This is a notice of intent to issue a sole source contract to University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, Mr. Keith Hill, Director of Technology Operations and Infrastructure

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Service Delivery Division (SDD), N-Wave Program Office has a requirement for network services and connectivity required to support the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and N-Wave located in the state of Mississippi, for Network Connectivity and Advanced Layer 2 Service (AL2S). In response to OMB Memorandum M-08-05, NOAA facilities are required to route Internet traffic through a Trusted Internet Connection Access Point (TICAP). Advanced Layer 2 Service (AL2S) service is required to provide connectivity to TICAP services, NOAA N-Wave connectivity and to Research and Education (R&E) connectivity for the NOAA programs.

The Mississippi Optical Network (MissiON) serves the Mississippi Research Consortium, an organization comprised of Mississippi’s four research universities, and is the only provider of aggregated AL2S accessible in Mississippi. The University of Southern Mississippi is the administrative lead for MissiON.

A sole source justification was prepared in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.501. The statute permitting this sole source acquisition is 41 U.S.C. 1901, as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

This notice is not a request for competitive quotes or proposals; however, any vendor that believes it can fully meet the Government’s Requirements may submit written documentation affirmatively demonstrating its ability to meet the Government’s Requirements to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist, listed below, within five (5) calendar days of the notice’s posted date. Vendor documentation submitted in response to this notice will be considered only to determine whether to proceed with the intended sole source acquisition. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive acquisition based on potential submissions to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any documentation submitted in response to this notice is strictly voluntary. Therefore, the Government: 1) will not pay for any documentation submitted in response to this notice; and 2) will not award a contract solely based on documentation submitted in response to this notice.