[daghamm]

On the contrary, it seems like EE were chosen due to previous experience and close connections with the pi foundation. This is how they got access to the new chip.

For me, this is a clear case of mismanagement and bad communication. DC gave EE the wrong budget (cost for the whole badge instead of the PCB+fw) and then completely ignored the reports they received until it was too late. At which point they decided force EE pay for their mistake instead of man-ing up and accepting at least some responsibility.

Don't forget DC gets 460$ × 30k from ticket sales alone, they should be able to handle this better. And this is not the first time they have screwed suppliers.