Active

Contract Opportunity

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE:

This Request for Information (RFI) is for market research, planning, and informational purposes only and does not represent a pre-solicitation synopsis or a solicitation. It also does not constitute a Request for Proposal. This RFI is being issued as a pre-solicitation notice in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e). The General Services Administration (GSA) is issuing this RFI to seek potential sources to gather information from industry on the Telecommunications/Information Technology (IT) market and for future planning purposes. GSA has generated a list of questions as part of this RFI. Responses to the questions will satisfy the RFI. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of submission of responses to this RFI and the Government's use of such information. Additionally, all submissions become government property and will not be returned. No basis for a claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this RFI.

Note: This RFI is limited in the specific topics covered in the questions asked. The Government may issue additional RFIs to request industry comments on other aspects of the Next Generation Network Infrastructure strategy as it’s being developed.

NAICS CODE:

NAICS code selected for this RFI is 517111- Wired Telecommunications Carriers.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service, Information Technology Category (ITC), Enterprise Technology Solutions (ETS) establishes and manages a range of contracts to meet the needs of federal agencies for Telecommunications, Information Technology and Network Infrastructure Services and Support. Federal Agencies are in the process of transitioning from GSA legacy contracts–Networx, Washington Interagency Telecommunications System (WITS) 3, and Local Service Agreements (LSAs)–to GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract(s).

GSA is in the planning phase to determine the Next Generation Network Infrastructure (NGNI) strategy and GSA’s next acquisition initiative to meet future federal telecommunications and information technology requirements before the EIS contracts expire in July 2032. Understanding the current and future telecommunications/information technology market trends is key to identifying the next generation of telecommunications/information technology and infrastructure capabilities as part of the NGNI strategy.

A copy of the EIS contract sections B-J is provided as part of this RFI for information only and to assist industry with answering the RFI questions. Sections B-J of the EIS contracts are public records and do not contain any proprietary information for any of the nine EIS vendors.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) Contract(s) is included only to provide the audience information on the current EIS contract(s), its services/offerings and the current terms and conditions (T&C’s) of EIS. There is no guarantee from the Government that the next acquisition initiative will be a multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, that task orders will be governed under FAR 16.505, or that a contract will be structured the same as EIS or contain any of the same T&C’s, services and/or offerings of the EIS contracts. There is also no guarantee that a solicitation for the next acquisition initiative will be developed as a result of this RFI.

ENTERPRISE INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS (EIS) OVERVIEW:

EIS consists of nine multiple award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts awarded in July 2017 under FAR Part 15. EIS includes a period of performance of fifteen years with a base period of five years and two five-year option periods. The EIS contracts are currently in option period one. The contracts provide agencies a comprehensive way to access telecommunications and information technology solutions from the top telecommunications providers. The program allows agency Ordering Contracting Officers (OCOs), and other authorized officials, to issue task orders against EIS after they provide the vendors a fair opportunity as outlined in FAR Part 16.505. In order to use EIS, the OCO requests and is issued a Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA) from a GSA contracting officer.

EIS offers telecommunications services in twelve (12) service areas. Each service area has specific telecommunications features that can also be ordered. The twelve (12) service areas are:

• data services,


• voice services,


• contact center services,


• co-located hosting services,


• cloud services,


• wireless services,


• commercial satellite services,


• managed network services,


• access arrangements,


• service-related equipment,


• service-related labor, and


• cable and wiring.

Please note under EIS: Equipment and labor cannot be ordered alone but can be ordered ancillary to any of the other service areas.

The majority of EIS contract line-item numbers (CLINs) include fixed prices determined fair and reasonable by GSA. EIS also offers CLINs that can be customized based on the Agency’s unique requirements. The pricing for these CLINs are found fair and reasonable at the Task Order Level by the Ordering Contracting Officer. These CLINs include, Task Order Unique CLINs (TUCs), Individual Case Basis (ICB) CLINs and Catalog CLINs.

For more information on EIS, please refer to Sections B-J of the EIS RFP provided as a reference to this RFI or visit the EIS website at gsa.gov/EIS.

REQUEST:

Interested parties are requested to provide a cover page that shall include the Company Name, Company GSA Schedule Contract Number(s) (if applicable), Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number, NAICS CODE(s), Address, Point of Contact (including phone number, and email address), Business Size and Classification.

GSA has generated a list of questions as part of this RFI. Interested parties are requested to provide detailed answers. GSA requests the responses to be in MS Word/Excel and/or PDF, but responses shall be limited to no greater than 25 pages and shall highlight the capabilities to address the questions below and any other pertinent information relating to the market. The information obtained from the responses will be used with other research efforts to determine potential sources, to determine the Next Generation Network Infrastructure strategy, to shape future planning and to help develop the next acquisition requirements.

RESPONDENT’S QUESTIONS DUE:

All questions on the RFI content shall be due no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday February 29, 2024. The respondent’s questions shall be e-mailed to dinaira.borba@gsa.gov.

RESPONSES DUE:

The responses shall be due no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday March 15, 2024. The responses shall be e-mailed to dinaira.borba@gsa.gov.

The Government may contact respondents regarding their submissions, such as to ask questions, or to learn more about the market.

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