Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source Contract to Comtech EF Data Corporation

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWARSYSCOM), in support of the Program

Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and

Intelligence (PEO C4I),

Communications and GPS Navigation Program Office (PMW/A 170), intends to award

a sole source

contract under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) implemented by FAR

6.302-1, Only One

Responsible Source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency

requirements, to Comtech

EF Data Corporation (Comtech), 2114 W 7th St., Tempe, Arizona, 85281. Request

for Proposal

(RFP), N00039-17-R-0041, using other than full and open competition will be

issued in anticipation

of contract award. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

code is 334220.



The anticipated contract will be a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), five (5) year,

single award, Indefinite-

Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract under FAR Part 12 Acquisition

of Commercial Items

for procurement of Comtech SLM-5650B modems, SLM-5650B Modem Upgrade Kits

(MUKs) (to

upgrade existing Comtech SLM-5650A modems to a Comtech SLM-5650B modem

configuration),

firmware options and technical support services.



Currently, over eight-hundred (800) Comtech SLM-5650A satellite modems are

utilized by multiple

Navy programs. The commercially available modems support communications over

both

commercial and military satellites, and are critical for interoperability

across Navy platforms and

shore sites. As bandwidth requirements in the Fleet increase, and satellite

technologies evolve to

provide enhanced capability, it is essential to upgrade the existing SLM-5650A

modems in order to

meet Navy requirements. The Navy's requirements include use of enhanced

technologies while

maintaining seamless connectivity throughout the Fleet. In order to meet the

Navy's

requirements, the Government intends to procure new SLM-5650B modems, and

upgrade existing

SLM-5650A modems to SLM-5650B modems. The SLM-5650B modem offers a significant

increase

in operational performance by providing processing capacity that is a factor of

five (5) times greater

than the current SLM-5650A and increased processing capacity reducing latency

by approximately

30%, which equates to higher data throughput.



This contract will provide for the procurement of an estimated seven-hundred

and fifty-four (754)

SLM-5650B modems and the upgrade of an estimated three-hundred and three (303)

SLM-5650A

to SLM-5650B modems, as well as an addition of 10% of the contract value to

account for unknown

Other Customer Funds (OCF) procurements. Firmware upgrades will be procured,

to include:

Vipersat, Carrier in Carrier (CnC), Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM),

Enhanced Offset-

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (EO-QPSK), Dynamic Adaptive Wideband System with

local

Interference Suppression (DAWSIS), Multi-Channel Receiver (MCR), Point to Point

Protocol over

Ethernet (PPPoE), and Low Data Rate (LDR). Comtech technical support services,

called

Engineering Support Services (ESS) Prime, will also be procured to ensure

successful integration

and future software updates.



Comtech is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the

Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS)

SLM-5650A and SLM-5650B modems. The Government does not have data rights (for

hardware

and firmware (source code)) sufficient to enable alternate vendor(s) to provide

a modem(s) that

meets the Government's performance requirements while simultaneously being

backwards

compatible to existing SLM-5650A modems in the timeframe that the Navy

requires.



Without the source code or hardware module design specifications, no other

vendor's modem is

compatible with the currently fielded SLM-5650A modem. As upgraded modems are

fielded, it is

required that they interoperate with the existing SLM-5650A modems to ensure

seamless

connectivity throughout the Fleet. Backwards compatibility will ensure there

is no loss or

degradation of communication capabilities, making backwards

compatibility/connectivity a key

requirement.



This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A

solicitation will not be posted.

Interested parties may express their interest and capability to satisfy the

Government's

requirement. A determination by the Government to not compete the anticipated

contract based

on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.



Capability Statements in response to this announcement should be addressed to

Christopher J.

Murr at Christopher.murr@navy.mil no later than 1000hrs PST on 06 July 2017.