Noice of intent - maintenance agreement for DAS

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS.
This notice is published in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.101(a)(1) requiring the dissemination of information regarding proposed contract actions. This is a Notice of Intent to award a sole source, firm-fixed price purchase order under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) and 13.501(a) - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Service Will Satisfy Agency Requirements and is not a request for competitive proposals.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) intend to negotiate on a sole source basis with Oneida Communications Inc., 5400 Dower House RD Upper Marlboro, Maryland on an other than full and open competition basis to obtain NIH-IRF DAS Monitoring and Maintenance Agreement.
Justification:
The IRF-Frederick has the capability to conduct BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 research. It is one of the few facilities in the world able to perform medical imaging to evaluate animals in BSL-4 containment. In addition to animal models of disease, the IRF-Frederick uses innovative approaches—including high-throughput drug screening, targeted genomic sequencing, custom immunological and serological analyses, and organ-chip model development—to examine pathogenesis of viral pathogens.
The Distributed Antenna System (DAS) at the Integrated Research Facility (IRF) at Fort Detrick in Frederick Maryland enhances emergency communications for staff and NIH Police by supporting both commercial cellular networks and public safety communications. The system was upgraded in 2024 to minimize coverage gaps and modernize equipment.
NIAID needs to have this maintenance service contract to insure the system operates continuously including 24 hours a day seven days a week when research experiments are running.
Maintenance service for DAS will provide technical services that will regularly access evaluation reports and restore DAS in the event of a system failure. Maintenance activities include Maintaining on-site spare parts, providing support services and providing timely response. The contractor is responsible for conducting business between the hours of 7:30AM – 4:00PM Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed) AND when experiments are occurring.
Without timely system maintenance day-to-day workflow may be hindered and operations curtailed.
Only one award will be made as a result of this notice. This will be awarded as a firm-fixed price purchase order.
The period of performance for this requirement will be a Base year for 12 months. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541519 Information Technology Value Added Resellers, Size Standard 150 Employees
Specifically, NIAID has a need for the following:
This will be the only notice of the Government's intent to solicit, negotiate, and award to one source to satisfy this requirement. The Government plans to award a contract for this requirement within 7 days of this notice.
The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 (b)(1)(i) only one source available, no substitutions possible. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS. All responsible sources who can provide the NIH-IRF DAS Monitoring and Maintenance Agreement should submit a capability statement via email to Linda Smith at Linda.Smith2@nih.gov or Jessica.emerson@nih.gov by 5:00 pm EST on May 14, 2026. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any responses received by NIAID after this date and exact time specified are late and will not be considered.
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for any 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 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 provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.
For additional information or to submit responses, please contact Linda Smith, Contracting Officer at Linda.smith2@nih.gov.