Boston, BayRICS to court: Please decide FirstNet case, so network construction can begin ASAP

A joint brief from the city of Boston and the Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority (BayRICS) asks a federal court to decide the protest lawsuit of the FirstNet procurement quickly, so deployment of the much-anticipated nationwide public-safety broadband network can begin as soon as possible.

In the brief to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Boston and BayRICS (a joint powers authority of entities in the San Francisco Bay region) do not attempt to address the merits of the case; indeed virtually all meaningful arguments have been sealed from public view. However, they “respectfully request that the Court decide this matter without any unnecessary delay, so that the important buildout of the FirstNet network can proceed,” according to the brief

Boston and BayRICS filed the amicus curiae brief—a legal document submitted by entities that are not parties to a lawsuit but have an interest in its outcome—yesterday, on the eve of Judge Elaine Kaplan’s scheduled status conference today. Last week, Kaplan scheduled the status conference for Wednesday; on Tuesday, the judge rescheduled the status conference to be conducted today.

During the status conference, Kaplan is expected to disclose whether oral arguments or other additional input is needed before deciding the lawsuit filed by the Rivada Mercury bidding team.

Rivada Mercury is protesting its elimination from the “competitive range” stage of the nationwide FirstNet procurement. AT&T’s bidding team is believed to be the only participant selected by the evaluation team to be in the “competitive range” of the FirstNet procurement, according to documents submitted by Rivada Mercury and AT&T.

However, FirstNet’s procurement process—overseen by the U.S. Department of Interior—has been stagnant since November, when Rivada Mercury filed its lawsuit. Such delays are harmful to the public-safety mission throughout the U.S., according to the brief filed by Boston and BayRICS.

“Having a modern, reliable, and dedicated public-safety communications network is critically important to the safety of residents of municipalities across the country, protecting property, and for ensuring the safety of our brave men and women serving as first responders,” the brief states. “Accordingly and acknowledging the importance of transparency in the public contracting process, [Boston and BayRICS] respectfully request that the Court decide the bid protest as expeditiously as possible.”