Broadband Availability Map Platform & Development Services

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION OR PROPOSAL.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Enterprise Services -Acquisition (ES-A), located in Washington, D.C., intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis and award a modification for increased volume of in-scope work to GSA task order 1331L519F13350123, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), (380 New York St, Redlands, California 92373-8118).

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of permitting other than full and open competition, 41 U.S.C.3304(a)(1), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1 entitled, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) BroadbandUSA program promotes innovation and economic growth by supporting efforts to expand broadband access and meaningful use across America. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 directed NTIA to augment the nation’s understanding of broadband availability through partnerships with the states, industry, and the FCC.  Implementing a national broadband availability map is especially important in rural areas where current data, collected at the Census block level, lacks the granularity to accurately reflect broadband availability in rural America.

To meet this Congressional mandate, NTIA implemented tools and procedures for the geographic visualization and comparison of federal and non-federal data sets to identify regions with insufficient service, compare multiple data-sets to identify discrepancies in broadband availability (e.g. served vs. underserved or unserved), and produce reports and analyses that could be used for investment and decision-making purposes.

ESRI is the sole provider for the ESRI Managed Cloud Service, a product which incorporates a unique combination of its ArcGIS Online product, hosted in Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, with the professional services necessary to adapt the solution to the specific needs of NTIA and its broadband availability mapping program.

This is NOT a solicitation for quotations, quotation abstracts, a request for competitive quotations; or request for competitive proposals; however, all responses received within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. Responses must clearly and thoroughly defend any claims or assertions that attempt to refute the Government’s claim. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Information received on this notice must eliminate the Government's concerns and addressed how the items can be provided without jeopardizing the science behind the on-going projects. If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days of this notice to determine whether a qualified source is more advantageous to the Government, a modification will be issued to ESRI. There is no solicitation package available. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Dgreen@doc.gov.