Global Crossing joins Sprint in DREN protest

Global Crossing Ltd. filed a protest with the General Accounting Office over its loss of the $450 million Defense Research and Engineering Network contract, the company announced April 15.

Global Crossing of Hamilton, Bermuda, was notified April 4 by the Defense Information Systems Agency that it was "ineligible for award" because of its financial situation, according to the company's news release. The contract was awarded to WorldCom Inc., Clinton, Miss., the same day.

Sprint Communications Corp. filed a protest of the award April 12, citing "inconsistencies in the assessing criteria." It is not yet known whether AT&T Corp. or Qwest Communications International Inc., the other two losing bidders, will also file a protest.

Losing the contract may be particularly bitter for Global Crossing, which last July won the contract. The award was rescinded when the other four bidders protested, and DISA asked the five to re-bid.

The agency was set to re-award the contract to Global Crossing in January, according to the company's former program director, but the announcement was put off because Global Crossing filed for bankruptcy.

"We were originally awarded the contract based on the merits of our technologically superior solution, cost effectiveness and our experience offering similar services to other large customers," said John Legere, chief executive officer of Global Crossing. "It is our contention that we met all of the stated criteria for demonstrating financial responsibility, and we therefore should have been considered for the contract."

Under the 10-year contract, which DISA administers, WorldCom will provide long-haul communication service for more than 5,000 users of the Defense Department's high-performance computing network.