Notice of Intent to Modify Contract [N0017323P2046]: 5G Testbed Upgrade

Background: The Government intends to negotiate and award a sole-source, out-of-scope modification to an existing Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract currently held by AT&T. This modification will integrate Government supplied 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) assets into the existing Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) 5G New Radio (NR) Distributed Wireless Communication Testbed located at the NRL-DC campus.

Scope of Work: The contractor will be required to provide integration services and procure specific proprietary hardware and software to upgrade NRL’s existing 5G RAN. The effort includes integrating a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) with a network switch, installing Nokia AQQO Active Antennas operating in the 3.1–3.45 GHz spectrum, and integrating a Nokia gNodeB using custom 25.X Nokia RAN software. Additionally, the contractor will be required to supply four 5G NR FR2 devices capable of operating in the 5G SA FR2 mode on the existing NRL 5G network.

Justification: The statutory authority permitting this sole source acquisition is 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR 13.501(a). Acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures are exempt from the requirements in FAR Part 6. The existing 5G testbed is a highly specialized, proprietary system engineered by the incumbent contractor, AT&T.

The required upgrade necessitates the procurement of approximately $500,000 in specific material from Nokia (a sub-tier supplier) and highly specialized integration services. Only the incumbent contractor possesses the required access, proprietary engineering knowledge, and detailed understanding of the existing system settings to successfully integrate the new Nokia components into the established testbed without causing unacceptable delays or mission failure.

Furthermore, NRL has an annual software license and maintenance agreement for its Testbed with AT&T through 14 February 2028, inclusive of options. Attempting to utilize another vendor for this integration work could jeopardize the integrity of the system and nullify this agreement. A copy of the justification will made publicly available within 14 days of modification execution in accordance with FAR 13.501(a)(iii). This notice of intent is NOT a request for competitive proposals.

However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.