USDA, Office of Operations, Procurement Operations Division, Room 1547-South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9850

D -- BROADCAST FACSIMILE SERVICES SOL Not Applicable POC Eugene M. Feinberg, 202-720-6864 E-MAIL: Use to contact the Contracting Officer via e-mail, gene.feinberg@usda.gov. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), has a requirement for the continuation of broadcast facsimile services for its Market News Telecommunications System (MNTS). The AMS is comprised of commodity and support divisions occupying approximately 200 offices located throughout the United States, including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Approximately 90 of these offices include market news. Service is also required for transmission of facsimilie messages to and from locations outside the United States and to and from AMS' private subscribers on an equal basis. Services are currently being provided by Sprint Communications Company LLP under Contract No. 53-3142-2-1038. This contract expires September 30, 1998. The MNTS has been in existence in one form or another for over fifty years providing information to Government, industry, and private individuals about the movements, grades, and prices of agricultural commodities throughout the country. Market news reports contain time-sensitive material that is of greatest value at the moment of release. Reports shall be able to be faxed to one central location and then be retransmitted to recipients of a distribution list maintained by the sending AMS office. Software that enables a user to create a distribution list, allow for a single connection that in turn delivers a message to all recipients, and is user-friendly is required. The service provider shall be able to perform on-site installations and training, if deemed necessary by the Government. Additional requirements are: flexible document input, including but not limited to, ASCII, Postscript, TIFF, Epson print, Microsoft Paint, LaserJet PCL, HP plotter, and hard copy; immediate delivery or storage for transmission at a specified time; total Government control over the message arrival and security; individual status reports to users' attention after each transmission; complete record of all communications; arrival confirmation, delivery times, and number of tries; exclusive account number and password that safeguards confidentiality; software and fax input systems that can only be accessed when proper code(s) are entered; error-free transmission of at least 99% of the reports transmitted. The contractor shall also be required to provide to the Government weekly statistical reports showing the delivery time for all reports delivered. Firms holding GSA Federal Supply Schedule Contracts or Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts and are qualified to provide the services described above shall furnish technical and pricing data sufficient for evaluation purposes within 15 days of publication of this notice. No payment will be made for any data submitted. All data will remain the property of the Government and will not be returned after evaluation. No solicitation exists for this requirement. Small, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses are encouraged to respond. Posted 08/12/98 (W-SN235930). (0224)

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