RFI Number:  N68335-20-RFI-0076

Classification Code:  5820 Radio and Television Communication Equipment, Except Airborne

NAICS Code(s):  334220; Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless

Communications Equipment Manufacturing

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

PURSUANT TO FAR 15.201(e) - THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.  This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.  This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever.  Further, the government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.  Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense.  Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE/TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Webster Outlying Field (WOLF) Division is soliciting information and comments from industry on its ability to provide a non-developmental or Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Radio Frequency (RF) Repeater Site System.

The Navy requires a full turn-key solution for an Enterprise Land Mobile Radio (ELMR) RF Repeater Site System that will need to be interoperable with the following existing equipment: Motorola trunked VHF land mobile radios, a Motorola Zone Core infrastructure, microwave systems, and RF distribution equipment. The new RF Repeater Site System will include infrastructure items such as a communication equipment shelter, emergency generator, and a 100 ft tall communication tower. The RF Repeater Site System will also support Over-the-Air-Rekeying (OTAR) and Over-the-Air-Programming (OTAP). The RF Repeater Site System will support operations on an existing US Department of Defense (DoD) network, and thus the system must comply with DoD Cybersecurity policies for Authority to Operate. The RF Repeater Site System must be compliant with the Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials (APCO) Project 25 (P25) standards and must be interoperable with other U.S. Navy ELMR systems that use Motorola Astro 25 based equipment. The Government seeks a system that provides immediate and assured voice, data, and radio authentication.

In addition to the RF Repeater Site System, a turn-key indoor Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is required to transmit Public Safety radio signals inside existing facilities.

RESPONSES

Requested Information

Section 1 of the response shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

• Organization name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and name and e-mail of designated point of contact.

• Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUB Zone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business).
   
• Country of origin for main component(s)

Section 2 of the response shall provide technical information, and shall include the following as a minimum:

• Interested parties shall respond with existing capabilities or products that meet all or a subset of the aforementioned attributes.  Reponses that include information detailing potential tradeoffs or alternative solutions is encouraged.

• Respondents should provide a detailed description of the following characteristics of their solution in their submission:
   
  • RF Site System:
    • Signal Types supported (Digital, Analog, Phase II TDMA, mixed mode)
    • Configuration capabilities (via software over IP)
    • Software configuration & type (Windows)
    • Accessibility within the IP network
    • Loaded software capabilities
    • Roaming protocol between systems (inter-system, intra-system)
    • Group mapping capabilities
    • Connection Options
    • Real-time system transporting voice, call control, network management, and ancillary network services
    • Wide Area Network Routing
    • Identify Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG), Military Standards compliance, or Federal Agency Ratings and Test results
    • APCO Project 25 (P25) Compliance
    • Channel Spacing - Frequency in Kilohertz (kHz)
    • Frequency Bands (VHF, UHF)
    • Signal Type (Digital, Analog, Common Air Interface (CAI), TDMA, mixed mode)
    • GPS/GNSS Capabilities
    • Weight (lbs.)
    • Encryption capabilities
    • RF Output (Watts)
    • Capability to pass Over-the-Air-Rekeying (OTAR) to subscriber units through a serial interface
    • Capability to pass Over-the-Air-Programming (OTAP) to subscriber units through a serial interface
    • Describe recommended ancillary items, such as Power Supplies, RF combiners, RF multi-couplers, etc
  • Antenna System
    • Signal Capabilities
    • External Monitoring Capabilities
    • Power and Backup Power
    • Weight (lbs.)

• If applicable and able, respondents shall include a list of Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DoJ) or Department of Homeland Security (DoHS) programs of record that currently employ their solution.  It would be helpful if a sponsor POC for each program, with email address and phone number could be identified.
   
• The Government is interested in receiving vendors’ price lists for items they believe meet the need in this RFI.  Supplying price data does not imply a contractual obligation and must be provided and marked as PRICE DATA.
   
• Respondents should include a list of authorized distributors.
   

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In response to this RFI, respondents shall submit written responses, not-to-exceed ten (10) pages in length via electronic mail.  Product specification, sketches, or listings of authorized distributors will not count toward the page limitation.  The Government is interested in identification of long lead items(s), sub-systems(s), or systems(s). 

The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this request or to otherwise pay for the information solicited.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  All information received in response to the RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly.  The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Responses to this RFI will not be returned.  Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. 

Failure to respond to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future associated RFP that may be issued.  Information provided in no way binds the government to solicit or award a contract.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website: www.fbo.gov. It is the potential vendor’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information.

HOW TO RESPOND

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a PDF Document Format.  Responses shall be limited to 10 pages and submitted via e-mail only to [email protected].  Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and must be clearly marked.  Responses are due no later than 03 December 2019, 11:30 A.M. EST.

Responses to this RFI will not be returned.  Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website: www.fbo.gov.  It is the potential vendor’s responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information.