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What’s new: A request for information (RFI) from DHS about GNSS-independent, long haul fiber, precise time.
Why it’s important:
- Time and timing, of course, are really important. Of P, N, & T, timing is the one ring that rules them all.
- RNT Foundation’s Resilient PNT Triad is a combination of signals from space, terrestrial broadcast, and time over fiber. So, DHS is looking at one of the three essential components. Note that DOT also described these three sources in a January 2021 report.
- This RFI strongly suggests it might lead to DHS letting a contract for a pilot network. See the draft Statement of Work attached to the RFI.
What else to know: The pilot project network postulated in the Statement of Work looks like the fiber portion of what Dr. Marc Weiss and Dr. Pat Diamond proposed in a 2020 RNTF white paper.
LINK TO THE BELOW POSTING ON SAM.GOV
Resilient Precision Time Pilot
70RSAT26RFI000016
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Sources Sought
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Sep 30, 2026
Manual
May 01, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
Apr 23, 2026 3:35 PM EDT
HOMELAND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF
OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS
SCI TECH ACQ DIV
Classification
(blank)
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541330 – Engineering Services
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- None
Description
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) Office Science and Engineering (OSE) is conducting market research to determine technical capabilities to transfer precise time over long-haul fiber that is reproducible, scalable, sustainable for use by end-users, resilient to Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) threats, independent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), and traceable back to the National Standards Institute and Technology.
S&T OSE welcomes all businesses to provide a written response to the questions in the attached RFI, demonstrating capability to fulfill the tasks outlined in the attached draft Statement of Work. If you do not have the capability to fulfill all tasks identified, please include a proposed teaming arrangement that would satisfy the Government’s full requirements.
