Teleport Communications Group, B-277926.2, September 17, 1998

B-277926.2 Sep 17, 1998 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The successful contractor under the RFP will be required "to provide a fully operational. Which set forth 15 general objectives which the offerors' proposals were to meet. /2/ RFP attachment 1. The RFP added that technical capability and past performance were approximately equal in importance. That technical capability and past performance combined were approximately equal in importance to price. The RFP added that offerors were permitted to submit up to three technical approaches. The proposals were evaluated. Best and final offers (BAFO) were requested. A second round of discussions was conducted. Revised BAFOs were requested and received. Each proposal was rated by the cognizant technical evaluation board (TEB) as to how well it demonstrated fulfillment of each of the RFP's 15 objectives. View Decision Matter of: Teleport Communications Group File: B-277926.2 Date: September 17, 1998 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Teleport Communications Group (TCG) protests the award of a contract to Pacific Bell under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00244-97-R-5197, issued by the Department of the Navy, for a network to meet the Navy's telecommunications requirements for the San Diego, California metropolitan area. TCG protests the evaluation of its proposal and selection of Pacific Bell's higher-priced proposal for award. We deny the protest. The RFP, issued on July 11, 1997, provided for the award of a fixed-price indefinite quantity contract for a 5-year performance period. The successful contractor under the RFP will be required "to provide a fully operational, heterogeneous transport vehicle for all voice, video and data transmissions necessary for conducting Navy business (plus any emergent Federal users) in the San Diego region." RFP amendment No. 0005 at 2. The RFP added here that "[t]his includes . . . the expansion of bandwidth at initial and expanded sites and the upgrade of technology as needs evolve." /1/ Id. The RFP included a statement of objectives (SOO), which set forth 15 general objectives which the offerors' proposals were to meet. /2/ RFP attachment 1, revision 2. The agency explains that it chose this approach so that firms had "wide latitude to propose innovative ways of doing business and to employ creative problem solving to meet the Navy's requirements." Agency Report at 2-3. The RFP stated that award would be made to the offeror submitting the offer determined to be most advantageous to the government, and listed the following evaluation factors in descending order of importance: (1) price; (2) technical capability; and (3) past performance. RFP amendment No. 0002 replacement pp. 14-15. The RFP added that technical capability and past performance were approximately equal in importance, and that technical capability and past performance combined were approximately equal in importance to price. Id. The RFP set forth detailed instructions for the preparation of proposals. Specifically, the RFP required that proposals include, among other things, a statement of work (SOW) detailing how the offeror would meet each of the RFP's listed objectives, and a price proposal setting forth relevant contract line items. RFP amendment No. 0002 replacement p. 12. The RFP added that offerors were permitted to submit up to three technical approaches. Id. at 15. The agency received seven proposals from four offerors by the RFP's closing date. The proposals were evaluated, discussions held, and best and final offers (BAFO) were requested, received, and evaluated. A second round of discussions was conducted, and revised BAFOs were requested and received. In accordance with the source selection plan, each proposal was rated by the cognizant technical evaluation board (TEB) as to how well it demonstrated fulfillment of each of the RFP's 15 objectives. Each proposal also received an overall technical rating, past performance rating, and combined (technical capability and past performance) rating. /3/ In this regard, Pacific Bell's technical proposal received ten highly satisfactory" and five "satisfactory" ratings, an overall technical rating of "highly satisfactory," a past performance rating of "satisfactory," and a combined proposal rating of "highly satisfactory," at a price of $18,993,409. TCG's technical proposal received 2 "highly satisfactory" and 13 "satisfactory" ratings, an overall technical rating of "satisfactory," a past performance rating of "satisfactory," and a combined rating of "satisfactory," at a price of $18,244,182. The agency's best value decision focused on the superior elements of Pacific Bell's technical proposal, as evidenced by its "highly satisfactory" ratings, as well as the additional bandwidth provided for by Pacific Bell's proposed technical solution.