Internet2 Membership and Network Access

The United States Department of Agriculture, Marketing and Regulatory program and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services has published a Special Notice announcing their intent to negotiate a sole source procurement with the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development for Internet2 membership and network access. This is a notice of intent rather than a formal solicitation, meaning no quotations will be requested and no solicitation document will be issued. The procurement is being conducted under FAR Subpart 13.106(b)(1) authority and is set aside for small businesses under NAICS code 517311 (Wired Telecommunications Carriers). The contract will provide specialized high-speed networking services for the period from August 29, 2025 through August 28, 2026, with additional option years available. The acquisition supports USDA SCINet and APHIS workflows that require reliable, high-capacity data movement across distributed computing environments.

The primary purpose of this procurement is to secure Internet2's unique networking capabilities that provide dedicated 100Gbps circuits and specialized services engineered specifically for large-scale academic and government research applications. The sole source determination is justified because Internet2 is a nonprofit consortium uniquely positioned to serve the research and education community with proprietary infrastructure that standard commercial telecommunications providers cannot match. Contractors seeking information about this notice must submit written inquiries via email to the designated contracting officer, Bryana Jordan, at bryana.jordan@usda.gov. The notice emphasizes that Internet2's network architecture, cloud provider peering arrangements, and research-specific overlays are essential for USDA's high-performance computing and storage workflows. The justification document indicates this will be a firm-fixed price contract consisting of one base year and four one-year option periods, supporting USDA's Scientific Computing Initiative Network and APHIS operations that require specialized data transfer capabilities not available through conventional telecommunications services.