SCG50016Q0005_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

SCG50016Q0005 for C-Band Internet Service Page 1

U.S. Embassy

498 Avenue Colonel Lukusa

Gombe, Kinshasa

Democratic Republic of Congo

June 28, 2016

SCG50016Q0005 for C-Band Internet Service

Questions and Answers

Q – Where can I see amendments to the solicitation?

A – Go to www.fbo.gov and search for SCG50016Q0005. All notifications regarding this solicitation will be found on FedBizOps.

Q – What must I send with my bid?

A – Please follow the directions in the solicitation. See Section 3 for details. Also, please remember to include signed copies of all amendments in your submission. All amendments will be posted on FedBizOps.

Q – Which blocks does the vendor complete on the SF1449 form? This is the form which follows the cover letter. Its title is SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

A - See Section 3 of the solicitation for details.

Q – Can a vendor which did not attend the pre-quotation conference still bid?

A – Any vendor can bid. All offers will be evaluated per Section 4 of the solicitation.

Q - Is SAM registration required for a vendor to participate in this solicitation?

A – Any vendor may submit a quotation. Registration in SAM is required for an award, as stated in the solicitation in Section 3.

Q – How do I get more information on registering in the System for Award Management?

A – You can go directly to www.SAM.gov. You can also find more information on our website at http://kinshasa.usembassy.gov/opportunities/contract-solicitation.html

Q - Will a bandwidth pool of 10 Mbps + Virtual Network Operator (V.N.O) access allow you to :

- Monitor JAO , GOMA and CMR from the same platform

- Immediately increase or decrease the Committed Information Rate (CIR) whenever need arises

- Split the bandwidth to various site at your convenience

- Help you better than having 3 independents sites?

A - All sites are independent. A bandwidth pool is not needed.

http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ http://kinshasa.usembassy.gov/opportunities/contract-solicitation.html

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Q - As per your precision on page 17 and 18 of the solicitation, is the redundancy compulsory to be based in the USA?

A – See Amendment One.

Q – Should there be a backup satellite dish or other means of backup communications at the customer site.

A – The only hardware on site shall be the vendor provided satellite dish and the vendor’s equipment required to run it. There is no need for backup hardware. See Amendment One for details.

Q - In which increments will the customer request increases in bandwidth?

A - See Amendment One.

Q - Please confirm RTT for data packets.

A – In the solicitation under Scope of Work on pages 16, 20, and 23, the solicitation requires the

RTT not to exceed 200ms. See Amendment One for an amended RTT.

Q - C-Band offers RTT higher than 200ms. Shall we respond to the BID with our Ka-band service under O3b satellite fleet meeting your request?

A – Per the solicitation, C-band is the service which is required.

Q - What is the meaning of (*) in the solicitation?

A – See the note commencing with a (*) at the bottom of each year’s pricing table in the solicitation.

Q - Does the customer purchase the vendor-provided hardware?

A – Section 1, II, #1 states that hardware, including dish, dish accessories, modem, router, and cabling are provided by the vendor. All equipment will be returned to the vendor upon termination of the contract. See Amendment One.

Q - Who will provide the concrete satellite pads?

A - See Amendment One.

Q - Will the vendor provide the same type of hardware at each customer site?

A - See Amendment One. The vendor shall provide a uniform solution at each customer site.

Q - Will monitoring be done by the Embassy or the supplier? How will the customer monitor vendor-provided bandwidth?

A – For details, See CONTINUATION TO SF-1449, RFQ NUMBER SCG50016Q0005, I, Scope of Work, points #1, #2, and #3.

Q - Will a Service Level Agreement (SLA) be required?

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A - No. An additional Service Level Agreement is not permitted. All requirements are stated in the solicitation.

Q - Must the vendor allow all networking protocols on the provided connection?

A – For details, see CONTINUATION TO SF-1449, RFQ NUMBER SCG50016Q0005, I, Scope of Work, points #1, #2, and #3.

Q- Can the bidder be a consortium?

A- The USG will only conduct business with the company listed in block 17a on the SF1449 of the company’s offer. The offeror shall provide proof of all license and permits required by local law with their proposal as stated in Section 3 number 5.

Q - Can the technical proposal include pricing in the same document?

A – Do not/not mention prices or deals in the technical part of your proposal. We recommend that you attach and send two PDF documents when you send your quotation: a PDF which deals with pricing and a PDF which addresses technical issues.

Q - How does the vendor ensure their e-mailed proposal package was received by the customer?

A - We recommend that after the vendor e-mails their proposal package, the vendor follows up with a separate e-mail, not including attachments, to confirm that the package was received.

Q - Which Americans working for the vendor must be reported to the customer?

A - See page 66 of the solicitation for details on clause 652.228-70 DEFENSE BASE ACT –

COVERED CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES (JUN 2006).

Q - How must the vendor demonstrate financial resources?

A - An offeror may send any information the offeror deems pertinent. This could include financial statements.

Q - How is the customer billed?

A - See page 28 of the solicitation for invoicing details. In general, vendors send invoices once per month. The United States government pays, according to regulations, after service is rendered.

Q - Who will make the electrical connections to the customer facilities?

A – See Section 1, II, 1. Vendor will provide the electrical cabling up to the point of connection to the customer facility. Customer electricians will make the final connections/terminations to customer facilities.

Q - Is the requirement SCPC, or internet with VPN from US Embassy.

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A – In the solicitation, see CONTINUATION TO SF-1449, RFQ NUMBER SCG50016Q0005, I., Scope of Work, points #1, #2, and #3 for details. Pertinent statements are:

- The purpose of this firm fixed price purchase order is to obtain VPN, Internet Services, and Circuitry for the U.S. Embassy Kinshasa Post.

- Internet Service Provider (ISP) must permit installation of Customer VPN encryption devices on circuit.

- Service shall allow VPN connectivity, and access to all standard Internet protocols.

Q - If the US Embassy provides their route 169.252.0.0/16 and 169.253.0.0/16 to the /29, it will be difficult for us to work with, can the provider supply this?

A - See Amendment One for details.