REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Department of Veterans Affairs Region 3 Pager Services TAC-15-16039 This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This request is for planning purposes only, and does not constitute a Request for Proposal, a Solicitation, a Request for Quote or an indication that the Government will award a contract for the services contained in this RFI. This notice is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted as a result of this request. The Government does not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred for responses to this RFI. Companies are encouraged to respond if they have the capability and/or capacity to provide the services identified below. Respondents are requested to identify their name and business size and any additional information applicable to this RFI. Submissions are due NO LATER THAN December 12, 2014 at 3:00 P.M. EST to
[email protected]. Please provide any questions about the requirement to
[email protected] NO LATER THAN December 12, 2014 at 3:00 P.M. EST. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Region 3 has a requirement for pager services. The Contractor shall provide necessary hardware, service coverage, and support for VA's pager services. This shall include, but may not be limited to leased pagers of various device types, features, and plans to meet the needs of VA Region 3 described herein. The Contractor shall also provide VA personnel with access to a web-based portal for management of moves, adds, and changes. The Contractor shall also provide training, maintenance, shipping, and return support. In addition, the Contractor shall support the maintenance and the installation and/or removal of two-way local pager consoles, transmitters, and related equipment at VHA Region 3 locations. The Contractor shall provide like-for-like services as compared to what is currently installed at facilities. The Government is not responsible for purchasing any new equipment to accommodate contractor services due to any Contractor inability to provide coverage. The Government intends to utilize a transition period (as required) to ensure service continuity. The Contractor shall ensure that all pager services provided under this contract are eligible for the United States Homeland Security Telecommunications Priority Service Restoration program. The tasks described in this requirement's Performance Work Statement (PWS) are general requirements that may be required in subsequent task orders. Specific requirements will be defined in the individual task orders to be awarded under this Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contract. Not all requirements described in PWS Section 5.0 will apply to each task order, but those that do apply will be cited and expanded upon in the PWS for each task order. The Contractor shall provide base contract-level reporting, task order level reporting, project management services, pager leasing services, pager device accessories, pager device service plans, pager management services, a web based portal service, and support and maintain Integrated Resource Management (IRM) Systems. Please see attached DRAFT PWS for additional details. ? The Government is requesting that interested parties provide responses to the following questions with their responses to this RFI: 1. Does the PWS provide the adequate details to provide a Firm-Fixed Price proposal? If not please indicate which areas of the requirement are unclear. 2. Please see the PWS and indicate if your company can provide the services listed (a formal quote is not required at this time). 3. If you have alternative or comparable services, please explain your capability. 4. Please see the locations referenced in the PWS. Indicate which locations your company can provide the requested service. Also, list any non-coverage areas in which services are in-process or planned and the expected timeframes for coverage in those areas. 5. Please indicate if your company will partner with other companies to provide full service coverage. Explain how you will do this. 6. If your firm intends to utilize a service provider as a subcontractor, please indicate if you can register the Department of Veterans affairs as the "customer of record" with the service provider so moves, adds, changes, and deletions can be accomplished through the service providers web-based portals. This is needed to mitigate privacy issues and provide for Telecommunications Service Priority for some pagers. 7. Please explain if audit trails are available to VA to ensure that pagers were sent, the times they were sent, and if they were received and what time they were received. Explain in detail other reports that can be obtained. 8. Please indicate if number portability is applicable to your pagers in the event of a non-incumbent award. Number portability is a risk area, and the Government seeks creativity in how your firm will ensure continuity of pager numbers. 9. Please explain how you would enhance long-range pager services to local campus paging modalities to allow both on-net and off-net paging. Explain any burden on the Government to do so. 10. Please provide an example of the types of pagers and their functionalities you would suggest in a large enterprise devoted to medical care and the support of the Department of Defense in event of emergency situations such as local disasters or terrorist activities. 11. Explain if pagers are a better choice for critical messaging over dedicated networks versus paging over other technologies like cellular networks. Also, explain why the technologies of the devices themselves are different. 12. What could the Government do to enhance competition? 13. Are you familiar with the United States Homeland Security Telecommunications Priority Service TPS Restoration program? Does your firm have experience with this program? 14. Are you aware of small business concerns that can meet these requirements? What about small business partnering or protégé opportunities? 15. Are you aware of an alternative approach that provides the VA with the needed connectivity and business process continuity without using traditional pager devices? Please direct any questions or concerns to Brett Schwerin
[email protected]