NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE Qualcomm Extensible Diagnostic Monitor Tool

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division on behalf of the Communications Technology Laboratory, Spectrum Technology and Research Division intends to negotiate with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106-1(b), soliciting from a single source, for the acquisition of QXDM 5G Software Subscription Licenses referenced herein.

Specific Requirements:

Item Specifications and Quantities:

Item 1: 2G-5G UE Diagnostic Monitor software tool Quantity:

3 EA

Specifications:

1. The Application Tool shall have the following technical characteristics: 1.1. Support all types of QUALCOMM chipsets commonly in commercial LTE and NR UEs. 1.2. Support analysis of both LTE and NR for FDD and TDD protocol technologies 1.3. Support the monitoring and analysis of Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) protocol technology 1.4.

At a minimum, the software shall be capable of monitoring and reporting the following parameters: signal to noise plus interference ratio (SINR), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), modulation, and precision matrix indicators (PMI), total transmit power (TX), power headroom, transmit power control (TPC), and path loss. 1.5. Support up to five simultaneous instances of the application tool on a single PC, each monitoring a different UE or interface. 1.6.

The software tool shall be compatible with the Windows 10 operating system. NIST will install the software on a Windows computer. The license must be portable to other NIST owned computers. 1.7. The software shall support basic functionality via the use of an automated script (e.g., Python). Such basic functions include:

the ability to begin collecting logs and the ability to stop collection of logs. 1.8. The software shall be capable of converting the collected logs to text or comma separated variable (csv) file formats. 1.9. The provided software shall be the most current stable release available from the manufacturer.

2. The Contractor shall provide a ‘perpetual’ license for the software useable for a period of one year.

3. Software technical support shall be provided as part of the system for one year. This support shall be available during normal business hours. No after-hours support is required.

4. To the extent that software updates become available, they shall be provided to NIST for a period of one year.

5. The Contractor shall include the cost of shipping to the NIST site in Boulder, CO. NAICS Code is 541519 - Other Computer Related Services, with a Size Standard of $30M. NIST anticipates negotiating and awarding a firm-fixed-price purchase order to Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for this requirement.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AN OPEN COMPETITION: Market research resulted in Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. being the only vendor to provide the QXDM application software for 5G/4G UEs with QUALCOMM chipset products consistent with the technical specification requirements provided herein.

To support a funded NIST project and outfit laboratory facilities to support research efforts related to 5th Generation (5G) cellular technology, NIST requires QXDM application software for 5G/4G UEs with QUALCOMM chipset products meeting all specifications herein, capable of all diagnostic functions, and compatible with existing NIST software and hardware requirements.

Interested parties that can demonstrate they could satisfy the requirement listed above for NIST must clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for this acquisition. If competitive procedures are not used, it is estimated that an award will be issued 4th Quarter FY24.

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to clifford.nicholson@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted to clifford.nicholson@nist.gov no later than 6/18/2024 at 10:00 a.m. MDT.