First NetCents NetOps protest filed
By
Nick Wakeman
The first protest over the $5.8 billion NetCents 2 NetOps contract has been filed. The clock is ticking, but more protests are expected.
We’ve been keeping track of the calendar and figured that some of the losing bidders would start filing protests this week over the Air Force NetCents2 Network Operations and Infrastructure Solutions contract, worth $5.8 billion.
The first out of the gate is Intelligent Decisions, which filed its protest on Monday.
Because the Air Force picked 12 winners out of 29 bids, the expectation has been that there will be plenty of protests, as many as 17.
But the clock is ticking. The awards were made March 27, and the debriefings likely began last week. Companies have 10 days to file a protest following the debriefs.
So, I would expect the bulk of protests to be filed this week and next. After that, it’ll be interesting to watch how the Air Force handles the protests.
With the products portion of the NetCents 2 vehicle, there were multiple rounds of protests and corrective actions until the Air Force basically gave all the winners a contract under that vehicle.
Given the amount of time and money wasted with the products contract, the hope is that the Air Force has learned some lessons.
The last thing they need is to repeat that debacle. We’ll be watching.