SPECIAL NOTICE
59 -- Pathfinder #3 Request for Information - Attachments to Pathfinder #3 RFI
- Notice Date
- 5/20/2016
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 334220
— Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space Command, SMC - Space and Missile Systems Center, 483 North Aviation Blvd, El Segundo, California, 90245-2808
- ZIP Code
- 90245-2808
- Solicitation Number
- 16-076
- Archive Date
- 6/18/2016
- Point of Contact
- Angela Walker, Phone: 310-653-9664, Tiffany Bellard, Phone: 310-653-9185
- E-Mail Address
-
angela.walker.15@us.af.mil, tiffany.bellard@us.af.mil
(angela.walker.15@us.af.mil, tiffany.bellard@us.af.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Attachment 2.0 Nominal Pathfinder Series Schedule Attachment 1.0 Pathfinder Reference Architecture Pathfinder #3 Request for Information (RFI) 1.0 Introduction The U.S. Government (USG) is pursuing the Pathfinder series in support of future Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) procurements supporting Department of Defense (DoD) operations. The Pathfinder series is developing the business and technical capabilities necessary for the USG to more effectively access available satellite resources for the warfighter worldwide. This RFI addresses a flexible terminal-to-modem interface and ground infrastructure concepts needed to support an adaptable network in achieving an affordable and resilient system. This RFI will directly support Pathfinder #3, which plans to provide the warfighter with flexible access to COMSATCOM and Military SATCOM (MILSATCOM) capacity. Pathfinder #1 demonstrated the business practice of purchasing COMSATCOM with the procurement of two Ku-band transponders over Africa. Although achieving its goals for affordability, the purchased transponders were limited in coverage area. Addressing the coverage constraints, Pathfinder #2 is currently in the process of demonstrating a "pooled portable bandwidth" through purchase of pre-launch transponders. Transponders will be purchased pre-launch to maximize affordability, and use of those transponders will be traded for flexible satellite constellation access for the USG. Pathfinders #3, #4, and #5 will continue to refine these business development processes from the first two Pathfinders; buying transponders, pooling bandwidth across satellite constellations, and increasing the pace of bandwidth allocation while adding providers to the global pool. Over the course of the initial two Pathfinders, it became apparent that other capabilities besides the bandwidth pool need to be developed to meet the Pathfinder objectives of improving affordability and resiliency. One of the areas that needs further exploration is terminal flexibility. DoD terminals must be able to "flex" from one satellite network to another for a variety of reasons; however, this is currently hindered by the proliferation of managed service networks using proprietary modems and waveform technologies. Use of a flexible modem interface (FMI) to the terminal could overcome that limitation and offer a fully global service by connecting the regional networks currently available. Other areas of exploration include, but are not limited to, efficient Government/Operator reservation and network control, automated business processes, backhaul services, and the associated development of a Concept of Operations (CONOPs) and Interface Control Documents (ICDs). Terminal flexibility is the primary focus of this RFI, specifically with the model described below in Section 2.0; however, the other topics listed are also being explored. The USG is interested in industry perspectives on several of these business and technical constructs. Response to this RFI does not constitute acknowledgement of any given supplier or their approach. The USG intends to develop a flexible modem-terminal interface based on standards to be developed under the Pathfinder #3 through #5 efforts and plans. Vendors will execute hardware, software, and bandwidth (capacity) associated tasks as part of a future Request for Proposal (RFP). The USG is interested in interoperable solutions and architectures that shall not exclude any vendor(s) with regard to technical advancements, in-place bandwidth purchases, or knowledge transfer. Responses to this Pathfinder #3 RFI will clarify the USG's technical, business, and procurement vision for future Pathfinder programs as well as collect information needed to manage these future programs and plan for a full operational capability following the Pathfinder efforts. It is requested that responses be provided to the attached plan/questionnaire with the appropriate markings. The USG prefers non-proprietary responses as much as possible, especially at the architecture level. This is intended to lead to a non-proprietary standard(s) generation process in which a wide variety of industry members should be able to participate. However, it is understood that some communications, particularly with respect to interfaces, may be proprietary in nature and may be allowed as a condition of participation. 2.0 Pathfinder Operational Scenario The Pathfinder project is considered by Congress to be a Pilot Program, however, the goal is to have the results of the project lead to operational capability. A typical operational scenario in which the Pathfinder capabilities would be utilized includesa user exercising a communications path through a given satellite and backhaul system when any of the following might occur: (a) the system is no longer available to the user, whether due to user movement, service disruption, etc., (b) the service requirements for that user change, (c) the Government Network Operations Center (GNOC) determines the user should be moved to another service, possibly because the user has moved into the area of a more cost-effective service, as a result of a cyber-attack on the user or service provider or for some other reason, or (d) the user exceeds the contracted capacity pool for that system. Upon notice of any combination of these events, the GNOC looks for alternate capacity that meets the service level agreement (SLA) requirements of the platform then requests confirmation of available service from the target provider. This available service may potentially require a different modem from the one currently in use due to the use of proprietary waveforms, local interference in the current frequency band, or other factors. The target provider is then notified by the GNOC via a persistent ground control channel that the customer is requesting services. Depending on the system type, the remote terminal is notified in one of several possible ways: indirectly through a managed service, directly through the forward data stream, or potentially through an out-of-band controller. This notification directs the Flexible Modem Interface (FMI) to commission the terminal to the new service provider's system and establishes a specific time to decommission the current service and repoint the antenna. The ground control channel then confirms that the current session will be suspended. At the selected time, the FMI issues a repointing command to the terminal pointing processor; the new signal is acquired; the ground hub and remote terminal establish messaging and data connectivity; and finally, the terminal instructs the GNOC that the new service is active. During the changeover, the GNOC provisions backhaul capacity on the new system under the same session enabling a nearly seamless flow of data from the platform to and from the designated end-point on the ground. The intent of Pathfinder #3 will be to provide USG terminals and platforms with flexible access to commercial and government SATCOM capacity by providing the ability to roam between a variety of in-place satellite/hub and managed systems. A centralized management segment will communicate with each commercial and DoD Service provider's network system managers to enable a rapid system-to-system handover or roaming while maintaining session layer communications and required quality of service. For DoD systems the option exists to access the previously allocated space segment resources to individual Services (e.g. Army, Navy, and AF network resources), to include their ground hubs and network managers (NCW for Army hubs, PTW for joint protected hubs, etc.), and/or direct requests to STRATCOM/ARSTRAT for centrally managed (as depicted in the Attachment 1) satellite, teleport, and DoDIN resources. Within this RFI, government is open to contractor suggestions that may streamline or improve the current access process. The Pathfinder implementation is not intended to result in the modification of any core elements of the provider's system. Pathfinder adapts to existing systems using code which integrates disparate software sets, hardware adapters, and microprocessor-enabled application program interfaces (API). Pathfinder will rely heavily on COMSATCOM service providers for end-to-end connectivity, modem providers for a standard method of switching between modems, terminal providers to support these interface standards, and a single management entity to maintain Pathfinder system operations. 3.0 Challenges for the Government There are a number of challenges to be addressed as part of the Pathfinder #3 concept. The primary challenge is the need for COMSATCOM service providers to agree to and support the network roaming concept. The greatest technical risk is associated with yet to be designed multi-modem interfaces including antenna control, the modem management information base, and a service provider to the GNOC link. The antenna control unit (ACU) and radio frequency (RF) electronics are often proprietary. While emerging standards such as the Open Antenna Modem Interface Protocol (OpenAMIP) attempt to resolve these issues, not all modem manufacturers use this standard. Also, many installed antennas/ACUs do not conform to OpenAMIP, which may require the interface to be customized to each service provider's system. The second challenge involves controlling the modem. Each modem or modem manufacturer may use a different messaging approach; the GNOC must adapt to each set of modem controls and responses. Finally, the GNOC must interface with each service provider's network management system (NMS) and/or hub processor to determine capacity availability, initiate service, terminate service, assess remaining pooled resources, mediate handoffs, and define the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for each connection. The objective of this RFI is to garner industry's inputs on these challenges. 4.0 Nominal Sequence Attachment 2 shows a nominal schedule for the Pathfinder series. Pathfinder #1 is currently in use and Pathfinder #2 is in the acquisition processes. Pathfinder #3 is in the design phase to study the roaming concept for future RFP. Pathfinder #4 will focus on modifying the bandwidth pooling approach to include multiple service providers. Pathfinder #5 will extend the results of an RFP to a series of demonstrations, culminating in a field demonstration using a High Capacity Satellite service. Pathfinders #4 and #5 will proceed concurrently to continue building the portable bandwidth pool while demonstrating the roaming concept. 5.0 Instructions The questions included in Section 6.0 are intended for a broad set of responders. Although responders are not expected to answer every question, all responders are welcome to answer any of the attached questions. Responses to the following questions may be framed either in the context of a capability demonstration or of a full-scale operation; if appropriate, specify which context the response uses. 6.0 Questions for Industry 6.1 Modem Interface 6.1.1 How would the Flexible Modem Interface (FMI) be defined (in terms of interfaces, form factor, etc.) which facilitates the multi modem operations as stated in the example scenario? 6.1.1.1 How would you adapt your standard terminal/modem capability to the Pathfinder capability? (i.e. interface board, API, Ethernet switch, etc.) 6.1.1.2 What features involved in SATCOM on the terminal system are controllable and how is it controlled? List all of the interfaces on your equipment (i.e. Power Control and Data, GPS, etc.) 6.1.1.3 How would/do you control the antenna? Include information on any additional interface equipment used for antenna control. 6.1.1.4 Describe the process used for setting up the modem (i.e. commissioning). 6.1.1.5 Does your modem perform autonomous operations? (i.e. can it facilitate handoff as defined in the scenario in Section 2.0?) 6.1.1.6 If the USG performed a flight demonstration, what terminal would you recommend using? Does the recommended terminal include multi-band capabilities? Provide configuration details. 6.2 Infrastructure 6.2.1 The infrastructure represents the data backhaul and control distribution terrestrial networks. In the event of landing the data at a commercial teleport, how would you provide transport for the mission data and control back to the DoDIN as outlined in the scenario in Section 2.0? 6.2.1.1 How would you design a GNOC to manage the transport described in question 6.2.1? 6.2.1.2 If the government were to employ end-to-end encryption, how would that impact the transport operations? How might that impact be mitigated? 6.2.1.3 How would you provide protect those circuits from compromise? 6.3 Control 6.3.1 What recommendations would you make for the control architecture? 6.3.1.1 What existing systems perform similar control functions (as outlined in the scenario in Section 2.0) which could be modified to provide Pathfinder system management? 6.3.1.2 The resulting capability of Pathfinder control allows the user to effectively ‘roam' between competing systems. What barriers, if any, do you foresee in the execution of this strategy? How might those barriers be addressed? 6.4 Operations 6.4.1 How would you envision your system interacting with the Pathfinder network management system to achieve service activation? 6.4.2 The Government would like to minimize the impact to existing commercial operations. What, if anything, in this questionnaire might lead the responder to add costs to their existing system to facilitate the Pathfinder objectives?   7.0 Small Business Consideration The NAICS code for this project is 334220 - Satellite Communications Equipment Manufacturing. The Applicable Classification Code is "59-Electrical and Electronic Components". The small business size standard is 1,250 employees. Small Business companies with the capability to perform this requirement are encouraged to participate. If you are interested only in subcontracting opportunities please indicate this fact clearly in your submission. If you have an alternate NAICS code that you believe is applicable to this request, please indicate this in your response. 8.0 White Paper Classification Respondents shall provide an unclassified response to this RFI. If the respondents wish for their responses to be treated as proprietary, then the respondents shall indicate whether their responses contain proprietary information. Proprietary material shall be marked on a paragraph by paragraph basis. 9.0 White Paper Format Responses shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages. The Government will not consider pages in excess of fifteen (15) pages. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11; text font size shall be no smaller than 11pt; font size within graphics and tables shall be no smaller than 8 pt. The White Paper front matter such as transmittal letter, cover page, and table of contents will not count against the page limit. The Government will not accept company literature or marketing materials in response to this RFI. 10.0 Industry Day An industry day session will be scheduled for 8 June 2016, following posting on FedBizOps.com. If you would like to attend industry day, please include the names of all attendees, their title or position, the name of your company, each person's citizenship, and contact information. We ask that companies limit their attendance to seven representatives or less. We will have signups for those who would like to participate in supplemental industry day one-on-one discussions with the Government to discuss White Paper responses in greater detail. One-on-one sessions will take place on Industry Day and the two days following, 9 June and 10 June. Failure to respond to the RFI does not preclude proposal submittal or industry day participation if a formal acquisition is announced. 11.0 Group and Individual Teleconferences In addition to the White Paper response, industry is encouraged to set up a one on one teleconference with the Pathfinder #3 team following their RFI submittal and after Industry Day. Please contact Lt Pope to schedule a time. 12.0 Response Due Date: 1600 PST, 3 June 2016. 13.0 Submission Instructions: Submit an electronic copy in either PDF format or Microsoft Word format to Lt Andrew Pope, at andrew.pope.9@us.af.mil by the Response Due Date in section 12.0. 14.0 Questions: All communication associated with this Pathfinder #3 RFI shall be submitted via email to Lt Andrew Pope, at andrew.pope.9@us.af.mil. 15.0 Points of Contact: Primary: Lt Andrew Pope, andrew.pope.9@us.af.mil or (310) 653-9355 Contracting: Ms. Angela Walker, angela.walker.15@us.af.mil or (310) 653-9664 16.0 DECLARATION: This synopsis is not a formal solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this synopsis, or to otherwise pay for the information solicited herein. Responses will be used by the Government for informational purposes only as part of its acquisition planning. Information obtained from responses to this RFI will not be used to exclude potential future bidders on COMSATCOM acquisitions.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFSC/SMCSMSC/16-076/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: N/A, United States
- Record
- SN04123854-W 20160522/160520234042-9f4b95340001fb99efbf3e3b5457649e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |