AT&T Corporation

AT&T Corporation BNUMBER: B-270841; B-270842: 270843 DATE: May 1, 1996 TITLE: AT&T Corporation ********************************************************************** DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE A protected decision was issued on the date below and was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been redacted or approved by the parties involved for public release. Matter of:AT&T Corporation File: B-270841; B-270842: 270843 Date:May 1, 1996 Francis J. O'Toole, Esq., Robert J. Conlan, Jr., Esq., Joseph C. Port, Jr., Esq., and Michael L. Shore, Esq., Sidley & Austin; and Nathaniel Friends, Esq., and Steven W. DeGeorge, Esq., AT&T Corporation, for the protester. David S. Cohen, Esq., Carrie B. Mann, Esq., Cohen & White; and George Affe, Esq., and Ronald Fouse, Esq., Sprint Communications Company, L.P., and Carl L. Vacketta, Esq., Richard P. Rector, Esq., Kevin P. Mullen, Esq., Holly Emrick Svetz, Esq., Piper & Marbury, MCI Telecommunications Corp., the intervenors. H. Jack Shearer, Esq., McKenzie Whitaker, Esq., Defense Information Systems Agency, for the agency. John Van Schaik, Esq., and Michael R. Golden, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that three solicitations for the components of a telecommunications network should be amended to permit offerors to submit, and have evaluated, single, integrated proposals responding to all of the agency's requirements in a single proposal is denied where record shows that multiple proposal, multiple contract approach is necessary for agency to assure that its minimum needs are met. DECISION AT&T Corporation protests the terms of requests for proposals (RFP) Nos. DCA200-95-R-0129, DCA200-95-R-0137 and DCA200-95-R-0068, issued by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The three solicitations were issued for three components of the Defense Information System Network (DISN), a telecommunications system providing end-to-end common user, switched voice and video, and dedicated data service in support of Department of Defense (DOD) command, control, communication and intelligence (C3I) requirements. AT&T principally argues that DISA has arbitrarily refused to allow offerors to submit, and have evaluated, single proposals as an alternative to individual proposals under each RFP. We deny the protests. BACKGROUND Under a previous contract, the Defense Commercial Telecommunications Network (DCTN) contract, which was awarded in 1984, AT&T provided DOD with a leased telecommunications system to support DOD C3I requirements, within the continental United States and locations abroad. The DCTN contract expired on February 29, 1996; prior to that date, DISA awarded the DISA Transition Contract (DTC) to AT&T as an interim measure until the award of DISN contracts.[1] Since the award of the DCTN contract in 1984, there have been substantial changes in the telecommunications industry, including the effects of the divestiture of AT&T, and the emergence of new technologies involving the blending of the telecommunications industry and the information services industry. According to DISA, its plan is to hold competitions for each of several components of the network resulting in multiple contracts. Thus, the DISN will consist of multiple contracts awarded at different times under four acquisitions: (1) The DISN Switched/Bandwidth Manager Services CONUS contract. The bandwidth manager services contractor will provide the capability to switch network traffic[2] at 12 service delivery points (SDP) and provide bandwidth managers at 34 government specified SDPs.[3] In addition, the contractor will provide network management services and share network coordinating functions with other network contractors. DISA intends to award one bandwidth manager services contract based on a best value evaluation. The contract is to be for a 3-year term, with six 1-year options. Proposals were required to be submitted by January 2, 1996, and the award is anticipated by August 1, 1996. (2) The DISN Transmission Services-CONUS contracts. DISA intends to award one or more contracts for access transmission services and backbone transmission services. Access transmission services contracts will provide transmission lines between DOD facilities and the network. In addition, video networks, discussed below, will be connected to the network via such access lines. DISA has broken access transmission services into eight geographic regions and intends to award from one to eight contracts for such services on a technically acceptable, lowest- priced basis. The backbone transmission services contractor will provide wideband network level transport facilities that will connect all bandwidth managers and switches provided under the bandwidth manager services contract.