Copper to Fiber Migration

The 31st Contracting Squadron at Aviano Air Force Base, operating under the Department of the Air Force, has issued a Special Notice regarding a sole source acquisition for telecommunications commercial fixed services. This notice of intent announces the Air Force's plan to award a contract without full and open competition to establish telecommunications infrastructure services for the 31st Fighter Wing and its geographically separated units. The procurement is being conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation authority 12.102, which permits restricting competition under specific circumstances. The Italian Communications Competition Authority has mandated the termination of copper-based telecommunications technology by May 2026, creating a critical operational deadline. This Special Notice is not a request for proposals but rather a notification of the Government's intent to proceed with a sole source award, with the final determination to compete or not remaining solely within the Government's discretion.

The primary objective of this acquisition is to transform and upgrade legacy copper-based telecommunications infrastructure—including ADSL lines, analog POTS lines, and three Primary ISDN PRI trunks—to modern fiber optic technology capable of supporting base-wide calling operations. The Air Force justifies the sole source approach based on market research demonstrating that the incumbent provider possesses unique technical qualifications and decades of specialized knowledge regarding Aviano Air Base's complex legacy systems, with no competing sources capable of executing the transition within the May 2026 deadline without service disruption. The contract is structured as a base award plus three option years and will encompass services including activation, deactivation, maintenance, relocation, and billing. Interested parties must contact Ms. Barbara Francescon or Mr. Gualtiero Casadio at the provided contact information, and the proposal submission deadline is April 7, 2026. The 31st Communications Squadron is simultaneously conducting ongoing research with telecommunications subject matter experts to develop detailed technical requirements for potential future full and open competition on subsequent acquisitions.