INTEGRATED SURVEILLANCE TOWERS (IST) / TOWER, POWER, INSTRUMENTATION, COMMUNICATION (TPIC) / DRAFT RFP

THIS DRAFT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  NO PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND NO CONTRACT AWARDS WILL RESULT FROM THIS NOTICE.

UPDATES:

1. 12/20/2020: The interested vendor list was activated.

2. 12/21/2020: The attachment TPIC Draft RFP Industry Exchange FINAL.pdf was removed and replaced with a MS Excel version.

3. 01/13/2021: The attachment TPIC Pre-Solicitation Industry Breifing Final 12Jan21 was added.

4. 01/14/2021: The Attachement IST TPIC Non-Sensitive Reference Documents PD was updated.

5. 03/30/2021:  Industry Update:  The Government would like to thank industry for the questions and feedback received resulting from the IST TPIC Draft RFP.  The questions received have been addressed and the Government responses have been provided as an attachment to this Draft RFP.  At this time, there are no updates available on the release date for the RFP. Please continue to monitor Beta.Sam.Gov for any updates to this Draft RFP.

6.  07/30/2021:  Industry Update:  

The Government has received and appreciates the substantial feedback from industry regarding the Draft Tower, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC) Request for Proposal (RFP) released in December 2020.  Based on the numerous comments received, we recognize that communications could have been clearer and more consistent.  There were gaps in describing the consolidation of the various tower capabilities, and the solicitation needed to be clearer regarding the expected interaction with the Common Operating Picture (COP) Program.

Therefore, the Government is making wide-ranging changes and adjustments to RFP documents so the solicitation will be more clear, less prescriptive, and allow more flexibility to industry to propose innovative solutions.  The Government’s previously published responses to industry questions and feedback may no longer be applicable as RFP documents are being updated.  Prospective offerors are cautioned to carefully review any updated RFP documents upon release.

Please note that the final release of the RFP is suspended indefinitely.  We will continue to engage and work with industry as we consider all options for the path forward.  A target date for the release of the RFP has not been determined and is also dependent on funding availability.  We will continue to provide updates as they occur. 

7.  10/29/2021:  Industry Update:  

CBP appreciates the feedback provided to the Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST) Program’s Draft solicitation entitled, “Towers, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC)” contract.  Please note that due to substantial revisions based on that feedback, an improved solicitation has been developed to support the IST Program and is named the “Consolidated Tower & Surveillance Equipment (CTSE)” contract.  The CTSE solicitation is less prescriptive and allows industry more flexibility and latitude to propose innovative solutions that meet or exceed the Government’s functional requirements.  The Government’s previously published responses to industry questions and feedback from the December 2020 Draft TPIC Request For Proposal (RFP) may no longer be applicable as the CTSE RFP documents are substantially updated.  Prospective offerors are cautioned to carefully review any updated draft RFP documents upon release.  The release of the draft IST CTSE RFP is anticipated by December 2021.

8. The Government will not be releasing the IST CTSE draft RFP as originally planned in December 2021.  The IST CTSE draft RFP is now anticipated to be released during second quarter of FY 2022.

END OF UPDATES

The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this notice or to otherwise pay for the information solicited.

Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this notice and attachments, your responses will be treated as information only; and shall not be used as a proposal.

In support of the US Border Patrol (USPB) and Border Patrol Agents (BPAs), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to acquire hardware and services for the deployment and integration of Towers, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC). This DRAFT TPIC Request for Proposal (RFP) details CBP’s planned effort to deliver infrastructure, intelligence, and mission-critical voice communications, to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Homeland Security’s border enforcement efforts.

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS: In addition to the attached documents, there are also SENSITIVE Reference Documents. To request the SENSITIVE Reference Documents, submit an email request to isttpicrfp@cbp.dhs.gov.  The subject line must state "IST TPIC SENSITIVE Reference Doc Request".  In order to be eligible to receive the SENSITIVE Reference Documents, you must submit a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Attachment J-11 when you submit your email request. 

Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST)

Towers, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC) Contract
Pre-Solicitation Industry - Brief

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will host a virtual pre-solicitation Industry Brief on December 8, 2020[CKL1]  to communicate with industry regarding the future Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST) Towers, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC) contract.  The background regarding the IST and TPIC acquisition approach, the meeting agenda, and registration requirements are discussed below.

Background and Concept of Operations

US Border Patrol (USBP) Agents require situational awareness to detect, track, identify, and classify Items of Interest (IoI) (e.g., humans, groups of humans, humans carrying bundles, humans carrying long arms, vehicles, animals, ultra-light aircraft, watercraft).  USBP currently employs fixed (persistent surveillance) tower systems (Integrated Fixed Towers (IFT) and Remote Video Surveillance System-Upgrade (RVSS-U)) with a combination of radar and electro-optical (EO)/infrared (IR) sensors depending on the operational environment.  Towers can be permanent or relocatable.  These towers are connected to a Command and Control Center (C2CEN) via microwave or fiber optic circuits.  Fixed tower systems’ (IFT and RVSS-U) area of operations now include persistent surveillance of the northern and southern land borders, waterways, and coastal areas.

The U.S. Border Patrol Program Management Office Directorate (PMOD) intends to award one or more Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for TPIC. The Common Operating Picture (COP) software, inclusive of Command and Control Center (C2CEN) hardware, will be acquired separately from TPIC. CBP plans to award a competitive procurement by the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 and seeks to engage with Industry to gain insight into current market conditions and/or engineering advances that will aid in the formation of an acquisition strategy for future efforts and provide Industry an opportunity to influence our acquisition approach.

USBP’s border surveillance currently consists of deployed surveillance and sensor systems including IFT, RVSS-U, Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS), Mobile Surveillance Capability (MSC), and Mobile Video Surveillance System (MVSS).  Deployed sensors terminate data into a Border Patrol station’s C2 Center.  Ideally, persistent (fixed/relocatable tower) surveillance systems and other deployed sensors would be linked at the C2 Center to provide wide-area autonomous surveillance (i.e., controlled without human intervention) and displayed on the C2CEN COP and subsequently communicated to portable devices (e.g., tablet, laptop, cell phone) used by field agents.  The persistent (fixed/relocatable tower) (IFT and RVSS-U) system’s COP should have the capability to automatically detect, track, and identify IoIs and to communicate the IoIs in full motion video (FMV) to the C2CEN COP.  The persistent (fixed/relocatable tower) system’s COP should use its automated identification and classification to highlight the IoIs with a confidence level that calls their attention to USBP Agents monitoring the COP.  The persistent (fixed/relocatable tower) system’s COP will also record and archive data for later retrieval.  Finally, the persistent (fixed/relocatable tower) surveillance system works under adverse and extreme weather conditions and in harsh environments such as deserts, the extreme winters in along the northern border, in coastal areas, and in rugged, mountainous terrain where physical access is limited.

Agenda

Date:            January 13, 2021 

Time:            12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST 

Location:       Virtual – Webex Video Conference

• Webex Conference Opening

12:30 pm – 1:00 pm: Webex open for log-in (*Pre-registration is required)

•  Greeting, Speaker Introductions, and Procurement Overview

1:00 pm –1:05 pm: Purpose, Introductions, Ground Rules, and  Procurement Overview

• Presentation

1:05 pm – 1:30 pm: Industry Brief on Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST) Program Update on Towers, Power, Instrumentation, and Communications (TPIC) Contract Request for Proposal (RFP)

• Vendor Question and Answer Session

     1:30 pm – 2:00 pm:  Responses to “select” previously submitted industry questions

     2:00 pm:                  Pre-Solicitation Industry Brief Complete

Registration and Industry Questions

The registration period is now open.  *Pre-registration (via email only) is required and must be received no later than Tuesday, January 5th 2021 by 5:00 pm EST.  Interested vendors must submit their pre-registration request and questions electronically by completing the pre-registration and questions form located in the attachments and providing it via email to isttpicrfp@cbp.dhs.gov.  All submissions must include in the email subject line “TPIC Industry Brief Registration”.  Due to anticipated space limitations, no more than two (2) individuals from each vendor will be allowed to attend this vendor engagement event.

RFQ clarification questions will be accepted up two (2) days after the industry brief event.  However, participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance through the attached previously mentioned questions form but are not required to do so.  The Government anticipates answering only a limited number of pre-submitted questions during the presentation.  Answers to the remaining questions will be posted to beta.SAM.gov after the event as soon as administratively possible.

Continued feedback from industry is encouraged and will be accepted through January 31, 2021.  Feedback received more than two days after the industry brief event will not receive a response from the government.  

The Government does not anticipate conducting any “one-on-one” meetings with interested vendors.