Description
The Boeing Company, in conjunction with our partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), together acting as Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the Army, is pleased to announce a new competitive bid opportunity for software development and software/hardware integration of Legacy Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Interoperability Gateway capabilities. FCS is a networked "system of systems." It utilizes advanced communications and technologies to link soldiers with manned and unmanned air platforms, ground platforms, and sensors. The FCS network is an IP-based Mobile Ad-Hoc network using IP compliant waveforms, but will also support legacy technologies in particular legacy radios.
Boeing is conducting a market survey to identify potential suppliers of a Legacy VoIP Interoperability Gateway that will provide interworking between VoIP-based FCS voice communications and legacy voice communications. The FCS network is a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network established with IP based waveforms as IP transport layer. FCS will deploy the Session Initiation Protocol based VoIP technology for voice communications. Another mode of voice communications will be push-to-talk voice groups whose structure will be defined before a mission. The purpose of the Legacy VoIP Gateway is to enable FCS soldiers to participate in external voice groups such as current forces. The Legacy VoIP Gateway is envisioned to be a software application executing on computer platform/hardware and running over the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE) firmware. Conceptually, FCS soldiers will be able to access the Legacy VoIP Gateway via VoIP-based voice communications over the IP-based FCS waveforms and be bridged onto a predetermined legacy voice group. The Legacy VoIP Gateway application will need to provide bi-directional conversion between the legacy voice signal (analog or digitized according to selected design) and VoIP packets encoded according to the codec selected by FCS. It will also need to meet timing requirements necessary for acceptable voice quality to the FCS soldiers and other warfighters.
The user interface for accessing the Gateway will need to be integrated with the FCS user interface for voice communications in order to minimize complexity for FCS soldiers.
RFI Response Outline
The offerer is requested to submit a comprehensive data package in response to this RFI, which is to include the following information.
- Technology White Paper (no more than 5 single-sided pages) The white paper should respond to the request for information outlined in the RFI "Description" section above, including the offerer's existing and near-term technologies applicable to the Legacy VoIP Interoperability Gateway effort. The offerer must also provide hardware requirements (disk and memory space size, processing speed, operating environment, etc.) and scalability information for the existing (or proposed) product.
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Experience and Capabilities (no more than 3 single-sided pages) In addition to your white paper, please address the following items as they relate to this RFI, as appropriate:
- Applicable experience (past and current)
- Customer experience (past and current work with Army or other DoD)
- Program experience (i.e., other FCS involvement)
- Workforce experience and capabilities (e.g., in design, analysis, development, testing)
- Small or Disadvantaged Business Status, if applicable
The deadline for RFI package submittal is COB January 24, 2008.
Please submit RFI responses to email address FCSMktgResearch@boeing.com.