And there were three ...

The General Services Administration cut the number of vendors competing to run its Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 managed service office from six to three.

Last week, GSA officials asked for best and final pricing numbers from BearingPoint, EDS and XTec, industry sources said.

GSA decided not to move forward with three other companies after reviewing all of their past performance, project management and technical proposals. The companies that didn't make the cut include Lockheed Martin and Maximus, industry sources said.

GSA officials would not comment on the reduction.

Michel Kareis, director of GSA's HSPD-12 program, said during the Interagency Smart Card Advisory Board meeting last week that the agency expects to award the contract by the end of the month.

"We learned a tremendous amount from the first contract," she said. "We have a more technical document."

GSA canceled BearingPoint's original $104 million deal, which the agency awarded in August 2006. But the delays in awarding the follow-on contract have forced GSA to extend the company's agreement through May 31. Industry sources say GSA decided to reopen the contract because it feared losing the protest to the Government Accountability Office by Lockheed Martin, EDS and XTec.

Kareis said GSA has issued 227 credentials compliant with HSPD-12 to its 42 customer agencies. She said it expects to issue 420,000 smart identification cards by October 2008.

The winning vendor will have to provide 200 fixed-enrollment stations and 25 mobile ones that will be deployed nationwide in the next 10 months. The mobile stations will move eight times in the first year to support 200 other areas.

"By the end of October 2008, the managed service office will have the capability to credential 900,000 federal and contract workers," Kareis said.

Jason Miller writes for Government Computer News, an 1105 Government Information Group publication.