Intent to Award Notice - Internet2 Annual Renewal

The Department of the Interior's US Geological Survey Office of Acquisitions and Grants has published an Intent to Award Notice for contract DOIGFBO260001 regarding wide-area-network connectivity services for the EROS facility. Posted on January 20, 2026, this Special Notice announces the USGS's intention to award the contract to Internet2 for a one-year period of performance from February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2027. The USGS asserts it is aware of no other source capable of meeting the specialized requirements for this critical infrastructure contract. The notice is categorized under All Other Telecommunications (NAICS 517810) and IT and Telecom Network Support Services (PSC DG01). This announcement provides interested contractors with an opportunity to present alternative capabilities before the contract is finalized.

The purpose of this contract is to provide specialized WAN connectivity services supporting EROS's satellite data operations, including capture, processing, monitoring, reporting, and distribution of scientific data for the Landsat Ground Network, Landsat Archive, and Landsat Product Generation System. The required services must connect multiple locations including the EROS facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Internet2 regional sites in Chicago and Seattle; NOAA's N-Wave network and Gilmore Creek ground station in Alaska; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; and international partners such as the European Space Agency and Australian Space Agency. Vendors who believe they possess similar technical capabilities are invited to contact Contracting Officer Leah Williams at lwilliams@usgs.gov by 9:00 AM Eastern Time on Monday, January 26, 2026, with the subject line "Notice DOIGFBO260001." The USGS conducted comprehensive market research evaluating alternative providers and determined that Internet2 uniquely possesses the required infrastructure, regional routing capabilities, data management capacity, and cloud connectivity. Internet2 currently handles 70 percent of EROS data distribution traffic, totaling 12 Petabytes annually, and serves as the sole backup provider for critical data ingest and distribution operations.