Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
RFQ - 19ZA6026Q0008 Mobile Phone Services
Department of State
AI summaryThe U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia (State Department) wants mobile phone services for about 550 subscriptions on Government-owned devices under request for quotations 19ZA6026Q0008, with no set-aside. It plans one indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: orders placed as needed) contract with a base year from January 2, 2027 to January 1, 2028 plus four one-year options. Quotes are due by the response due date, November 20, 2026, 5:00 PM Central Africa Time (CAT). More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia (State Department) wants mobile phone services for about 550 subscriptions on Government-owned devices under request for quotations 19ZA6026Q0008, with no set-aside. It plans one indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: orders placed as needed) contract with a base year from January 2, 2027 to January 1, 2028 plus four one-year options. Quotes are due by the response due date, November 20, 2026, 5:00 PM Central Africa Time (CAT).
Who can bid (6)
- Open to all businesses: SAM.gov says no set-aside is used
- Active registration in SAM.gov (System for Award Management) when the quote is submitted
- Network coverage of at least 90% within Zambia, with 5G/LTE or newer technology widely available in Lusaka, surrounding areas and provincial capitals
Show all 6Show fewer
- Established business with a permanent address and telephone listing in Zambia, or a plan to establish an office within 30 days of award
- Authorization to operate in Zambia and all licenses and permits needed, in line with Zambian laws
- A "Go" rating on the cybersecurity supply chain risk management (C-SCRM) questionnaire or an accepted third-party assessment
How to submit: Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov, in English, as MS Word, Excel or PDF files. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
From the version posted Oct 26, 2026.
- Serious: Zambian office or business presence required. Quotes must show an established business with a permanent address and phone listing in Zambia, or a plan to open an office within 30 days of award, plus local licenses and permits.
- Serious: Cybersecurity go/no-go check can knock out a quote. A quote without a completed C-SCRM questionnaire (all "Yes" answers in Sections 2 and 3) or an accepted third-party assessment is rated No-Go.
- Serious: Needs a real mobile network across Zambia. The contractor must deliver at least 90% network coverage, 5G/LTE or newer in Lusaka and provincial capitals, and international roaming; only a carrier or a reseller with carrier agreements can meet this.
Show all 9Show fewer
- Worth checking: Late or incomplete quotes are not accepted. The Embassy will not accept quotes after the response due date or missing any required item.
- Worth checking: Paid in local currency; very small guaranteed minimum. Payment is in local currency by electronic funds transfer within 30 days of a proper invoice. The Government only guarantees ZMW 452,800.00 (Zambian kwacha) in orders over the whole contract; quantities are estimates.
- Worth checking: 2 percent U.S. excise tax withholding for foreign firms. A foreign contractor is paid with 2 percent withheld unless it files IRS Form W-14 claiming an exemption; the tax cannot be added to the price. Value added tax (VAT) is not charged because the Embassy has a tax exemption certificate.
- Worth checking: Fast service-level targets. Problems must be acknowledged within 2 hours, phones activated or deactivated within 4 business hours, and new SIMs delivered within 24 hours of an order; repeat complaints are not permitted.
- Minor: Pre-quotation conference at the Embassy. The Embassy intends to hold a conference on November 3, 2026, 10:00 AM local time at the Embassy; contact the procurement email by October 28, 2026 to attend or arrange building entry. It is not called mandatory.
- Minor: Funding only confirmed through September 30, 2027. Funds are not currently available beyond that date, so later option years depend on appropriations.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- RFQ - 19ZA6026Q0008 Mobile Phone Services.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Mobile voice, data, text (SMS), voicemail, international calling and international roaming for about 550 subscriptions: 170 at 40 GB data and 2000 minutes, 40 at 20 GB and 1500 minutes, 310 at 10 GB and 1000 minutes, 15 data-only at 10 GB, and 15 voice-only at 500 minutes (all per month)
- At least 90% network coverage in Zambia around the clock, with 5G/LTE or newer technology widely available in Lusaka, surrounding areas and provincial capitals
- Estimated yearly volumes in the price schedule: calls within the Embassy group, within and outside the network (10,000 minutes each), international calls to 9 countries (2,000 minutes each), international roaming in 9 countries (5,000 minutes each) and 10,000 SMS in each of 4 categories
- 24/7 customer service desk with a named account manager who speaks English; problems acknowledged within 2 hours; phone activation or deactivation within 4 business hours
- Supply a working SIM card or e-SIM, phone number and security codes within 24 hours of each delivery order, and move existing numbers from the current provider where possible
- Monthly itemized billing per number, sent electronically to the Embassy, and an online log-in to check billing and account status
- Data that does not expire within 90 days and rolls over on the same SIM
- A network survivability and recovery plan for emergencies and disasters
- Contract type
- Single indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract, paid monthly at unit prices; best-value comparative evaluation under FAR 13.106-2(b)(3)
- Period of performance
- 1 base year (January 2, 2027 to January 1, 2028) + 4 one-year options (through January 1, 2032); the contract can also be extended up to 6 months, and the total cannot exceed 5 years
- Place of performance
- Lusaka, Zambia (outside the United States)
- Estimated value
- Ceiling of ZMW 43,741,045.50 (Zambian kwacha) for all orders; guaranteed minimum of ZMW 452,800.00 (about US$23,280.21 at a planning rate of 1 USD = 19.45 ZMW, for reference only)
- How they'll choose
- Best value by comparative evaluation (offers are compared directly with each other), not lowest price technically acceptable. A go/no-go cybersecurity check comes first
- Offers due
- November 20, 2026, 5:00 PM CAT (UTC+2)
- How to submit
- Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov, in English, as MS Word, Excel or PDF files
What they'll judge offers on
- Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) go/no-go: completed questionnaire (or an accepted third-party assessment such as ISO 27001 or SOC II) and, if offering software, the Secure Software Development Attestation Form
- Technical: direct comparison of coverage in Zambia (over 90%, latest technology), international calls and roaming (partners, minutes included), SMS, voicemail, 24-hour customer service and detailed billing
- Past performance: direct comparison of performance records
- Price: fair and reasonable; offered prices times the estimated quantities, totaled for the base year and all options
What to include when you submit
- Each email must be under 30 MB; larger submissions go in separate files on separate emails
- Return a completed SF 1449 (Standard Form 1449: the form you sign and return as your offer), Section 1 pricing and Section 5 representations and certifications
- Include proof of SAM.gov registration with your unique entity ID (UEI)
- Include the completed C-SCRM Questionnaire (Attachment 2) or a third-party assessment such as ISO 27001, SOC II or FedRAMP; if offering software, include the Secure Software Development Attestation Form
- Give the name of an English-speaking account manager
- Show an established business with a permanent address and telephone listing in Zambia, or a plan to open an office within 30 days of award
- Send a list of clients over the past 5 years with dates, places, values and contact details; if you have no comparable work in Zambia, send international experience
- Describe your plan to get all licenses and permits required by Zambian law, or copies of ones you hold
- Provide a work plan, equipment and supplies list, connectivity information for Zambia, coverage maps, a list of international roaming contracts, a copy of the rate plan subscription and a price list for accessories
- Provide evidence of a recovery plan for emergencies or disasters, and of personnel, equipment and financial resources
- Foreign firms: state whether you are a foreign person for the 2 percent federal excise tax and include IRS Form W-14 with the offer if claiming an exemption
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. The RFQ refers to a current provider from which existing Embassy phone numbers should be transferred, but does not name it.
Not in the notice text
- The currency in which quotes must be priced is not stated; payment is in local currency and the guaranteed minimum is in Zambian kwacha.
- Whether the pre-quotation conference is required is not stated; it is described as something the Embassy intends to hold.
- Unit prices and totals in the price schedule are blank for bidders to fill in.
- The C-SCRM questionnaire form itself (Attachment 2) and Government Furnished Property Attachment 1 were not included in the text; check the forms on SAM.gov.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov, in English, as MS Word, Excel or PDF files. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 26, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- U.S. Embassy Lusaka
- Product/service code
- DE11 · IT and Telecom – Mobile Device as a Service
- Business type
- IT, software & telecom (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 517112)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Title: Mobile Phone Services – U.S. Embassy Lusaka, Zambia Solicitation Number: 19ZA6026Q0008 NAICS Code: 517112 Set-Aside: None (Unrestricted) Place of Performance: Lusaka, Zambia Response Date: 20 November 2026, 5:00 p.m. CAT Point of Contact: Lusaka-procurement@state.gov | +260 211 357000 Description: The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, requests quotations for mobile phone services for official Embassy use. The contractor will provide voice, data, SMS, voicemail, international calling, international roaming, itemized billing, and 24/7 customer support for about 550 subscriptions on Government-furnished devices. The contractor must provide at least 90% network coverage within Zambia, with 5G/LTE or newer technology widely available in Lusaka, the surrounding areas, and the provincial capitals. The Embassy will award a single indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a one-year base period (2 January 2027 – 1 January 2028) and four one-year option periods. The Embassy will award to the responsible offeror whose quotation offers the best value, using comparative evaluation under FAR 13.106-2(b)(3). Each quotation must include a completed Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) Questionnaire or an acceptable third-party assessment, such as ISO 27001 or SOC II. The Embassy will rate it go/no-go. Offerors must be registered in SAM.gov when they submit their quotations. Pre-Quotation Conference: 3 November 2026, 10:00 a.m. (local time), U.S. Embassy Lusaka. Contact Lusaka-procurement@state.gov by 28 October 2026 to attend. Submission: Email quotations to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov in English, in MS Word, Excel, or PDF format. Each email must be under 30 MB. The Embassy will not accept late or incomplete quotations. See the attached RFQ for full requirements, clauses, and evaluation criteria.
Similar open opportunities
- Cell Phone ServicesPresolicitation from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo, for cell phone services in support of its operations.
- US Embassy Yaounde Cellphone ServicesThe U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon wants one contractor to provide mobile phone service (voice, SMS, data, roaming, voicemail, phone rentals and 24-hour support) for about 500…
- Provision of monthly cell phone packages inclusive of voice and data services
- Commercial Wi-FI for AFLCMC/GBH B977 JBSAThe Department of the Air Force (AFLCMC GBK contracting office) wants a small business to restore and run commercial Wi-Fi internet in Building 977 at Joint Base San Antonio…