MCI Telecommunications Corporation, B-276659.2, September 29,

B-276659.2 Sep 29, 1997 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Maintain custom dedicated networks for government agencies is beyond the scope of the original telecommunications services contract and must be purchased in accordance with the statutory requirements for competition. MCI argues that GSA was required to hold a competition for these services. Is the largest acquisition ever undertaken by a civilian federal agency. [1] The RFP for the FTS 2000 contract set forth six types of services covered by the procurement: (1) switched voice service. Was defined in the solicitation as "point-to- point private line transmission of voice and data.". This means that the transmission capacity is reserved for the user. Was awarded to AT&T. Was awarded to Sprint. View Decision Matter of: MCI Telecommunications Corporation File: B-276659.2 Date: September 29, 1997 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION MCI Telecommunications Corporation protests a decision by the General Services Administration (GSA) to modify the FTS 2000 contract held by AT&T Communications, Inc. MCI maintains that the Network Service Assurance Plan II (NSAP II), added by modification PS273 to the dedicated transmission service portion of AT&T's contract, exceeds the scope of the original FTS 2000 contract. Thus, MCI argues that GSA was required to hold a competition for these services. We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND On December 31, 1986, GSA issued request for proposals (RFP) No. KET-JW-87-02 seeking offers to replace the existing Federal Telecommunications System and to provide all of the federal government's domestic inter-city telecommunications services for a 10-year period. The resulting contract became known as the FTS 2000 contract, and is the largest acquisition ever undertaken by a civilian federal agency. [1] The RFP for the FTS 2000 contract set forth six types of services covered by the procurement: (1) switched voice service, (2) switched data service, (3) switched digital integrated service, (4) packet switched service, (5) video transmission service, and (6) dedicated transmission service. RFP Sec. C.1.3.1. Dedicated transmission service--the service affected by the modification at issue here--was defined in the solicitation as "point-to- point private line transmission of voice and data." RFP Sec. C.2.1.1. In essence, this means that the transmission capacity is reserved for the user, available at all times, and always connected to the same party at the other end of the line. In addition, the RFP explained that "dedicated transmission service includes analog, digital, and T1 transmission service." RFP Sec. C.2.7. These services "differ primarily in their transmission rates." AT&T Communications, Inc. v. Wiltel, Inc., 1 F.3d 1201, 1203 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Three offerors responded to GSA's original RFP: Sprint, Martin Marietta (with MCI as a subcontractor), and AT&T. At the conclusion of the competition, on December 7, 1988, GSA made two awards: Network A, covering 60 percent of federal domestic inter-city service, was awarded to AT&T; Network B, covering the remaining 40 percent of inter-city service, was awarded to Sprint. Both contracts are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts, and both permit federal agencies to order the same comprehensive set of telecommunications services. The maximum value of the Network A contract is $15 billion; the maximum value of the Network B contract is $10 billion. [2] The protest here is limited to AT&T's Network A contract. Over the life of the FTS 2000 contract, the growth of computer networks has triggered significant growth in the use, speed, and sophistication of dedicated transmission services. Since the RFP anticipated advances in commercial service and required the contractor to provide these same advances to the government, RFP Sec. C.2.1.8, there have been numerous modifications to the contract. Two major modifications to the dedicated transmission services portion of the FTS 2000 contract--the addition of multipoint service and T3 transmission capability--triggered legal disputes resulting in opinions discussed in detail later in this decision. The NSAP II Modification The work added by the June 13, 1997, NSAP II modification to the FTS 2000 contract is set forth in the modification at paragraph E, including sub- paragraphs E.1 through E.7, on pages 2 through 6. As shown in detail below, the general thrust of this modification is to permit AT&T to design and maintain customized dedicated networks for agencies. The text of the modification anticipates that federal government customers will order NSAP II using a request for service form, on which they will specify the parameters of the service desired. Mod. Sec. E.4. The form, attached to the modification as Appendix 00.1, allows customers to indicate their preferred transmission protocol (choices are: internet protocol, multicast internet protocol, DECNET, ATM, or TDM).