4618-20261013152621 HATTIESBURG CLINIC.pdf

Hattiesburg Clinic RFP No. [HC-RTG-2026-WAN] — Scope of Work

Request for Proposals Scope of Work

Tertiary Cellular WAN Service for Rural Clinic Sites Hattiesburg Clinic, P.A. | 415 South 28th Avenue, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 | RFP No. [HC-RTG-2026-WAN]

Key Item Detail Issuing organization Hattiesburg Clinic, P.A. (the “Clinic”)

RFP posted October 13, 2026

Proposals due November 1, 2026

Point of contact Jerry Robinson, Director of Information Systems — Jerry.Robinson@hattiesburgclinic.com

Submission method Email to: Jerry Robinson

1. Background Hattiesburg Clinic is a multi-specialty physician practice headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, serving patients across more than 60 locations, including rural satellite clinics throughout South Mississippi.

Each rural satellite clinic connects to the Clinic’s data center and the Internet through two fiber circuits from two different carriers. In many rural communities, both carriers follow the same physical route for the final miles into the site, so a single fiber cut, weather event or construction strike can take both circuits down at once. When that happens, the site loses access to the electronic health record (EHR) and all Internet-based services until a circuit is restored.

The Clinic is seeking a cellular wireless WAN service to provide a third (tertiary), physically diverse connection at each rural satellite clinic. The cellular path will sit in hot standby behind the existing primary and secondary fiber circuits and take over automatically when both fail.

This project is funded in whole or in part with federal funds through the Mississippi Rural Health Transformation Program (MS RHTP). See Section 10 for applicable federal requirements.

2. Objectives

• Provide a cellular connection at each rural satellite clinic that does not depend on the local fiber route.

• Maintain access to the EHR and other critical applications during dual-fiber outages.

• Integrate with the Clinic’s existing site edge equipment for automatic failover and failback.

• Keep recurring cost predictable through pooled or shared data plans sized for standby use.

3. Current Environment and Sites

Item Value

Sites in scope 67 rural satellite clinics (site list with addresses provided upon request)

Existing connectivity Dual fiber circuits from two carriers per site

Site edge equipment [Existing router / SD-WAN edge Meraki MX

Required handoff Ethernet (RJ-45) to the site edge device

Expected usage Standby; active only during fiber outages, plus periodic health checks

Exhibit 1 (site list) will be provided to bidders [with this RFP / upon request]. Bidders shall confirm coverage for each site.

4. Scope of Services The bidder shall provide all service, equipment and labor needed to deliver a working cellular WAN connection at each site. Items marked (M) are mandatory; items marked (D) are desired and will be considered in evaluation.

4.1 Cellular Service

• (M) 5G and/or 4G LTE data service at each of the 67 sites.

• (M) A data plan suited to standby use (pooled, shared or per-line), with no service interruption or throttling below usable EHR performance during an outage. The bidder shall state any throttling thresholds and overage rates.

• (M) Bandwidth and latency sufficient to sustain the EHR and other critical clinical applications during an outage. The bidder shall state expected typical download/upload speeds and latency per site.

• (M) Support for site-to-site VPN (IPsec) traffic from the Clinic’s edge devices. The bidder shall state whether static public IPs or private APN options are available and at what cost.

• (D) Priority and preemption on the carrier network during emergencies or network congestion (for example, a public-safety network).

• (D) Tower and backhaul paths that are physically diverse from the local fiber routes serving each site.

4.2 Coverage Verification

• (M) The bidder shall provide predicted coverage and signal strength for each site with its proposal.

• (M) Before activation, the bidder shall confirm usable signal at each site (on-site test or equivalent). Sites without usable indoor signal shall be identified, with options such as external antennas priced separately.

4.3 Equipment

• (M) A cellular modem/router at each site with an Ethernet handoff, supplied by the carrier or the bidder.

• (M) Equipment must be remotely manageable, support current firmware updates for the full term, and be replaced at no cost if it fails during the term.

• (D) External or high-gain antenna options for weak-signal sites.

4.4 Implementation

• (M) Line activation, equipment configuration and delivery to each site.

• (M) Coordination with Clinic IS staff, who will configure failover on the Clinic’s edge devices. Installation at each site must be scheduled to avoid disrupting clinical operations.

• (M) Implementation completed at all sites within [90] days of contract execution.

• (M) A completion record for each site (line number, equipment serial number, signal reading, successful failover test).

4.5 Support and Reporting

• (M) 24x7 support for service outages, with stated response times.

• (M) Web portal or reports showing data usage per line, available at least monthly.

• (M) Named account manager for the term of the agreement.

5. Security and Compliance

• (M) The cellular service carries Clinic traffic inside the Clinic’s own encrypted VPN. The bidder shall not require access to Clinic systems or data. If the bidder’s proposal requires access to protected health information (PHI), the bidder must execute the Clinic’s HIPAA Business Associate Agreement.

• (M) Equipment and management portals must support strong administrator authentication.

• (M) Equipment must comply with 2 CFR 200.216 (prohibited telecommunications and video surveillance equipment).

6. Term The contract term is thirty-six (36) months from service activation. Year 1 is funded by this grant.

Years 2 and 3 are subject to the availability of funds. Bidders shall price each year separately on the Pricing Form and shall state any early-termination charges if Years 2 or 3 are not funded.

7. Deliverables and Acceptance # Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

1 Coverage report for all sites Predicted coverage provided for each site in Exhibit 1

2 Implementation schedule Approved by Clinic project lead

3 Lines activated and equipment delivered All in-scope sites active with usable signal

4 Site completion records Record for each site, including a successful failover test

5 Service acceptance Written acceptance by the Clinic

8. Proposal Requirements Proposals must include the following, in this order. Proposals that omit required items may be deemed non-responsive.

1. Cover letter signed by an individual authorized to bind the bidder, including legal company name, address, primary contact and Unique Entity ID (UEI).

2. Company overview and experience, including at least three (3) references for multi-site cellular WAN deployments, preferably in healthcare.

3. Technical response addressing each requirement in Sections 4 and 5 in order, stating whether it is met, partially met or not met, with explanation.

4. Coverage report for each site in Exhibit 1.

5. Equipment specifications for the proposed modem/router.

6. Implementation plan and timeline.

7. Completed Pricing Form (Attachment B). Pricing must be submitted on the Clinic’s form; supplemental quotes may be attached.

8. Signed and notarized Non-Collusion Affidavit (Attachment A).

9. Sample service agreement, including any early-termination terms.

9. Evaluation and Award Proposals will be evaluated by a Clinic evaluation committee using the following criteria. The Clinic intends to award to the responsible bidder whose proposal is most advantageous to the Clinic, with price and other factors considered.

Criterion Weight Coverage and service quality across the listed sites (including path diversity and priority access)

40%

Cost (Year 1 and Years 2–3) 35%

Vendor experience and references 15%

Implementation approach and timeline 10%

Total 100%

Failure to meet any mandatory (M) requirement may result in disqualification. The Clinic may request clarifications or on-site coverage tests, and may negotiate with the highest-ranked bidder(s). The Clinic reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities, to award fewer than all sites, and to cancel this solicitation at any time.

10. Federal Funding Requirements Because this procurement is funded with federal funds through the MS RHTP, the following apply to the awarded vendor and will be incorporated into the resulting contract:

• Applicable provisions of 2 CFR Part 200, including 2 CFR 200.327 and Appendix II (contract provisions).

• The bidder must not be suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded from federal procurement, and must have an active SAM.gov registration with no exclusions (2 CFR Part 180).

• Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certification (31 U.S.C. 1352) for awards exceeding $100,000, if applicable.

• Equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination requirements, as applicable.

• Prohibition on certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and services (2 CFR 200.216).

• Access to and retention of records for the period required by 2 CFR 200.334, and cooperation with audits by the Clinic, the State of Mississippi and federal agencies.

• Payment is contingent on the availability of grant funds and on invoices with sufficient detail to support grant reimbursement.

Small businesses, minority-owned businesses, women’s business enterprises and labor surplus area firms are encouraged to submit proposals (2 CFR 200.321).

11. General Terms

• All costs of preparing a proposal are the responsibility of the bidder.

• Questions must be submitted in writing to the point of contact by the question deadline.

Answers will be issued as addenda to all known bidders. Bidders may not contact other Clinic staff regarding this RFP.

• Proposals must remain valid for one hundred twenty (120) days after the due date.

• Pricing shall exclude Mississippi sales tax and government-imposed telecommunications taxes and fees; these are to be estimated separately on the Pricing Form.

Attachments

• Attachment A — Non-Collusion Affidavit

• Attachment B — Pricing Form (fillable PDF)