NOAA's Acquisition & Grants Office, Mountain Region Acquisition Division, intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with the University Corporation of Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) for participation fees for the Abilene network.

***The sole source determination is based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) requirement for WAN connectivity to both the commodity Internet and the Next Generation Internet (NGI, Internet2 or I2). Internet2 is a consortium of over 170 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of the future commodity Internet. Internet2 has built an advanced backbone network known as Abilene that connects regional network aggregation points, called GigaPOPs. Only research related traffic is permitted on the Abilene network. Abilene and Internet2 are projects of UCAID and therefore is the only source of this service.

***This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can provide services that fully meet the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.