[Protest of Contract Award Under AFRTS Solicitation]

A firm protested a contract award under an Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) solicitation, contending that AFRTS improperly found its proposal to be technically unacceptable. The protester also claimed reimbursement of proposal preparation costs. The protester noted that AFRTS included its proposal in the competitive range for discussions under the negotiated procurement and asked the protester for a best and final offer. GAO held that: (1) AFRTS properly included the proposal in the competitive range because it determined that, while the proposal was deficient, the deficiencies could be remedied through discussions; (2) AFRTS properly determined that the proposal was technically unacceptable; and (3) the protester could not be awarded proposal preparation costs absent evidence that AFRTS acted arbitrarily in rejecting the proposal. Accordingly, the protest and claim were denied.