U.S. Army CECOM, CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703-5008

58 -- COMMERCIAL SATCOM TERMINAL PROGRAM SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SOL DAAB07-99-R-A758 DUE 082099 POC Suzanne Anderson, Contracting Officer, 732-532-5486 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the Contracting Officer, anderss2@mail1.monmouth.army.mil. SOURCES SOUGHT The Commercial SATCOM Terminal Program (CSTP) is part of PM MILSATCOM, Fort Monmouth, NJ. The purpose of the CSTP is to satisfy the commercial satellite communications terminal requirements for the Department of Defense and other Government Agencies. The acquisition strategy for the CSTP is evolving. Previously, the CSTP Office has awarded a single contract for one Ku band terminal and through a best-value source selection, awarded a single Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract for Ku band terminals. The government is now contemplating an umbrella award of IDIQ FFP contracts or agreements for one year with four one year options, in order to provide the entire family of terminals to our users through one centralized program -- the original intent of the CSTP. The majority of requirements would be competed on a delivery order basis. The evolution in strategy is to allow more flexibility in terminal types and configurations through a broad scope; provide continued technological advances to the users with competitive pricing, through a unique pricing approach (described further below); and to allow a quick response time for order placement. It is anticipated the contracts/agreements would contain a broad scope of work identifying satellite systems ranging from V-SATS, Flyaway Transit Case Terminals, to medium sized Fixed site C and Ku Band, as well as Military Flyaway Transit Case terminals operating in C, X, Ku and emerging Ka band terminals, as well as single, dual or tri-band configurations thereof. Through this approach, the CSTP Office hopes to enlarge its current customer base by providing one centralized point -- in essence, "one stop best value shopping" for all variations of commercial satellite terminals. However, before the government continues in any direction, industry's input is requested to ensure that the industry base and the technology can support the acquisition strategy determined to be the best course of action for the CSTP program. The below questions have been divided into four sections: (1) initial information; (2) market identification; (3) contract; and (4) general. Please provide answers to all questions in section 1 and as many as possible in sections 2, 3 and 4. Please feel free to provide us as much information as you would like. 1. Initial Information: a. Name: b. Title: c. Phone: d. Company Name: e. Address: f. E-mail: g. General Description of Types of Terminals Offered: h. Large or Small Business: i. Can we contact you to discuss your answers? j. Would you like the opportunity to discuss your responses in person with the program team? k. For information purposes only, as the government has no preference, do you consider yourself a manufacturer of commercial satellite earth terminal system components or an integrator of commercial components into a system level product, or both (if both provide % manufacturing vs. % integration)? 2. Market Identification: a. What would you consider the major market segments for thisprogram and how would you subdivide them? b. For each segment, what different classifications or categories of equipment and services would you like to see acquired under this contract vehicle? c. In general, what type of commercial warranty is offered with your products? d. Do you offer operation and maintenance support services for satellite terminal equipment? Do you have the ability to provide OCONUS installation and support? e. Would you bid for service contracts on commercial equipment that you had not provided? f. What concerns would you have maintaining equipment provided by other commercial suppliers? g. What are the essential technical and performance characteristics required to describe terminals to assure fair competition? h. Do you believe having the option to lease or purchase the equipment would generate more business under this program? Why? i. Are there proprietary technologies involved in your products that would preclude field personnel, other than your organization, from operating and maintaining earth stations that you normally provide commercially? j. Can you identify key areas of concern or issues regarding the interoperability of the terminal types you typically provide with other existing earth stations. k. Does your company provide leased terminals to customers? l. Would your company be willing to provide leased terminals to government customers? m. Identify the pros/cons of leasing from a producer's and consumer's perspective, as you understand them. n. What are typical lease periods for satellite earth terminals in the industry? 3. Contract questions: a. Would you be willing in the pre-contract phase to participate in a workshop that develops the categories of supplies, structure of the contract/agreement, and procedures for the competition of requirements? b. Are you interested in participating in a contract/agreement that has multiple awardees in which requirements are competed within the group of awardees on an as needed basis? c. What does your company see as the pros/cons for multiple award IDIQ contracts? Blanket Purchase Agreements? Basic Ordering Agreements? Any preference and why? d. How does your company currently handle recurring requirements in the commercial marketplace? Do you set up term and condition agreements or formal contracts? Do you price in range quantities or offer discounts on large orders? Please describe various scenarios for us. e. Based upon your knowledge of your current customers' requirements and considering the existence of other I.D.I.Q. type telecommunication contracts where satellite equipment can be acquired, do you think another contract issued by CECOM for PM MILSATCOM fills a niche or provides hardware or services not currently available on other vehicles? Provide rationale to your response. f. If awarded one of the contracts/agreements, would your ability to compete for business be enough incentive to bring requirements that your marketing has identified to this contract for open competition? g. What, if any incentive could be permitted, would motivate you to bring the results of your marketing efforts to this contract/agreement for competition? h. In lieu of a multiple award contract that permits competition for delivery orders, longer-term single source IDIQ contract is clearly an option. Identify your preference and provide supporting rationale. 4. General a. How can government and industry work more closely to market the capabilities offered under the proposed contract? b. Considering that only a small initial requirement is known and future business opportunities have not yet been identified are you interested in competing for this contract/agreement? Why or why not? c. Would you prefer prices be set at time of award for each type of terminal on the basic contract/agreement or would you prefer to bid a price for each requirement as it occurs, which would be placed on a resultant order? What are the pros and cons for each approach? d. What is your company's current means of communicating and marketing your prices -- catalogs, websites, individual quotes, advanced pricing agreements, etc? Please expand on your answer. e. What would be the pros/cons of establishing ceiling prices for specific terminal via CLINS by catalog pricing? f. What are the pros/cons of range pricing? Would you prefer to price the requirement as it comes to fruition and offer discounts on an individual requirement as you see fit? g. Suppose all possible terminals were combined into one large, very broad statement of work -- would you consider teaming with others in industry to be able to provide all possible terminals? h. If the possible terminals were subdivided into (for example purposes) three segments, would you consider competing for more than one segment? Would you team with others in industry? What are the pros and cons to teaming. i. Does your company currently participate in any similar programs? What are the pros and cons of the programs? What don't you have on your other contract vehicles that you would like to see incorporated here? Your response to these above questions as well as any information or comments you deem appropriate is requested by 20 August 1999 to Ms. Suzanne Anderson, Contracting Officer, CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, NJ. Your response to this announcement should be sent to Ms. Anderson via the CECOM Business Opportunities Page (BOP), under solicitation number DAAB07-99-R-A758. The URL for the BOP is: http://abop.monmouth.army.mil. Posted 08/05/99 (W-SN363794). (0217)

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