Networx award could be delayed
GSA will give vendors more time to respond to the Networx RFP, but that extension could make it difficult for the agency to award the contracts by April 2006, as originally planned, GSA officials said.
CHICAGO -- Vendors responding to the Networx solicitation will have an additional month in which to submit their proposals. The extension could make it difficult for the General Services Administration to award the contracts in April 2006, as originally planned, said Fred Schobert, GSA's Networx program manager.
An amendment to the Networx requests for proposal will extend the deadlines to Oct. 5 for Networx Universal and Oct. 7 for Networx Enterprise, Schobert said. The amendment will be issued Aug. 19. GSA last week announced that the amendment was coming, but did not specify the new deadline dates.
It will be the second month-long extension to the original deadlines of Aug. 3 for Universal and Aug. 5 for Enterprise.
Schobert did not say the target date had officially changed. However, he said, "The target date for award will slip when you see extensions." Any decision to formally change the target date will come from the agency's top leadership, he added.
Vendors have responded overwhelmingly to the solicitations, submitting more than 1,000 clarifying questions and comments since the May release of the final RFP. John Johnson, assistant commissioner of service delivery and development at GSA, said that suggests vendors are trying to respond to the solicitation in a thorough, serious way.
Schobert and Johnson spoke in separate sessions at GSA's Network Services Conference underway in Chicago.
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