AT&T Corporation (28321318R00000047)

B-417107.4 Jul 02, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights AT&T Corporation, of Oakton, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to Verizon Business Network Systems, Inc., of Ashburn, Virginia, by the Social Security Administration (SSA), under request for proposals (RFP) No. 28321318R00000047, which was issued for the agency's Next Generation Telephony Project (NGTP). AT&T argues that Verizon has an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) that should have precluded it from receiving the award, and that the agency unreasonably evaluated the protester's proposal under the past performance factor. We sustain the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release.   Decision Matter of:  AT&T Corporation File:  B-417107.4 Date:  July 2, 2020 Jonathan M. Baker, Esq., Mark A. Ries, Esq., James G. Peyster, Esq., and Tyler S. Brown, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for the protester. Dennis J. Callahan, Esq., Aaron P. Silberman, Esq., Neil H. O’Donnell, Esq., and Emily A. Wieser, Esq., Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, PC, for Verizon Business Network Systems, Inc., the intervenor. Ryan M. Warrenfeltz, Esq., Alice M. Somers, Esq., and Virginia A. Pizza, Esq., Social Security Administration, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest that the awardee had an impaired objectivity organizational conflict of interest is sustained where the record shows that the agency unreasonably concluded that there was no possibility of any potential conflicts arising from the awardee’s performance of a related task order. 2.  Protest that the agency unreasonably evaluated the protester’s past performance is dismissed as untimely where the protester was advised of the agency’s interpretation of the solicitation in connection with the initial award. DECISION   AT&T Corporation, of Oakton, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to Verizon Business Network Systems, Inc., of Ashburn, Virginia, by the Social Security Administration (SSA), under request for proposals (RFP) No. 28321318R00000047, which was issued for the agency’s Next Generation Telephony Project (NGTP).  AT&T argues that Verizon has an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) that should have precluded it from receiving the award, and that the agency unreasonably evaluated the protester’s proposal under the past performance factor.  We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND The SSA’s NGTP will combine three legacy telephone systems into a single requirement:  (1) the Headquarters Telephone System (HTS), (2) the Telephone System Replacement Project (TSRP), and (3) the National 800 Number Network (N8NN).  Agency Report (AR), exh. 1, RFP, attach. A, Statement of Work (SOW) at 100.[1]  The HTS provides voice services for the SSA headquarters campus in Woodlawn, Maryland, the Wabash Avenue Building in Baltimore, Maryland, and the National Support Center in Urbana, Maryland, and handles over 14 million calls per year.  Id. at 101-02.  The TSRP provides voice services for more than 1,500 agency locations inside and outside the contiguous United States, and handles over 90 million calls and 30 million faxes each year.  Id. at 102-03.  The N8NN provides voice services for the agency’s main toll-free number for the public, and handles over 80 million calls per year.  Id. at 103. As relevant to this protest, the SSA’s network (SSANet) carries all of the agency’s data, video, and voice traffic.  Id. at 103-04.  As discussed below, the agency obtains SSANet services though a separate indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract and task order.  Contracting Officer’s Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 5‑6.  The NGTP RFP explains that SSANet “provides the critical foundation for all information exchanges within the SSA’s enterprise network and will continue to do so for the future NGTP effort.”[2]  SOW at 103.Infrastructure support from the SSANet, for data, video, and voice traffic, will be provided by the government to the NGTP contractor.  Id. at 182.  The SSA issued the NGTP solicitation on August 28, 2018, seeking proposals to provide support to replace the agency’s three legacy telephone systems.  RFP at 1.  The RFP anticipated the award of a single IDIQ contract under which the agency may issue fixed‑price, time-and-materials, and labor-hour task orders.  Id. at 6.  The contract will have a 1-year base period, nine 1‑year options, and one 6-month option.  Id. at 5-6.  The contractor will be required to provide “telephony, video, presence, [instant messaging], Web-based applications, and Contact Center services in an enterprise solution on the SSANet” that continues and expands services provided under the three legacy systems.