Notice of Intent to Sole Source

This notice constitutes public notice of the National Weather Service Central Region, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) intent to award a sole source in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 5.101. This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract, and is not a request for competitive quotes/proposals. The statutory authority for this sole source procurement is prescribed by FAR 13.501(a).

NOAA intends to award a sole source, Firm-Fixed-Price type contract for five (5) years to the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) in order to provide routine (preventative) and non-routine (corrective) maintenance services of NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter Systems for thirteen (13) sites within the state of Wisconsin. These services include, but are not limited to: on-site routine maintenance, routine remote monitoring, site outage and restoration as well as miscellaneous services as required. This requirement will be negotiated as other than full and open competition basis in accordance with 10 USC 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.106(b)(2).

Background

NWR transmitters are located on Wisconsin Educational Communications Bureau (WECB) towers and private owner towers. WECB towers are strategically located geographically to allow the NWS to maximize its network of NWR broadcast coverage throughout a large portion of the state of Wisconsin. Towers are located mostly in remote areas and provide an advantage for both above mean sea level and telecommunication line of sight perspectives. It is estimated that over 98 percent of residents are within the service area of an NWR transmitter.

Scope

Under this contract, NOAA expects maintenance services on NOAA All Hazards Radio sites, inclusive of continued preventative and unscheduled maintenance services, tower and floor space, and commercial and emergency power for the NWR network that serves the state of Wisconsin in order to ensure the uninterrupted quality of NWR broadcasts and the issuance of warnings to the listening public within the FCC Radio Frequency Authorization (RFA) specifications. The NWS is mandated by the National Response Plan to provide uninterrupted EAS broadcast transmissions 24/7/365.

The NWR systems to be maintained at each site consist of a transmitter system, including antenna and transmission line, located at a remote tower site; and a communication link (telephone line, microwave link, UHF link, or a combination of these) between two locations. These systems communicate with an audio controller/converter console located in a NWS office. The transmitter equipment associated with the WECB transmitter sites were manufactured either by Crown Electronics Corporation, Continental Electronics Corporation, Motorola Corporation, or Armstrong Transmitter Corporation.

All responsible sources may submit a capability statement demonstrating the ability to provide the requested services, which shall be considered by the agency before the intended award date. Interested sources who submit data are responsible for appropriately marking information if it is proprietary in nature. The Government shall not reimburse interested sources for any information provided. No requests for capability briefings will be honored. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

This notice is published for informational purposes only. The proposed source, ECB, is a state agency with the ability to house transmitters owned by the National Weather Service (NWS) on Wisconsin State owned facilities and owns the communication network that handles all of the NWR transmissions in the state of Wisconsin. ECB has been determined to be the only source capable of meeting the Government’s requirements. The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 811210- Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance and has a Small Business Size Standard of $34 Million. The Government does not intend to pay for any information received in response to this announcement.

All responses to this Intent to Sole Source shall be sent to the attention of Nicole Collins, (nicole.Collins@noaa.gov) and Richard Barzaghi (richard.Barzaghi@noaa.gov) no later than July 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM (PST).