The incumbent franchisees are indeed to be congratulated on their successful tenure.
Perhaps that success proves the Assembly’s wisdom in awarding these vital franchises in the opaque manner that they were ten years ago. Times have changed since then, however. An open and transparent tender process this time around would surely be to the benefit of the Assembly’s constituency.
There may, after all, be credible alternatives. Recent announcements in relation to the contract for Caldari Prime illustrate that the capabilities of even an organisation as reknowned as Mordu’s Legion can evolve over a decade.
The people of Viriette have other natural allies in their neighbours, as the ISP’s conduct during the Rise incident demonstrates. I can speak from personal experience in saying that -1SM- is frequently deployed by ISP to meet security threats in Viriette’s spacelanes. I expect that ISP, among others, would be able to submit a compelling proposal.