DHS Still Planning TACCOM II

UPDATE 9/5/2017: DHS has released the final solicitation for TACCOM II today, with proposals due on September 22. Importantly, DHS has changed the requirements for the small business size standards. Potential small business contractors are no longer required to hold the main (and now only) NAICS codes of 334220 and/or 541330 in their SAM registrations. However, they must still certify that they meet the small business size standards for those task category NAICS codes in the cover letter for the final proposal.

This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a notice through the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Procurement Directorate for a potential $3 billion opportunity known as Tactical Communications II (TACCOM II), the successor to TACCOM I which ends this year. Before a draft RFP is released this month, EZGovOpps is here to provide some preliminary intel and the background history of the program, scope, and procurement details.

TACCOM I

TACCOM I was first released through a Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2011 through the US Secret Service (USSS) in order to “support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS and its Components) purchase a full array of tactical communications (TacCom) commodity products, infrastructure and services.” With a primary NAICS code of 334220 – Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract services were divided into 5 technical categories which carried their own scopes of work and NAICS codes:

• TC 1- Subscriber Equipment, such as portable and mobile radios, with a primary NAICS code of 334220
• TC 2- Infrastructure Equipment, such as repeaters and routers, with a primary NAICS code of 334220
• TC 3- Infrastructure Services, such as engineering and design, with a primary NAICS code of 541330
• TC 4- O&M Services, such as maintenance and repair, with a primary NAICS code of 541330
• TC 5- Test Equipment, including tools, with a primary NAICS code of 334515

Three of the categories included small-business set-asides, with all awardees selected under a “Best Value” selection process. Thirty contracts were awarded in in April 2012, with companies able to make proposals at the delivery level only for the technical categories they were awarded. Awardees included General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Nakuuruq Solutions, and Soft Tech Consulting.

Through FY16, DHS and its sub-agencies spent over $405 million through the IDIQ. While it was originally scheduled to end in March 2017, DHS extended the contract to end in September 2017 in order to close the gap until TACCOM II is awarded.

TACCOM II

Much like TACCOM I, TACCOM II will be a multiple-award IDIQ for use by a DHS and other Federal partners as Multi-Agency Contract (MAC). This opportunity will be broken down into only 2 Task Categories:

• Task Category 1 – Equipment: includes radios and infrastructure, with applicable NAICS codes of 334220, 334515, and 517410.
• Task Category 2 – Services: includes radio, system, and operations & maintenance services with applicable NAICS codes of 541330 and 811213.

In Task Category 1, CBP anticipates 15 awards for small businesses and 15 for other-than-small businesses, for a total of 30. In Task Category 2, CBP anticipates 30 awards for small businesses and 30 awards for other-than-small businesses, for a total of 60 awardees. TACCOM II will have a similar $3 billion ceiling and 5-year period of performance. However, procurement methods will deviate from the “Best Value” scheme used in TACCOM I. For the new contracts, DHS will use “Highest Technically Rated at a Fair and Reasonable Price” (HTRRP) evaluation criteria.

Awards for TACCOM II were originally slated for September 2017, but this Draft RFP release is already behind schedule and may lead to a delay in the final solicitation.