Tel-Instrument Electronics Corporation (M6785420R5117)

B-419529,B-419529.2 Apr 19, 2021 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Tel-Instrument Electronics Corporation (TIC), of East Rutherford, New Jersey, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) M67854-20-R-5117 issued by the United States Marine Corps for handheld radio test sets. The protester alleges that the solicitation requirements were drafted around one firm's products, creating a de facto sole-source acquisition, and that the agency erred by failing to share certain information with the protester prior to the issuance of the solicitation. We deny 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:  Tel-Instrument Electronics Corporation File:  B-419529; B-419529.2 Date:  April 19, 2021 Lars E. Anderson, Esq., Charlotte R. Rosen, Esq., and James P. Miller, Esq., Odin Feldman & Pittleman, PC, for the protester. Lisa L. Baker, Esq., Blane B. Lewis, Esq., and Ellen Clark, Esq., United States Marine Corps, for the agency. Michael Willems, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest alleging that the agency’s acquisition strategy will unduly restrict competition and result in a de facto sole-source acquisition is denied where the record shows that the agency had a reasonable expectation of competition. 2.  Protest alleging that agency treated protester unequally by holding pre-solicitation conferences with other offerors but not with the protester is denied where the agency was unaware that the protester was a potential offeror at the time, and the agency’s requirements were not yet established. DECISION   Tel-Instrument Electronics Corporation (TIC), of East Rutherford, New Jersey, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) M67854-20-R-5117 issued by the United States Marine Corps for handheld radio test sets.  The protester alleges that the solicitation requirements were drafted around one firm’s products, creating a de facto sole-source acquisition, and that the agency erred by failing to share certain information with the protester prior to the issuance of the solicitation. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The agency is seeking to procure radio test equipment that will permit the agency to test its existing inventory of radios as well as potential future radios that operate at a higher radio frequency.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Contracting Officer’s Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 4.[1]  Specifically, the agency currently operates radios that use frequencies up to 2.6 gigahertz (GHz), but anticipates fielding 5 or 6GHz radios at some point in the next ten years.  Id. at 4, 9-10. The agency notes that its existing radio testers, which were procured ten to fifteen years ago, are not capable of testing the agency’s existing radios and the agency would like to ensure that this acquisition is “future proof.”  Id. The agency initiated market research for this procurement in 2017, at which point the agency issued a request for information (RFI) seeking information concerning test sets capable of testing up to 2.6 GHz.  See AR, Tab 6, 2017 RFI at 352.  In response to the RFI, the agency received white papers from industry, and held an industry day in September of 2017.  COS/MOL at 4.  In 2018, the agency issued a second RFI, seeking information about test sets capable of testing up to 6GHz.  AR, Tab 8, 2018 RFI at 392.  This RFI, however, also included a draft purchase description for a test set that only tested up to 3GHz.  Id.