Notice of Intent to Issue Class JOFOC for N-Wave Network

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Corporate Sourcing Acquisition Division (CSAD), intends to issue a Class Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) for continued ultra-high speed network connectivity services and Network Operations Center (NOC) services to support its N-Wave Program. This Class JOFOC shall remain in effect over a ten (10) year period, and will cover sole source contract awards to the five (5) contractors listed below. These awards include four (4) follow-on, single-award, Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with the ability to issue Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and Time-and-Material (T&M) task orders thereunder, and one (1) follow-on, stand-alone Cost-Reimbursement (CR) contract. The statutory authority permitting Other than Full and Open Competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The contemplated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this class action JOFOC is 517110, Wired Telecommunications Carriers. 

University of Maryland
3112 Lee Building, 7809 Regents Dr.
College Park, MD 20742

University of Corporation for Atmospheric Research
3090 Center Green Drive
Boulder, CO 80301

Trustees of Indiana University
980 Indiana Avenue,
Room 2232
Indianapolis, IN 46202

University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development
100 Phoenix Drive, Suite 111
Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Pacific Northwest GigaPop (PNWGP)
113 Cherry Street 
Suite 30685
Seattle, WA 98104

The purpose of these contracts is to acquire access to national and regional optical networks to provide ultra-high speed, Research and Education (R&E) network connectivity and associated services to support N-Wave, a nationwide science and supercomputing network. These connectivity services are designed and engineered to support applications such as the following: video conferencing, engineering, webcasting, data center facilities, collocation services and connectivity.  The NOAA Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has engineered, configured, and implemented N-Wave for interconnection of the OCIO, NOAA high performance research resources, and the NOAA scientific community as a whole. The intent of N-Wave is to provide a national network backbone for the interconnection of all NOAA research facilities.

The proposed acquisition approach entails issuing sole source contracts to individual Regional Optical Networks (RONs), the owner of the national network consortium, Internet2, and the NOC services provider for the consortium network, GlobalNOC. This approach provides NOAA with direct relationships with each of the network service providers and leverages existing infrastructures to provide the required services, particularly for the high-bandwidth backbone and regional aggregation points. Additionally, these contracts were awarded noncompetitively in 2010 and 2017 to provide advanced networking capabilities in support of NOAA’s Research and Development High Performance Computing Systems Program (RDHPCS). The contemplated follow-on awards to these contracts would allow for continued services through 2037.

It is the Government’s belief that the contractors listed are the only entities capable of meeting the subject requirement.  Any interested parties that believe they have the expertise and capability to meet this requirement may submit a capabilities statement no later than 15 calendar days from the date of the posting of this announcement.  Responses received must include sufficient information to allow the Government to evaluate the interested parties’ capability relative to the technical requirements stated herein. Please note THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. Such capabilities/qualifications will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. The Government is not obligated to reimburse any costs incurred towards responding to this notice.  A determination by the Government not to open this requirement for competition is solely within the Government’s discretion.  Responses are to be submitted to the Contracting Officer, Elizabeth Abraham, elizabeth.abraham@noaa.gov.