Loren Data's SAM Daily™

SAMDAILY.US - ISSUE OF APRIL 16, 2020 SAM #6713
SOLICITATION NOTICE

58 -- 951700-R-20-00008, Shortwave Broadcast Transmission Service

Notice Date

4/14/2020 3:08:31 PM
 

Notice Type

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
 

NAICS

515112 — Radio Stations
 

Contracting Office

OFFICE OF CONTRACTS WASHINGTON DC 20237 USA
 

ZIP Code

20237
 

Solicitation Number

951700-R-20-00008
 

Response Due

5/5/2020 9:00:00 AM
 

Archive Date

05/06/2020
 

Point of Contact

Seneca Belinfontie, Phone: (202) 203-4944, David Wallace, Phone: (202) 382-7840
 

E-Mail Address

sbelinfo@usagm.gov, dwallace@usagm.gov
(sbelinfo@usagm.gov, dwallace@usagm.gov)
 

Description

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA (USAGM) SHORTWAVE BROADCAST TRANSMISSION SERVICES NAICS CODE ��515112, Radio Stations SOLICITATION NUMBER � 951700-R-20-00008 �Posted �April 14, 2020 and Closes April 30, 2020. Interested Offerors are reminded to submit via email two separate attachments � a Technical Proposal and a separate Price Proposal.� Offerors must send one email with both attachments. �ALL ATTACHMENTS MUST BE CLEARLY LABELED AND SENT IN �PDF FORMAT� AND� INCLUDE THE SOLICITATION NUMBER IN THE SUBJECT LINE.� PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TOTAL SIZE OF ALL ATTACHEMNTS MUST NOT EXCEED 23MB.� �See paragraph (xv), below.� NOTICE TYPE:� Combined Synopsis/Solicitation (i) 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; PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. �(ii) Solicitation No. 951700-R-20-00008 is issued as a Request for Proposals (RFP). (iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2020-05 effective March 30, 2020. (iv) This is a full and open competition and the North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code for this acquisition is (Radio Stations ) 515112 with a small business size standard of $41.5 million. �(v) Interested Offeror(s) will be required to provide the following Contract Line Item (CLIN): The Contractor shall lease to the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) shortwave broadcast transmission capacity, receive USAGM programming feed provided by satellite or terrestrial circuits, and transmit the programing by shortwave for the benefit of USAGM and its grantees in accordance with agreed upon schedules for the Area or Areas or regions within an Area or Areas awarded and receive payment for hours delivered based on a fully loaded flat hourly capacity lease rate (the transmitter rate per hour). The successful Offeror or Offerors are required to provide all equipment and facilities required to perform the contract, including all equipment and facilities to accept the USAGM�s programming feed and to transmit it by shortwave to the Area or Areas identified with the requisite coverage.� Each Offeror�s proposal must state that it will provide and maintain all equipment, (including, but not limited to, any real property/leasehold facilities) required to provide the shortwave transmitting services.� The Government will not furnish property, i.e., there will be no Government Furnished Property (GFP). The successful Offeror or Offerors will be required to also comply with the terms and conditions included in the �Lease Agreement,� with Annex I, Annex II, Transmission Schedule and Price Sheet, the FAR Clauses 52.212-4 to 52.212-5 and additional incorporated clauses as set forth therein and below to this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation or incorporated by reference. (vi) USAGM�s Office of Contracts has a need for one or more contractor(s) to lease high quality transmission capacity for shortwave broadcasting to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe (hereinafter �Areas�) as required by the USAGM and its grantees in accordance with agreed upon broadcasting schedules�.� �The successful Offeror(s) must be able to cover all, or part of one or more of the three aforementioned Areas during both the USAGM summer and winter broadcast seasons. It is a technical requirement that the USAGM obtains full coverage for these Areas in making one or more awards under this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation. �For the USAGM to meet its needs, USAGM will select the combination of Offerors or the sole Offeror that provide or provides coverage of all three Areas and all regions within the Areas in the manner most advantageous to the Government based on the factors contained in this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation. (vii) The Base Period of performance for this acquisition will be for seven (7) months May 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.� The requirement includes a base period and four (4) one-year Option Periods. The subsequent Options, if exercised by the Government, will follow sequentially for a total contract duration not to exceed fifty-five (55) months. (viii) The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (MARCH 2020) applies to this solicitation. �FAR provisions and clauses may be obtained from the Internet Web address at: http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html.� Interested Offeror(s) who have transmission capacity for shortwave transmitting to the identified three Areas and the capability to provide these high quality shortwave transmission services from USAGM programming feed provided by satellite or terrestrial circuits should submit a proposal identifying capabilities as instructed at paragraph (ix) below. Each Offeror is required to submit: (a) a single Technical Proposal informing the Government how it has the available shortwave transmitting capacity to meet the portion of USAGM�s needs its proposal covers in� all of the Areas, some of the Areas, or regions within the Areas identifying transmitting stations by location, equipment, coverage and any criteria only applicable to a specific Area and/or Areas, and (b) a Price Proposal setting forth a fully loaded flat hourly capacity lease rate (the transmitter rate per hour) for each transmitter required to satisfy the portion of USAGM�s needs the Offeror�s proposal covers in all the Areas, some of the Areas or regions within the Areas for which award is sought based on the total estimated hours as further described below.� (ix)The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items (OCT 2014), applies to this solicitation for the evaluation of Offerors� Technical and Price proposals as set forth below. Technical Approach: Each Offeror is required to submit a Technical Proposal for the portion of USAGM�s needs its proposal covers and must specify whether the proposal covers all the Areas, some of the Areas, or regions within an Area or Areas.� Each Offeror shall structure its Technical Proposal to convey to the Government how the Offeror�s capacity, management personnel, transmitting equipment/facilities, and experience (including past performance) satisfy the technical requirements in a straightforward and concise manner. In its Technical Proposal, each Offeror shall demonstrate its ability and experience in providing the shortwave broadcast transmission services in one or more (up to and including all) of the three aforementioned Areas or in regions within one or more of the three Areas.� Each Offeror must include in its Technical Proposal a narrative about how it will provide the broadcast services it is offering including the capability to provide these high quality shortwave transmission services from USAGM programming feed provided by satellite or terrestrial circuits.� Each Offeror�s Technical Proposal shall comply with all requirements to provide the required transmission capacity in the Areas, some of the Areas, or regions within the Areas the offer covers on an hourly basis in accordance with the estimated schedule.� Each Offeror�s Technical Proposal shall also include a statement that it agrees to comply with all requirements including the terms, conditions, and clauses included and incorporated in the attached �Lease Agreement� and Annexes I and II. FAR 52.212-2(a) is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following Basis for Award and Evaluation Factors: Basis for Award: The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards (firm-fixed-price contract) from this solicitation to the Offerors that best meet USAGM�s operational requirements in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe as those Areas are identified in the Transmission Schedule and Price Sheet based on evaluation of the capability of each Offeror and/or evaluation of the collective capabilities of multiple Offerors in the identified Areas including past performance and price. Technical qualifications should demonstrate a history and capability of providing �coverage� to the target Areas the Offeror is proposing to cover to the maximum extent possible as set forth below: USAGM�s goal for shortwave �coverage� is to provide the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) required for standard broadcast quality levels for 90% of the listeners and for 90% short term fade protection.� USAGM has determined that this requires a minimum SNR of 73 dB referenced to a noise power of -145 dBw in a 1 Hz bandwidth at 3 MHz, as calculated by the Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program (VOACAP).� If there is any question as to what regions or what portions of a region in an Area are provided coverage by a proposed facility or whether one Offeror offers better coverage than another, the performance of the proposed facility(ies) will be evaluated against this goal for coverage using the proposed transmitter and antenna of the Offeror or Offerors in question and the expected solar indices. The Technical Proposal must address the evaluation criteria described in this paragraph (ix) above and the Evaluation Factors 1) through 4) below.� The Offeror(s) must state in their Technical Proposal any restrictions that will limit USAGM�s ability to have its programing broadcast in the Area and/or Areas mentioned above for the Area or Areas for which an Offeror or Offerors seek award or awards.� �Restrictions� include, but are not limited to, language, coverage and power limitations, terms or conditions of pre-existing transmitting agreement(s), and laws of the country where the transmitters are located. The Price Proposal must be in accordance with paragraph (ix), Evaluation Factor 5).� Evaluation Factors: As previously discussed, the Government will provide no Government Furnished Property (GFP), facilities or equipment. All the Government will provide is the programming to be transmitted and payment for performance.� The Government is leasing the shortwave transmitting capacity and the services, facilities and equipment necessary to receive the programming feed provided by satellite or terrestrial circuits and transmit the programing by shortwave to the Area or Areas for which the Offeror seeks award.� These services will be provided on a fully loaded flat hourly capacity lease rate (the transmitter rate per hour) which will be based on the Government�s estimated total required annual transmitting hours for the three Areas.� It is therefore important that each Offeror�s Technical and Price Proposals provide the required information for evaluation of proposals. A description of the Evaluation Factors follows: 1) Technical Approach �Each Offeror shall provide a detailed narrative of the service requirement, i.e., explain how well the Offeror�s broadcast transmission will cover for the Area, Areas, or regions of an Area or Areas its offer covers (in Africa, Asia, and/or Eastern Europe), at the broadcasting times in the �Transmission Schedule and Price Sheet�, strength of signal, and the performance measures that the contractor will take to meet all contract requirements. The Offeror shall also provide detailed information on any signal-processing of the USAGM-provided programming after its downlink. In other words, the Offeror shall provide information on the equipment they use in the signal path between the reception point of the programming and the short wave transmitter input. �Each Offeror must also provide day-to-day operational contact information as well as escalation contact information in the event an extensive problem requires higher level managerial attention. �Each Offeror shall provide a description of its organization and its demonstrated capabilities in performing the portion of the service requirements and schedule its offer covers. Each Offeror must state in its Technical Proposal any restrictions that will limit USAGM�s broadcasting;� 2) Management Approach � Each Offeror shall provide a description of the management approach that it will use to meet the portion of the agency�s requirements its offer covers, including description of the responsibilities of key and backup personnel and a copy of their resumes; 3) Contractor Qualifications �Each Offeror shall provide its understanding of USAGM�s requirements and demonstrate its ability to meet the portion of USAGM�s requirements its offer covers.� The Offeror must also include the following information in its Technical Proposal:�� (i) number and location of transmission stations; (ii) number of available transmitters per station (including available transmission power levels); and (iii) number of antennas per station (including antenna types, azimuth bore sites, and steerable increments). �Each Offeror must provide detailed descriptions of how it will employ its facilities to reach shortwave audiences in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe or the Area or combination of Areas for which award is sought; 4) Past Performance � Each Offeror is required to provide three (3) Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ) � see attachment from previous customers for same or similar services to the requirements set forth herein within the last five (5) years of the date of this Solicitation. Offerors shall also provide the names of three (3) customers/clients and the following information: (i) client's name, address, and name, email and telephone number of the contact person; (ii) dollar amount of the contract; (iii) term of the contract; and (iv) brief description of the work performed. �Each Offeror shall use the form uploaded to the beta.sam.gov with this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation titled �Past Performance Questionnaire/References� to provide the information. The USAGM shall evaluate an Offeror�s Past Performance information based on the information (PPQ) provided and any other information readily available to the Government.� If an Offeror is unable to provide all or part of the Past Performance information requested, such inability should be explained in their proposal.� Pursuant to the FAR in the case of an Offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on Past Performance is not available, the Offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on Past Performance. 5) Price � The attached Transmission Schedules reflect the transmission hours USAGM anticipates experiencing for its requirements for the three Areas broken down by transmission times and CIRAF[1] Zones.� For purposes of evaluation, USAGM has extrapolated the current anticipated schedule out for the total hours that would be incurred to meet USAGM�s transmission requirement for one year for use as USAGM�s best estimate for price evaluation purposes.� As stated earlier, USAGM will select the combination of Offerors or the sole Offeror that provide or provides coverage of all three Areas and all regions within the areas in the manner most advantageous to the Government.� Note: This will be a firm-fixed-price type contract. First, during the period of performance of the contract USAGM�s operational broadcasting needs and the transmitting hours per day that USAGM will order and the Contractor must provide may vary throughout the contract�s period of performance.� USAGM anticipates, at a minimum, issuing new transmission schedules every six months.� Second, during the period of performance of the contract (Fixed-rate type), regardless of the transmission schedule that USAGM issues, USAGM will only pay the Contractor for the actual hours that USAGM orders and the Contractor delivers. �USAGM will pay by month and the amount it will pay will be the product of the actual hours it ordered that the Contractor delivered times the hourly rate (price per transmitter hour/fully loaded flat hourly capacity lease rate/transmitter rate per hour) applicable to those hours.� � Third, in its Price Proposal each Offeror must submit the information requested in the instructions preceding the attached �Transmission Schedules,� �Price Summary and Totals Chart,� and �Price Sheet.�� The instructions are very detailed.� A summary of them follows. There are a total of (5) five Transmission Schedules, (3) three for summer (one each for Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe) and (2) two for winter (one each for Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe).� On each the Offeror must fill in Engineering, Inc., Carrolton, Texas, and STS Solutions and Training, LLC, San Diego, have been awarded one of six multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinitequantity contracts with a $67,000,000 program ceiling for architectural and engineering (A&E) services to include Title I and Title II services. This contract provides for a full range of A&E services for construction and engineering activities for the design of new facilities and infrastructure, repair, renovation, and/or restoration of existing facilities. Work will be performed on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2025. These awards are the result of a competitive acquisition, and seven offers were received. Fiscal year 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The 502nd Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA301620D0013, FA301620D0014, FA301620D0015, FA301620D0016, FA301620D0017, and FA301620D0018).
 

Web Link

SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/9641938d6a1e4703a1622b03dd9b0f75/view)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Washington, DC 20237, USA

Zip Code: 20237

Country: USA
 

Record

SN05620860-F 20200416/200414230156 (samdaily.us)
 

Source

SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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