Description
The US Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), awarded on a sole source basis to Caelum Research Corporation using the procedures in FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C). This award increased the ceiling by $197,407.29 and extended the Period of Performance for two months for the National Weather Service (NWS) NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWS)-BMH requirement. There are over 1,000 NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) transmitters located throughout the United States. NOAA, Congress, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have made additional emphasis for NWR as the public alert vehicle. In response, NWS is exploring new ways to maintain and expand the NWR network, upgrade generator and transmitter systems, improve system security, and develop the next generation technology known as the Broadcast Message Handler (BMH). BMH provides a continuous broadcast of meteorological information; including severe weather warnings, to the general public by radio in the range of 162.4 MHz and 162.55 MHz. The tasks, which are causing the need for this extension, concern the NWR All Hazards replacement of the BMH and the NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS) replacement. NWWS is a satellite data collection and dissemination system operated by NWS. The purpose is to provide state and Federal Government, commercial users, and private citizens with timely delivery of meteorological, hydrological, climatological, and geophysical information. Both NWWS and BMH systems are essential to NWS warning the public. Many of the tasks required from the contractor (upgrades, evaluations, and documentation development) are currently underway and are proceeding into the next phase of the system development/deployment life cycles. By virtue of the contractor's performance and time on task, Caelum has the unique knowledge and expertise of NWS system requirements and intimate familiarity with NWS document format, security protocols, points of contact, and internal workings. Caelum also understands the criticality of the issues and politics involved with the tasks, the details of the work that has been performed (program history), and the most effective approach to completing the tasks in a timely, successful manner. Caelum Research Corporation. is the only party known to NOAA who can meet these requirements. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), which states "The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order."