National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div., Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899

S -- LOCAL AREA DIAL TONE SOL 52SBNS8C1020 DUE 121897 POC Linda Shariati, Contract Specialist, (301) 975-5053 WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested through this announcement and a written solicitation will not be issued. This announcement is the solicitation. The solicitation number is 52SBNS8C1020. The solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-01. This requirement is not set-aside; The SIC Code associated with this requirement is 4813 and the size standard is 1500 employees. The Offeror shall identify the Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) in the following format: CLIN number -- 0001; description -- The Contractor shall provide all services identified in the combined synopsis/solicitation for contract number 50SBNB8C1020; unit -- per month; quantity -- 12 months; unit price for one month; and total price for 12 months ( the months of January through December 1998). All lines shall be installed and in service within three to five calendar days after award and services shall be provided through December 31, 1998. The Government anticipates that services for the initial month of December 1997 will represent a partial month of services. Services for the month of December 1997 will be prorated by dividing the monthly amount by 31 and multiplying this figure by the number of days that the services were rendered to the Government. The Contractor shall make this calculation on the invoice for the month of December 1997. The National Technical Information Service ( NTIS) provides a one-call fax-on-demand service for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Electronic Information Services Division. This service offers taxpayers access to numerous tax forms, instructions, and related documents. Taxpayers must call from a fax machine and can select up to three documents at one time. The documents are automatically faxed to the requestor=s fax machine. The IRS and NTIS established the fax-on-demand service in 1995. During the 1996 tax season, the fax service and the volume of callers rapidly increased. The 108 line NTIS fax-on-demand system received 1,006,735 fax requests and delivered 615,191 faxes during the period of January 1, 1997 to April 30, 1997. The number of requests are expected to increase for the 1997 tax year due to increased publication of the fax system telephone number and general public awareness of the fax system capabilities. Last year, the demand was so large that, at times, the huge number of incoming calls choked off lines and switches to the local residents and businesses in the area. NTIS, through GSA, has obtained space in Manassas City, Virginia to avoid this problem during the 1997 tax season. The location of the space is 9401 Peabody Street, Manassas, Virginia. NTIS is interested in acquiring analog dialtone services at 9401 Peabody Street, to support its fax-on-demand service. The purpose of this requirement is to acquire the telephone services of a Contractor that can support the telephone line capacity of the fax system described above, with the flexibility to increase the number of phone lines within a 30 day turn around time. This service shall include a sequential hunt group, repair service, and report capability. The Contractor shall supply dialtone service consisting of 228 2-way PBX loop-start analog trunk lines, as well as 3 business, one-party lines. The purpose of these three business, one-party lines is: a fax/modem line, a line for the security system, and a voice communication line. The Contractor shall supply reports on an as needed basis. These reports shall include but not be limited to monthly call volumes and identification of blocked calls. The Contractor shall provide these services for calls made to telephone number (703) 368-9694. This number has been announced world-wide and a change to this number will denigrate the value of this service. The Contractor shall provide 24 hour response and repair in the event of a malfunction of one or more telephone lines. As a temporary measure, the Contractor shall Abusy out@ malfunctioning lines so as not to disrupt the hunt group. As well, the Contractor shall be required to Abusy out@ telephone lines connected to a malfunctioning component of the fax-on-demand system within a minimum of 24 hours after notification. The Contractor shall correct any malfunctions within 24 hours from notification of the trouble. The provision at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, applies to this acquisition. Offerors are responsible for submitting information which addresses FAR 52.212-1, addresses the requirements and provides information relevant to the evaluation of the factors listed below. FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items, applies with technical and past performance, when combined, being significantly more important than price. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: Ability to Meet the Requirements; Management and Resolution of Malfunctions; and Past Performance. These factors are in descending order of importance with Ability to Meet the Requirements worth approximately three-fifths of the total points and Management and Resolution of Malfunctions and Past Performance being of equal weight and each worth approximately one-fifth of the total points. Award will be made on the basis of best value to the Government. The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and incorporates those clauses identified as items (1) through (9). All responsible sources may submit an offer which will be considered. Offers must be submitted to the address above. Offers must be received by December 18, 1997, 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. If you have any questions regarding this solicitation, please contact Linda Shariati at (301) 975-5053. FAR references can be retrieved in full text at the following url: http://www.arnet.gov/far. Copies of the Representations and Certifications as well as the Agency Level Protest Procedures can be retrieved in full text at the following url: http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. This acquisition incorporates the Department of Commerce Agency Level Protest Procedures Level Above the Contracting Officer (Dec 1996). (0339)

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