D -- Maintenance and Support Contract for MSG Re-Transmission System

The U.S. Dept of Commerce , NOAA intends to award a contract to VCS Aktiengesellschaft, Borgmannstrasse 2, 44894 Bochum, Germany under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. Only one responsible source is available to satisfy the agency requirement for a maintenance support contract to maintain the integrity of the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) U.S. Relay System. The MSG Relay System and software was developed and installed by VCS in 2003 and NOAA has engaged their services for twenty-four/seven support since that time. NOAA requires the continuity of the on-call expertise that only the developer of the software code can offer during system problems. This relay system provides critical world-wide data for use in environmental forecasting. If this equipment and software were not properly maintained and the transmission of this data is interrupted, there could be a serious threat to life and property. Several of the MSG Relay System supporting applications are owned and licensed to NOAA by VCS. Work performed by anyone other than VCS will invalidate the license agreement and jeopardize the integrity of this important data collection service and dissemination of its data. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. All information received by 4pm, EST, 03/09/07 will be considered by the government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future. Responses to this notice, if any, must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to Terri.L. [email protected]