Max direct connection

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) intends to solicit and award a fixed-price type contract to the University of Maryland, a public agency and instrumentality of the State of Maryland, on behalf of its Mid- Atlantic Crossroads ("MAX"), to procure MAX Direct Connection to AWS services via Internet2. Internet2 is a member-driven advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutes. It is a consortium of entities committed to research and development. This service provides a communication path that is not reliant on the commodity internet. The MAX Internet2 connection provides NIH and its research-partners and the academic community with uninterrupted, fast communication of large data sets that would be affected by network delays and connection failures if the commodity internet were used instead. Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) is a GigaPoP (Gigabit Point of Presence) organization. MAX is a service of the State of Maryland through the Maryland State University system and is located at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. This proposed contract is specifically limited to providing NLM two 10G layer 2 Ethernet Transport Service connections. These services will be procured for a base period of 12 months with the option to continue services for two (2), consecutive twelve (12) month-option periods.

The proposed contract is for IT supplies and services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements." The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 517919 and the small business size standard is $32.5 Million. Questions or capability statement submitted in consideration of this announcement must be submitted in writing and directed to Elena Leon, Contract Specialist, at elena.leon2@nih.gov, referencing NLM-75N97019R00008 MAX Connection" in the subject line of e-mail, no later than 1:00 PM. (Eastern-Daylight Savings Time) on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.

This notice of intent is not a Request for Quotations (RFQ). No solicitation package is available. Interested parties may identify their interests and capability to provide these services. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government to not compete this proposed contract, based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responses, to be considered by the agency, must be submitted via NLM's Electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) system at https://ecps.nih.gov/nlm, no later than 1:00 p.m. (Eastern-Daylight Savings Time) on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

NOTE: For directions on using eCPS, go to https://ecps.nih.gov/nlm and click on "How to Submit." To submit your electronic proposal using eCPS, all offerors must have a valid NIH External Directory Account, which provides authentication and serves as a vehicle for secure transmission of documents and communication with the NLM. The NIH External Directory Account registration process may take up to 24 hours to become active. Submission of proposals by facsimile or e-mail is not accepted NLM will not be responsible for paying for any of the costs incurred and associated with the development of any responses submitted to this posting.

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REQULATION (FAR) CLAUSES:
The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference. Full text may be found at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items
FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items
FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items
FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes and Executive Orders

Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provided feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

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