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FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, September 8, 2025 – Officials from Orange County, located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, announced that they have awarded Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) a contract to provide procurement and implementation support for the County’s Public Safety Radio Communications System. Building upon prior work by (FE) dating back to 2016, Orange County seeks FE’s assistance to provide planning, implementation, and acceptance support for their migration to the State’s Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders (VIPER).

Mr. W. Kirby Saunders, Emergency Services Director for Orange County, said: “Agencies and entities at the local, state, and federal levels use the VIPER system to provide both operable and interoperable voice communications for public safety. The system facilitates day-to-day activities, such as dispatch and response, as well as a means to assist with interagency, interdisciplinary public safety activities. The VIPER system is the recognized statewide platform for interoperable radio communications and is North Carolina’s statewide mission-critical radio system. VIPER is comprised of over 230 sites that span the entire length of the state. Orange County is relying upon Federal Engineering to assist with the decision process to expand the existing VIPER network.”

Mr. Brad Barber, Vice President at Federal Engineering, described the project: “FE offers the County qualifications and experience unequaled by any other firm. Our previous work with Orange County, other North Carolina counties, and the State of North Carolina NG9-1-1 provides the FE team with insights into

the County’s infrastructure, terrain, operations, and culture that no other consulting firm can match. We offer cost-efficient services since FE already has intimate knowledge of the County’s existing systems, operational requirements, and user expectations. We will perform the following implementation support activities:

• Contract Negotiations Support
• Emergency Communications Center Design
• Radio Communications Tower Planning, Design, Implementation
• Backup VHF Radio and Paging System Design and Implementation
• Implementation Project Management Support
• Preliminary Design Review and Final Design Review
• Factory Testing, Equipment Delivery, and Installation Verification
• Coverage and System Testing
• System Acceptance and Cutover
• Subscriber Template Development
• On-Call Technical Support”

Federal Engineering is a leading, nationwide firm providing analysis, design, procurement, implementation, and operations support for PSAPs, EOCs, ECCs, and RTCCs. FE subject matter experts have decades of experience in all relevant technologies including 9-1-1, NG9-1-1, GIS, CAD, RMS, MDS, and JMS systems. These services complement FE’s wide range of public safety and public service communications consulting services. 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.