STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES LEO ISP-DraftV5 9.17.21.pdf

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest

Service

Procurement and Property

Services, IT Contracting Branch

4000 Masthead St, NE

Albuquerque, NM 87109

Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVE

This Statement of Objectives addresses a time-limited evaluation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services for a limited number of Forest Service locations. The evaluation will include analysis of use aspects of the service such as throughput, delay, installation, support, and procurement.

The locations selected for this evaluation are known by the Forest Service to have inadequate service or are unavailable for service from the Department’s wide area network contract provider.

This effort is intended to evaluate new technology for potential use to meet an Agency requirement.

It is not intended to commit the Agency to any specific solution or contractor for services beyond the scope of this SOO. The Agency, and Department will use the output of this effort to evaluate value and applicability.

OUTPUTS

The Statement of Objectives will be considered successful when the following outputs have been delivered:

• System performance metrics have been collected to a degree to determine the long-term ability to meet agency requirements for internet access, network-based applications, and radio control over IP.

• Installation and maintenance requirements are understood.

• Architecture and engineering configurations are known for reliable and secure connections to the Agency’s network.

• Service levels (throughput) are provided on a tiered scale to accommodate various user counts

• Equipment installation is shown to be of acceptable ease

• Coverage locations for service are known for the current service footprint as well as any planned expansion.

BACKGROUND

The need for internet access exists at most staffed Forest Service offices and many unstaffed locations such as communications sites. The Agency generally fulfills this need through

Departmental contracts for wide-area network services. Some locations present unusual challenges for the contract provider because of inadequate cable infrastructure, lack of commercial utilities, remoteness, or other factors. At these locations, the contract services are not available, or the services are degraded in quality.

New technology in the form of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite offers a potential solution for internet connectivity. This Statement of Objectives addresses a limited time, limited scope evaluation of these new services. The purpose is to understand the potential capability and complexities of installing, using, and supporting LEO technology for internet services.

The objective is not to bypass existing contracts but rather to evaluate technology only recently made available. It is imperative that this evaluation address all aspects of this new service to properly understand its value as a potential solution for unique facilities

SCOPE

Five unique test locations have been identified for testing LEO satellite internet. These five sites represent locations where contract internet has been unable to provide service or service has been of unacceptable quality. After the initial test period, the intent is to evaluate the performance of the awarded solution, and if successful performance is attained, the contractor will receive award term incentive periods at these locations. If successful performance is attained, the government will further implement up to five (5) additional testing sites for a six (6) month period. If performance at these additional locations is satisfactory, the contractor will receive award term incentive periods at the additional locations.

The scope of this effort is limited to the following activities defined under the following functional areas: (Note: AGENCY can add or remove as necessary as long as it is consistent with meeting the above outcomes).

Functional Area 1: System Performance

Objective: The contractor will provide LEO satellite IP network services for the locations proposed

(below) by the Forest Service. Connectivity will be used and evaluated against the Agency’s network-based applications. In addition, the contractor will provide satellite network services to support RCoIP control of land mobile radio base stations.

Tasks:

• Provide all necessary ground station hardware to provide network services from the low earth orbit satellite system.

• Provide optional WiFi access point.

• Provide customer support availability – nominally 8-5 normal business days.

• Provide Ethernet connectivity for IP connectivity

• Provide satellite network performance that meets or exceeds the following specifications:

o User Number Support: 5, 10, or 20 simultaneous o Latency: ≤ 50 mS o Downlink: Minimum 50 Mbps o Uplink: Minimum 10 Mbps o No data caps o No Blocked traffic types

Functional Area 2: Service Levels

Objective: The contractor will provide a tiered service level and billing structure that accommodates various service needs.

• Provide a tiered billing rate and associated service level to support o Up to 5 users.

o Up to 10 users.

o Up to 20 users.

• Allow for service payments to be made base on industry-standard practices.

Functional Area 3: Equipment Installation

Objective: The contractor will provide ground station equipment and installation instructions that allow a USFS technician to successfully competes using hand tools.

• Terminal equipment will include all necessary cabling and cable terminations for connectivity.

• Power shall be 120VAC, 60 Hz, or Power over Ethernet.

• Packaging will not exceed 60” in height, width, or depth, nor exceed 50 pounds for any single package.

• Assembly and installation shall not require heavy construction equipment such as cranes, backhoes, or tractors.

• Mounting shall not require connectivity to engineered pads, piers, towers, or other structures.

• Assembly and installation shall be designed for and achievable by the customer.

• Provide easy-to-understand installation instructions. Customer support shall be available through a web portal or toll-free telephone.

• Ground station equipment must utilize a reasonably sized antenna:

o Diameter: ≤ 36” o Weight < 40 lbs.

• Ground station antenna to network hardware interconnection must utilize standard commonly available cables and connectors, e.g., CAT6/RJ-45, LDF4-50/N-Connectors.

• Installation must not require the use of heavy construction equipment, such as backhoes, excavators, cranes, and bulldozers.

Functional Area 4: Coverage Locations

Objective: Provided satellite service will have coverage to the immediate use case locations. The contractor will provide details of future system growth, which might provide coverage in future locations.

• Confirm that there is immediate satellite constellation coverage for the following locations, or estimate potential service date (See supplemental USFS evaluation proposal document if needed):

o Lolo Pass Visitor Center (Latitude: 46 38 05 N, Longitude: 114 34 40 W) o Hebgen Ranger district (Latitude: 44 40 01 N, Longitude: 111 05 58 W) o Colville Mountain Radio Site (Latitude: 48 34 28 N, Longitude: 117 53 51 W) o Cooke City Work Center (Latitude: 45 01 35 N, Longitude: 109 53 48 W) o Hat Creek Work Center (Latitude: 40 48 04 N, Longitude: 121 31 13 W) o Hat Creek Ranger District (Latitude: 41 00 16 N, Longitude: 121 26 34 W) o Mineral Work Center (Latitude: 41 21 19 N, Longitude: 121 34 38 W) o Butte Meadows Work Center (Latitude: 40 04 46 N, Longitude: 121 33 25 W) o Big Creek Work Center (Latitude: 45 07 46 N, Longitude: 103 36 05 W)

• Provide information related to future system growth and coverage expansion with associated timelines.