Secret evaluation team will assess FirstNet RFP bids

In terms of the first matter, FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson in June expressed concern that conflict-of-interest rules would prevent the FirstNet board members with the greatest knowledge about building broadband networks and spotting key contract language in industry proposals from participating in the evaluation process. If the issue was not addressed properly, the result could be that FirstNet could get “snookered” in a deal with a partner, Swenson said.

After the RFP is released, vendors will have three weeks to submit questions about the 508-page document, which FirstNet officials plan to answer within 30 days.  However, all FirstNet officials have been outspoken in their desire to conduct the upcoming procurement in a manner that meets all federal rules and regulations—essentially, they will not discuss matters associated with the procurement process—so the massive network project is not jeopardized.

FirstNet hopes the RFP will address any concerns, Poth said.

“We’ve gone to painstaking measures to make sure that we have what we believe is a clear, concise document that captures the spirit and intent of building the national network,” Poth said. “If we have failed in doing that and confuse industry, … that will probably manifest itself during the question period in the first 30 days [after the RFP is released].

“But we believe that we have structured a process that is fair, competitive and as open and transparent as possible. We’ve gone to painstaking measures over the last two years to get a lot of feedback from all of the different constituents to make sure that we’ve captured what’s important to public safety, what’s important to industry and what’s important to FirstNet. Hopefully, that resonates when they see the RFP.”