Software-Defined Radio

This is a request for a Firm Fixed Price quotation for commercial products. This solicitation is issued in accordance with the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the RFO. 

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334220 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing. The small business size standard of 1,250 employees. This is a total small business set-aside competition. Only small businesses under the applicable NAICS code are eligible to respond.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS

Non-Competitive (Single-sole Source (Including Brand-Name)) Determination:

NIST Wireless Networks Division's existing 5G/6G and Open RAN (O-RAN) research platform was designed, integrated, and validated using National Instruments (NI) hardware and software. The testbed relies on NI PXI instrumentation, RF transceivers, synchronization hardware, drivers, and software interfaces that are fully integrated with the division's open-source research framework. Substituting another manufacturer's equipment would require extensive software redevelopment, hardware integration, driver modifications, system recalibration, and comprehensive testing to establish compatibility with the existing research platform.

Failure to procure compatible National Instruments equipment will prevent the Wireless Networks Division from maintaining and expanding its existing 5G/6G and O-RAN research platform. The inability to maintain compatibility with the current testbed would disrupt ongoing experiments, reduce research productivity, and adversely impact NIST's mission to advance measurement science and next-generation wireless...