DISA shelves DREN award

The Defense Information Systems Agency has put a hold on the contract award for the Defense Research and Engineering Network after at least two of the unsuccessful bidders filed protests.

The move comes after two vendors competing for the 10-year, $450 million contract announced that they are protesting DISA's award to WorldCom Inc. for high-speed networking services to the Defense Department's scientific and research communities.

Sprint filed a protest with the General Accounting Office on April 12, a company spokesman confirmed. Global Crossing Ltd. followed suit April 15, contesting the determination that the company was "ineligible for award" because it recently filed for bankruptcy.

DISA awarded the DREN contract to Global Crossing last year, then withdrew the offer after competing vendors protested.

"It is our contention that we met all of the stated criteria for demonstrating financial responsibility, and we therefore should have been considered for the contract," John Legere, Global Crossing's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Sprint spokesman John Polivka said that the company "felt that there were some inconsistencies in the evaluating criteria."

If those criteria were changed, the company could have had an opportunity to win the contract, he said.

The other unsuccessful bidders, AT&T and Qwest Communications International Inc., have not yet announced their intentions regarding a protest.

Natasha Haubold, a WorldCom spokeswoman, said the company has confidence in DISA's selection process and expects the award to be confirmed.