers, invoice number, and date of invoice must be listed at the top of the second and subsequent pages.

An original plus one copy of the voucher will be submitted to:

(via Postal)

(via email) invoice@nist.gov

C.6 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS -- COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 2013)

Alternate I (Aug 2007) of 52.222-50 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).