Cornerstone Initiative Request CS-24-1401 - Open RAN Proof of Concept - Commercial Infrastructure Brownfield Integration

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), Rock Island, IL, on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy via its Innovation Capability and Modernization Program (10 U.S.C. § 4817), in conjunction with Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI), manages the Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022. Cornerstone was architected to create a broad-based, flexible and enduring public-private consortium focused on strategic strengthening of the U.S. Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and provide a strong complement to the mandates in Presidential Executive Order 13806. ACC-RI, on behalf of DEVCOM CBC and OUSD Research and Engineering intends to issue a competitive Cornerstone Initiative Request (CIR) for Open Radio Access Network (RAN) Proof of Concept – Commercial Infrastructure Brownfield Integration on or after 29 March 2024, with an estimated closing date of 30 Calander days after issuance.

The CIR for Open RAN Proof of Concept is restricted to Cornerstone consortium members. The CIR will solicit proposals for one (1) fixed-price OTA with incremental payments made upon completion of specific milestones. Period of performance will be 36 months. The objective of this effort is to prototype and demonstrate an Open RAN solution as part of their commercial 5th Generation (5G) cellular infrastructure.

The contractor will test and demonstrate integration of the Open RAN Solution with existing cellular infrastructure and evaluation The Department of Defense (DoD) specific use cases for 5G Open RAN with Radio Intelligent Controller (RIC). Ultimately, open interfaces equal greater security attained via external scrutiny, testing, auditing, and verification.

Successful demonstration of US-based Open RAN solutions will promote the use of supply chain secure radio solutions among the commercial and private 5G networks of US and allied nations. The full success of Open RAN architectures demands that mobile network operators (MNOs) deploying into a brownfield environment demonstrate interoperability with legacy cellular infrastructure. A proof of concept can accelerate progress towards developing, fielding, and promoting Open RAN solutions.

As an early adopter, DoD can help create new standards and expanded capabilities for high performance, efficiency, and security. Open RAN solutions also introduce RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) functionality with near-real time applications (xApps) that allow a high degree of control to shape of the 5G radio environment and non-real time applications (rApps) that allow for the same at a lower level of performance.

This functionality is of special interest to DoD for operational flexibility, unique battlefield operations, and spectrum sharing. Automation readily achieved via RIC x/rApps especially when combined with machine learning and decision engines such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) or expert systems yields operational simplicity and cost savings of importance to network operators and end users.

Open RAN solutions offer the commercial MNOs the ability to source and employ best of breed components in open multivendor environments, break vendor lock-in, diversify their supply chain, reduce the time required to deploy new network services or changes, and enable advanced network-based functionality. These advantages should also hold true for DoD when it employs private 5G either organically or with industry partners.

Overall, this Proof of Concept can advance DoD security and operational equities in the range of 5G solutions supporting DoD.

Any OT awarded as a result of this initiative will incorporate revised FAR clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment, dated Aug 2020. The CIR for Open RAN Proof of Concept – Commercial Infrastructure Brownfield Integration will be communicated to the Cornerstone consortium and companies with pending applications via email. Entities are required to have begun the membership process for their proposal to be reviewed.

Entities must be members of the Cornerstone consortium, with a signed Cornerstone Consortium Management Agreement, to be awarded this OTA task. Contractors may obtain Cornerstone registration information by inquiring at: usarmy.ria.ccdc-cbc.mbx.cornerstone-ota@army.mil Interested parties should stay alert for any changes that may be published to this sam.gov posting.

Please email all questions and responses to the following mailbox: usarmy.ria.ccdc-cbc.mbx.cornerstone-ota@army.mil This Special Notice is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a CIR or an obligation on behalf of the U.S. Government. Issuance of this Special Notice is not a guarantee of a future CIR or an award and is not a commitment of any kind by the Government.