[Request for Reconsideration of Protest Under Navy RFP]

A firm requested reconsideration of a prior decision which denied in part and dismissed in part its protest of a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Navy. The RFP sought a single prime contractor to provide an IBM-compatible computer system as well as to provide installation, documentation, and continuing support services. The protester contended that GAO erred in concluding that: (1) the solicitation did not require peripheral computer equipment to be manufactured by IBM; (2) the protester was not an interested party under bid protest procedures. GAO found that: (1) nothing in the solicitation precluded the bidders from offering an IBM computer with its own peripherals or those of another manufacturer; and (2) the RFP requirement for the IBM operating system affected manufacturers of compatible computers more than it affected the protester, foreclosing the protester's status as an interested party. Accordingly, the prior decision was affirmed.