THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS

The proposed acquisition is for the purchase of an LTE RF and Protocol Analysis Tool. NIST Law Enforcement Standards Office (OLES) runs the Public Safety Communications Research Program (PSCR). Specific to the program is the 700 MHz Demonstration Network Project. The purpose of this project is to test and evaluate 700 MHz Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, which includes user equipment (e.g. cell phones) and base stations (e.g. cell sites) that are to be used for public safety.

PSCR works in conjunction with the (NTIA ITS) National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. PSCR and NTIA ITS currently are working on a joint project and share resources such as lab space and equipment. The current project requires the integration of a system test tool called a Signaling Analyzer (also referred to as the SART tool). This equipment takes real-time call traces on the LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The traces for the SART tool are at the signaling layer within the EPC and do not contain LTE radio layer communications. The SART is manufactured by JDSU and owned by NTIA ITS.

The required LTE RF and Protocol Analysis tool is what captures the radio layer communications and this data is then time stamp/message synchronized with the SART data to allow for a true end-to-end message flow analysis tool.

The LTE RF and Protocol Analysis Tool must be able to provide the capability to perform as a wireless protocol analyzer for the LTE air interface (UU link) in Band 14 and the upper layers (e.g. MAC, RRC). It must be able to correlate RF measurements and conditions to protocol messages for both the uplink and downlink transmissions.

The LTE RF and Protocol Analysis Tool must be 100% compatible and integrate with the existing SART tool manufactured by JDSU.

The following are minimum specifications:

LTE functionality: 3GPP Release 8 (Dec 2009) FDD
LTE Band Class Operation Band class: 13, 14, 17
Bandwidth: 5 and 10 MHz
MIMO: 2x2 MIMO support
3GPP analysis: Decode 3GPP TS 36.2xx and 36.3xx msgs
OTA Protocol Analysis: Decode & correlate NAS, RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, PHY
Sync Options: Support both GPS and 10 MHz timing sources
Transceiver Capability Supported: Can Tx or Rx supported LTE signals/waveforms
Capable of wired/cabled conducted lab testing: Yes
Capable of OTA testing: Yes
Capture minimum of 12 mega-samples of RF data in 10 MHz: Yes
Decode LTE Basestation Tx: Yes
Decode LTE UE Tx :Yes
Combine call traces from Uu(L3)-S1-X2-S5-S6a: Yes

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334515, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification in any response to this notice. If two or more small businesses are identified, we will consider a set-aside.

Companies that manufacture LTE RF and Protocol Analysis Tools, meeting the above requirements, are requested to email product literature and a letter describing their technological approach in enough detail to determine whether the LTE RF and Protocol Analysis Tool is will meet NIST's minimum needs and be compatible with the existing SART tool to [email protected] no later than the response date for this sources sought notice.

The letter shall include any information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested as part of the response to this sources sought notice:
1. Name and size of the company that manufactures the tool for which specifications are provided.
2. Name of the company(ies) that are authorized to sell the tool, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number, and email address).
3. Indication of the number of days after the receipt of the order that is typical for delivery of such tool.
4. Indication of whether each tool for which specifications are sent to [email protected] are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s).
5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the government should consider in finalizing its market research.

All documents must be sent to Andrea Parekh, contract specialist, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. Email address: [email protected].

Submission must be received not later than 10:00 am local time on September 12, 2011.