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Federal Engineering Earns Contract for VHF Paging Study In North Carolina
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, June 2, 2025 – Sampson County, North Carolina, has conferred Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) a contract to develop a conceptual solution and budgetary cost estimate to reconfigure the County’s existing Fire and EMS one-way radio paging systems.
Sampson County Emergency Services Director, Mr. Rick Sauer, explained: “We believe Federal Engineering is the best choice for the County because of their subject matter expertise and familiarity with jurisdictions throughout North Carolina. The FE team includes former first responders and dispatchers with hands-on experience in fire, EMS, and police dispatch operations, involvement with agencies of all sizes, and knowledge of a broad range of systems and technologies.”
“Currently, the County’s fire paging is transmitted over a VHF radio channel, whereas EMS paging is transmitted over a separate, incompatible UHF radio channel. These radio channels provide differing radio coverage profiles and inadequate reliability within metal building structures. We require FE’s expertise to provide us with an in-depth analysis of alternatives to enhance radio paging reliability, improve in-building coverage effectiveness, and facilitate paging interoperability between these public safety agencies,” added Mr. Sauer.
Mr. Travis LePage, Director at Federal Engineering, provided more details: “Since 2005, FE has supported first responders across the State of North Carolina and has successfully accomplished similar engagements with Carteret, Pitt, New Hanover, Buncombe, Yadkin, and Orange Counties, as well as clients operating on the State’s VIPER System. Our expertise includes requirements definition, coverage and capacity analyses, budgetary cost estimates, conceptual design, specifications/RFP development, frequency licensing, vendor proposal evaluations, contract negotiations, implementation planning, and deployment oversight. We will apply our experience and knowledge to help Sampson County evaluate its existing Fire/EMS paging configuration, assess its performance, identify areas for improvement, and provide prioritized recommendations to help fire and EMS transition to a single VHF channel with enhanced coverage and reliability. Our goal is to equip the County’s Emergency Services with enough knowledge to make an informed decision as to the best approach for future paging.”
Federal Engineering is a leading nationwide firm that provides analysis, design, procurement, and implementation support in public safety and public service communications. These services complement FE’s wide range of dispatch center consulting services in NG911, PSAPs, EOCS, ECCs, and RTTCs. FE’s cybersecurity practice helps our clients defend against today’s complex and ever-changing threat landscape. FE personnel also serve as trusted advisors assisting clients to assess services such as FirstNet® and the impacts of new technologies on their current and future plans. Since 1983, FE has completed thousands of communications projects in all 50 states for numerous state, local, and federal government clients as well as Canadian clients.
In addition to its public sector work, Federal Engineering provides design and implementation support services for voice, data, and video networks used in the transportation, utilities, finance, education, and computer services industries. FE’s certified independence ensures that clients receive objective, unbiased consulting services that are not influenced by any technology, product, vendor, or approach.