Local and Long Distance Telecommunication Services

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Contract Opportunity

Amendment#1 - There was an issue with opening the original PWS (pdf); a new pdf attachment has been added

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Amendment#2 - There was an issue with opening the original "Attachment 2 - Price Schedule" ; new excel file has been added

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This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; Offers are being requested and a written solicitation (paper copy) will not be issued. Further, Offerors are responsible for monitoring this site for the release of amendments (if any) or other information pertaining to this solicitation.

Solicitation FA671225Q0010 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ).

This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses for commercial items are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-05, Electronic Code of Federal Regulation (eCFR) https://gov.ecfr.io/cgi-bin/ECFRl, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Publication Notice (DPN) 20250825 and Department of the Air Force Federal Acquisition Circular (DAFAC) 20241016.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to be familiar with applicable provisions and clauses.

See https://gov.ecfr.io and https://www.acquisition.gov for the full text of all provisions and clauses incorporated by reference herein.

Class deviations can be found at https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dars/class_deviations.html

This procurement is being issued as a 100% Total Small Business Set Aside, under NAICS code 517111, Wired Telecommunications Carriers, and a small business size standard of 1,500 employees.

The Contractor shall provide all labor, tools, facilities, materials, and services needed to perform and provide local and long distance access to the designated circuit demarcation point(s) identified in the Attached PWS. These services shall include any equipment, wiring, or infrastructure to ensure the Contractor’s proposed solution is compatible with the Government’s current infrastructure without additional Government expense. Access to the local exchange shall also include operator assistance functions. These services shall not include residential or business services for non-Government entities or Government contractors. The Contractor shall follow all Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Public Utility Commission (PUC), Department of Defense (DoD), AF, and industry standards for this requirement. The Contractor shall provide and install transmission equipment and cables for local exchange access and transport service circuits to the Government-provided floor space at the Government demarcation location(s) identified in Appendix 1. The Contractor shall connect to Government-provided power connection points and termination frames. The Contractor shall coordinate with the Government Point of Contact (POC) (primary and alternate names, emails, and telephone numbers shall be provided by the Government no later than five days after contract award prior to any installation. The contractor shall ensure the legacy equipment is operational until the cut-over phase begins. The Government does not authorize aerial cable installations.

A firm fixed-price contract is contemplated with a period of performance (PoP) of one base year, four one-year options and a six-month extension. Anticipated start date: 30 September 2025

Any/all deliveries shall be made in accordance with FAR 52.247-34, FOB Destination. The place of delivery, acceptance and FOB Destination point is Pittsburgh ARS, Coraopolis, PA.

Offerors shall provide at least the same warranty terms, including offers of extended warranties, offered to the general public in customary commercial practice.

Site Visit Information.

There is no Site Visit for this acquisition.

The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. Written proposals are required (oral offers will not be accepted). Submission of proposals must be in accordance with FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items and any addenda to the provision. See Addendum to FAR 52.212-1.

The provision at FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: See Addendum to FAR 52.212-2.

The provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. Offerors are required to complete the electronic annual representations and certifications at the System for Award Management https://www.sam.gov, as well as the following:

52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment

52.207-6, Solicitation of Offers from Small Business Concerns and Small Business Teaming Arrangements or Joint Ventures (Multiple-Award Contracts)

52.209-7, Information Regarding Responsibility Matters

52.229-11 Tax on Certain Foreign Procurements-Notice and Representation

252.204-7017, Prohibition on the Acquisition of Covered Defense Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation

The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. The following additional FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition:

52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, Alternate I 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards 52.204-14, Service Contract Reporting Requirements

52.204-30, Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act Orders Prohibition

52.209-6, Protecting the Government Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment

52.209-9, Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters 52.216-23, Execution and Commencement of Work

52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Aside 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting

52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Re-representation 52.222-3, Convict Labor

52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity

52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Veterans

52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers With Disabilities 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Veterans

52.222-40, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons

52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification

52.223-11, Ozone-Depleting Substances and High Global Warming Potential Hydrofluorocarbons

52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving 52.223-20, Aerosols

52.224-3, Privacy Training

52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases

52.232-33, Payment By Electronic Funds Transfer-System For Award Management 52.239-1, Privacy or Security Safeguards

52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards

52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires

52.222-44, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards -- Price Adjustment 52.222-55, Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658

52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706

The following additional FAR and FAR Supplement provisions and clauses also apply:

52.203-3, Gratuities

52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting

52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance

52.204-19, Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications 52.204-21, Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems 52.204-22, Alternative Line-Item Proposal

52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items

52.228-5 Insurance-Work on a Government Installation

52.237-2 Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment, and Vegetation 52.247-34, FOB Destination

252.203-7000, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials

252.203-7001, Prohibition on Persons Convicted of Fraud or Other Defense-Contract-Related Felonies

252.203-7002 Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights. 252.203-7005, Representation Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials 252.204-7003 Control of Government Personnel Work Product

252.204-7008, Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting 252.204-7015, Notice of Authorized Disclosure of Information for Litigation Support 252.204-7018, Prohibition on the Acquisition of Covered Defense Telecommunications Equipment or Services

252.204-7019, Notice of NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Requirements 252.204-7020, Notice of NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Requirements

252.209-7004 Subcontracting with Firms that are Owned or Controlled by the Government of a Country that is a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

252.215-7013 Supplies and Services Provided by Nontraditional Defense Contractors. 252.223-7008, Prohibition of Hexavalent Chromium

252.225-7000, Buy American--Balance of Payments Program Certificate 252.225-7001, Buy American and Balance of Payments Program

252.225-7012, Preference for Certain Domestic Commodities 252.225-7048 Export-Controlled Items

252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports 252.232-7006, Wide Area Workflow Payment Instructions

252.232-7010, Levies on Contract Payments

252.237-7010, Prohibition on Interrogation of Detainees by Contractor Personnel 252.239-7010, Cloud Computing Services

252.243-7001 Pricing of Contract Modifications 252.243-7002, Requests for Equitable Adjustment 252.244-7000, Subcontracts for Commercial Items 252.246-7003, Notification of Potential Safety Issues 252.246-7008, Source of Electronic Parts

252.247-7023, Transportation of Supplies by Sea – Basic (10 U.S.C. 2631(a)) 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports 5352.201-9101, Ombudsman

The Ombudsman for this acquisition is Ombudsman: Mr. David Tuck, AFRC/CC, 555 Robins Parkway, Suite 250, Robins AFB, GA 31098-2005. COMM: 478-327-0558, Email: david.tuck.3@us.af.mil

5352.223-7000, Elimination of Use of Class I Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) 5352.223-9001, Health and Safety on Government Installations

5352.242-9000, Contractor Access to Air Force Installations.

Note that the clause at 252.232-7003 is included in this solicitation. DoD requires all payment requests (with a few exceptions) to be submitted and processed electronically. All vendors/contractors must familiarize themselves with this clause and DFAR 232.7003 for specific procedures. The DoD preferred electronic form for transmission is Wide Area Workflow accessed through the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) website (https://piee.eb.mil). Wide Area Workflow Training may be accessed online at https://piee.eb.mil.

All responsible organizations may submit a proposal, which shall be considered.

List of Attachments:

Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement (PWS) Attachment 2 - Price Schedule

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -Commercial Items

Offerors must follow the instructions contained herein to ensure timely and equitable evaluation proposals. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. The response shall consist of four parts: Administrative, Technical, Price, and Past Performance.

Submission of Offers: Electronic Submission of offers is required. Offers shall be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist: Crystal Spurlin, crystal.spurlin@us.af.mil and the Contracting Officer: Ryan Scott, ryan.scott.34@us.af.mil. Offers must be submitted NLT 3:00 pm, EDT, Monday, 15 September 2025. Offerors shall submit a clear and complete proposal, and include only information that is relevant to this notice. The subject line of all emails that comprise the proposal shall be formatted as follows: Subject: FA671225Q0010/LTS-Company Name X of X (insert number of the email and total number of emails).

The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the Contracting Officer's opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested. However, if at any time during this competition the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists; Offerors may be required to submit information to the extent necessary for the Contracting Officer to determine the reasonableness and affordability of the price.

The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal should not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements but, rather, shall provide convincing rationale to address how the Offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume that the Government has no prior knowledge of their facilities or experience and will base its evaluation on the information presented in the Offeror's proposal.

Offerors should formulate and consolidate any questions they may have concerning the requirement and submit them back to 911 CONF/PK via email to Crystal Spurlin at crystal.spurlin@us.af.mil and Ryan Scott at ryan.scott.34@us.af.mil. by 3:00 pm EDT on Monday, 8 September 2025. A consolidated response to all questions will be posted as an amendment to the solicitation on SAM for all interested parties. After 8 September 2025, the Government may review further questions, however, the Government cannot guarantee a response due to time constraints.

If an Offeror believes that the requirements in these instructions contain an error, omission, or are otherwise unsound, the Offeror shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer, Ryan Scott via email at ryan.scott.34@us.af.mil. with supporting rationale. The Offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussions with the Offerors. This reservation includes matters of additional or substitute pages of the initial proposal.

Exchanges of acquisition information between the Government and Offerors will be controlled by the Contracting Officer, Ryan Scott.

ADMINISTRATIVE

1. Contact Information: Provide address, phone number, fax number, proposal POC and email address for the proposing prime and each of the teaming members.


2. Validity Statement: The Offeror shall make a clear statement the proposal is valid for 45 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers.


3. Exceptions to Terms and Conditions:

a. Exceptions to terms and conditions of the solicitation are strongly discouraged. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation may result in an Offeror being removed from consideration for award.

b. Exceptions taken to terms and conditions of the solicitation, to any of its formal attachments, or to other parts of the solicitation shall be identified.

c. Each exception shall be specifically related to each paragraph and/or specific part of the solicitation to which the exception is taken.

d. Provide rationale in support of the exception and fully explain its impact, if any, on the performance, schedule, cost and specific requirement of the solicitation.

4. Offeror Representations and Certifications: Utilizing the provision 52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications- Commercial Products and Services, Offerors shall complete the necessary fill-ins, representations and certifications as set forth in the solicitation.

TECHNICAL

The Offeror shall include the following information to demonstrate a sound technical approach to meet the requirements:

Subfactor 1 - Management Approach: Offeror describes their approach to managing this requirement. Offeror provides information regarding their customer service, support, and billing procedures, to include principal points of contact at the corporate and site-specific levels.

Subfactor 2 - Technical Approach: Offeror illustrates its capability to meet all PWS requirements. Information regarding the Offeror’s capability and approach to addressing site- specific requirements described in the PWS and outlined and described in detail.

Subfactor 3 - Installation and Cutover Approach: Offeror presents a cutover plan that, at a minimum, contains the following site-specific information:

• Overview/Scope of plan, indicating proposed timeframe to complete cutover


• A detailed implementation Plan in working days to complete requirements listed in the PWS as site-specific (See PWS). The use of a Gantt or Milestone chart to illustrate your plan is recommended.


• Conditions/Support required prior to the start of cutover


• A listing of Offeror responsibilities


• A listing of proposed Government responsibilities


• Key Departments essential to the Offeror’s Installation and Cutover Plan available to participate in routine progress meetings with the Government on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.


• Physical and Logical Network Topology


• Link Diversity


• Emergency Outage Response


• Protocols Secured Internet Protocols (SIP) Technologies and Protocols

Subfactor 4 - Mission Essential Services Continuation Plan: Mission Essential Services are identified in the PWS consisting of Local & Long-Distance Telecommunications Services. In accordance with DFARS 237.7602 and DFARS PGI 207.105(b)(C)(3), Offerors shall submit a written Mission Essential Services Continuation Plan, for how it will provide the continuity of essential services.

PRICE

All information relating to the price must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the price volume.

1. General Instructions: Information is provided to assist you in submitting information other than certified cost or pricing data that is required to evaluate the reasonableness and balance of your proposed price. Compliance with these requirements is mandatory and failure to comply may result in rejection of your proposal. Unbalanced pricing poses an unacceptable risk to the Government and may be a reason to reject an Offeror's proposal. Offers should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate their reasonableness and balance. The burden of proof for credibility of proposed prices rests with the Offeror.


2. Exceptions: List any exceptions taken to the pricing requirements stated in this solicitation and state assumption(s) made by the Offeror. Provide complete rationale.


3. Properly executed (by an official authorized to bind the company) Price Schedule - (Attachment 2) with both UNIT and extended amounts, including acknowledgment of all amendments completed.


4. Insert proposed unit and extended price for a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN). All dollar amounts provided shall be rounded to the nearest dollar.


5. Offerors shall ensure their information is up to date in the System for Award Management (SAM) https://www.sam.gov


6. Data beyond that required by this instruction shall not be submitted, unless you consider it essential to document or support your price position. All data relating to the proposed price, including all required supporting documentation, must be included in the section of the proposal designated as the Price Volume. Under no circumstances shall this data and documentation be included elsewhere in the proposal.


7. If, after receipt of proposals, the Contracting Officer determines that there is insufficient data available to determine price reasonableness, the Offeror shall be required to submit additional cost or pricing data.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation -- Commercial Items Basis for Contract Award

1. This acquisition is conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The Government intends to award a firm fixed-price contract to the Offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the FAR Part 9.1, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the solicitation's requirements and is judged to represent the lowest priced technically acceptable (LPTA) proposal.


2. The Government intends to make one contract award without discussions. Proposals should be submitted initially on the most accurate and favorable terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. Offerors should not assume they will be contacted or afforded an opportunity to clarify, discuss and/or revise their proposals. The Government reserves the right to reject any or all offers if such action is in the Government's best interests.


3. If, during the evaluation process, it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government to hold discussions, Offeror responses and/or any revision(s) to an Offeror’s proposal will be considered in making the award decision. If the Offeror's proposal was evaluated as acceptable at the time discussions are closed, any changes or exceptions in the revised proposal are subject to evaluation and may introduce risk that the Offeror's proposal be determined unacceptable and ineligible for award.


4. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, such as terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as factors or subfactors. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation may result in the Offeror being ineligible for award. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and must provide complete supporting rationale. The Government reserves the right to determine any such exceptions unacceptable and the proposal therefore, ineligible for award.

EVALUATION PROCESS.

The Government will use the following procedures to evaluate offers:

Synopsis of Evaluation

1. Each responsive offer received will be ranked by price from lowest to highest.


2. The two (2) lowest priced offers will be evaluated for technical acceptability in accordance with Table 1 below. Should one (1) of the two (2) lowest priced offers be rated unacceptable, the Government will evaluate the next lowest priced offer for technical acceptability. Once the Government determines two (2) low offers acceptable, the Government will end its evaluation process with no other offers being evaluated.


3. Award will be made to the LPTA responsible Offeror.

Evaluation Factors and Subfactors

The following evaluation factor and subfactors will be used to evaluate each proposal. Any factor or subfactor determined to be unacceptable will render the entire proposal ineligible for award.

Factor 1: Technical

Subfactor 1: Management Approach

Subfactor 2: Technical Approach

Subfactor 3: Installation and Cutover Approach

Subfactor 4: Mission Essential Plan

Factor 2: Price

Factor 1 - Technical

The Government’s technical evaluation team shall evaluate the technical factor/subfactors on an acceptable or unacceptable basis, assigning one of the ratings described below. A technical factor/subfactor evaluated as “Unacceptable” will render the entire proposal unacceptable and, therefore, unawardable. Only those proposals determined to be technically acceptable, either initially or as a result of discussions, will be considered for award. However, the Offeror is reminded that the Government reserves the right to award this effort based on the initial proposal, as received, without discussion.

TABLE 1 - TECHNICAL RATINGS

Rating - Description

Acceptable - Quote meets the requirements of the solicitation

Unacceptable - Quote does not meet the requirements of the solicitation

Subfactor 1 - Management Approach: Offeror clearly describes their approach to managing this requirement. Offeror provides information regarding their customer service support, and billing procedures, to include principal points of contact at the corporate and site-specific levels.

Subfactor 2 - Technical Approach: Offeror clearly illustrates its capability to meet all PWS requirements. Information regarding the Offeror’s capability and approach to addressing site- specific requirements described in the PWS and outlined and described in detail.

Subfactor 3 - Installation and Cutover Approach: Offeror clearly presents a cutover plan that at a minimum, contains the following site-specific information:

• Overview/Scope of plan, indicating proposed timeframe to complete cutover


• A detailed implementation Plan in working days to complete requirements listed in the PWS as site-specific (See PWS). The use of a Gantt or Milestone chart to illustrate your plan is recommended.


• Conditions/Support required prior to the start of cutover


• A listing of Offeror responsibilities


• A listing of proposed Government responsibilities


• Key Departments essential to the Offeror’s Installation and Cutover Plan available to participate in routine progress meetings with the Government on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.


• Physical and Logical network topology


• Link Diversity


• Emergency Outage Response


• Protocols Secured Internet Protocols (SIP) technologies and protocols

Factor 2 - Price

1. Offeror’s price must adhere to all requirements of FAR 52.212-1 and Addendum to FAR 52.212-1. The Offeror’s Price proposal will be evaluated for award purposes, based upon the total evaluated price proposed. The Total Evaluated Price (TEP) shall be calculated by multiplying the unit price by the quantity to calculate the extended prices for all of the firm fixed priced CLINs, including Option CLINs, then totaling those amounts. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).


2. The Offeror's price will be evaluated for completeness and reasonableness. An Offeror whose price is determined to be unfair or unreasonable may not be considered for award.

FAIR AND REASONABLE: The existence of adequate price competition is expected to support a determination of fair and reasonable pricing. If adequate price competition is not obtained or if price reasonableness cannot be determined using price analysis of Government obtained information, additional information may be required to support the proposed price.

Offerors must use the Price Schedule (Attachment 2) to submit pricing for their firm fixed-price proposal.

Attachments/Links