Protest of Air Force Contract Award

A firm protested the award of a contract for the installation and service of a cable television system on an Air Force base. The protester's contentions were (1) that the contracting officer improperly made award almost solely on the basis of price because he failed to properly evaluate technical advantages of the protester's proposal; (2) that the contracting officer improperly transferred information concerning the protester's proposal to the awardee and sole competitor; (3) that the contracting officer improperly requested the protester to backdate an amendment to the solicitation; and (4) that the awardee was not a responsible offeror. The record showed that the contracting officer conducted the technical evaluation of the two proposals and the negotiations with the competitors properly. The decision to award the contract to the low bidder was reasonable and therefore within the discretion of the contracting officer. Procedural irregularities concerning the second copy of an amendment that both contractors had already signed and returned were cleared up prior to receipt of best and final offers, rendering it meaningless in the determination of the awardee. The matter of the awardee's responsibility was not considered since there was no allegation or demonstration of fraud. Accordingly, the protest was denied.