[Protest of Air Force Contract Award for Statistical Multiplexors]

A firm protested an Air Force contract award for multiplexors under a nonmandatory automatic data processing schedule contract, contending that the Air Force should have awarded it the contract, since its bid was low and its equipment conformed to the Air Force's requirements. GAO noted that the Air Force: (1) announced its intent to procure brand-name equipment from a General Services Administration schedule contractor in the absence of a better offer; (2) determined that the protester's equipment could not meet its requirements; and (3) awarded the contract to the second-low bidder for the brand-name equipment. GAO held that the Air Force properly rejected the protester's bid, since its equipment was not equal to the brand-name product and could not meet the Air Force's needs. Accordingly, the protest was denied.