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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Technical Description of VIPER Network ......................................................................... 4
2.1 Microwave Connectivity of sites serving Orange County .............................................. 5
2.2 Dispatch (PSAP) Interfaces ...............................................................:............................ 5
2.2.1 Direct connections to Zone Master Site .................................................................. 6
2.2.2 RF Linked Dispatch .............................................................................................. .. 8
Figure 2-1 Current VIPER 800MHz Sites
3.0 VIPER Implementation to serve Orange County .................................:........................... 10
Table 3-1 Viper Sites Serving Orange County .............................................................. 11
4.0 VIPER Coverage and Capacity ......................................................................................... 12
4.1 Coverage ....................................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Traffic Loading ............................................................................................................. 13
4.2.1 Traffic Loading Definitions .................................................................................. 14
4.2.2 Traffic Loading Model .......................................................................................... 15
Table 4-1 Orange County Subscriber Units .................................................................. 17
Table 4-2 Traffic Loading Results Summary -VIPER Sites in Orange ....................... 19
Figure 4-1 NC-SHP-VIPER Coverage 6dB Gain
Figure 4-2 NC-SHP-VIPER Coverage OdB Gain
5.0 Technical Description of the Private System .................................................................... 20
6.0 VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost ..................................................................................... 22
6.1 Opinion of Probable Cost to join VIPER ...................................................................... 22
6.2 Basis of Cost Estimates ................................................................................................. 22
6.3 Subscriber Equipment for VIPER ................................................................................. 23
Table 6-1 Estimate of Probable Cost for OCEM Dispatch ........................................... 26
Table 6-2 Estimate of Probable Cost for iJNC-CH Department of .............................. 27
Table 6-3 Estimate of Probable Cost for UNC-CH Services Standalone Fixed Site.... 28
7.0 Comparison of Private System and VIPER ...................................................................... 29
7.1 Functionality Comparison ............................................................................................. 29
7.2 Infrastructure Comparison ............................................................................................ 31
7.3 Cost Comparison Privately Owned vs. VIPER ............................................................. 33
7.3.1 Short-Term Cost Comparison ............................................................................... 33
7.3.2 Long-Term Cost Comparison ............................................................................... 34
Table 7-1 Comparison of VIPER and Privately Owned Designs ................................. 36
Table 7-2 Long-Term Opinion of Probable Cost .......................................................... 38
8.0 Potential Migration Paths .................................................................................................. 39
8.1 Work currently underway ............................................................................................. 39
Table of Contents
~E,:.. -: ~ r Page 1 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
8.2 OCEM migration to VIPER .......................................................................................... 39
8.3 UNC-CH Public Safety PSAP migration to VIPER ..................................................... 39
8.4 UNC Chapel Hill Non Public Safety ............................................................................ 40
8.5. Migration from VIPER to Privately Owned Trunked System ...................................... 40
9.0 Conclusions and Recommendations for Joining VIPER .................................................. 42
Table of Contents
Page 2 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Orange County contracted CTA in December 2001 to support the County with multiple
phases of their radio system. Phase 1 Needs Assessment identified the need for Orange
County and its communities to upgrade their current radio systems. Phase 2A Long
Term System Design focused on how to fulfill this need with a privately owned 800 MHz
trunked radio system.
Early in 2004, Orange County and its communities expressed interest in NC State
Highway Patrol's (NC-SHP) Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders
(VIPER) implementation and requested CTA add an analysis of the VIPER system to the
Long Term Report.
VIPER is a statewide 800 MHz trunked radio network being implemented by the North
Carolina State Highway Patrol (NC-SHP) to provide multi jurisdiction, multi-agency
interoperability. Interoperability with VIPER is a requirement of Orange County and the
Governor's Crime Commission. The Department of Crime Control and Public
Safety/State Highway Patrol (DCCPS/SHP) are the designated State agencies responsible
for the implementation of the VIPER network.
Orange County and its communities have begun the process to become partners with NC
State Highway Patrol on the VIPER system. NC-SHP has taken responsibility for the
VIPER backbone design of the radio sites and equipment providing radio coverage to
Orange County. Orange County's participation in this project would involve adding sites
to supplement VIPER Orange County coverage, selection and procurement ofnon-fixed
subscriber radios, plus the design and procurement of PSAP dispatch equipment
compatible with the VIPER system.
Section 1-Introduction
r,„ ~ Page 3 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
2.0 TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF VIPER NETWORK
The VIPER design is based on an 800 MHz dual-Mode SmartZone system from
Motorola. The State has chosen to pursue an 800 MHz digital, trunked, SmartZone
OmniLink simulcast/multicast system design to accomplish the goals of building out a
statewide, voice, trunked radio network. This technology provides the ability to leverage
the existing resources throughout the State, which include several legacy Motorola
systems and State-licensed 800 MHz frequencies. VIPER implementation began with
the purchase of SmartZone Zone Master and site equipment for the Special Olympics in
December 1999. North Carolina State Highway Patrol has added equipment and sites to
the core system to the current level of 800 MHz sites shown on the map in FIGURE 2-1.
This figure was provided in the Appendix E of the CJIN General Assembly Report April
2004.
SmartZone is a type of wide-area coverage design capable of incorporating current
single-site and multi-site systems designs into a single system. It is capable of supporting
analog systems, digital systems and mixed-mode systems, as well as legacy 800 MHz,
UHF and VHF systems. SmartZone OmniLink systems are deployed to meet the
requirements for achieving wide-area coverage. Existing SmartNet II subscriber
equipment will work on the SmartZone OmniLink platform, minimizing the initial
expense of replacing mobile and portable radios.
CJIN documentation stated VIPER key design goals and assumptions as follows:
• 95% portable on-street coverage.
• Microwave backbone network is being upgraded to digital to support VIPER site
connectivity throughout the state.
• In-building coverage is the responsibility of local governments
• APCO Project 25 Common Air Interface (CAI) compliant
• Transition to full Project 25 level after sufficient time has been given to existing
users for transition to future Project 25 compliant radio purchases
• Existing APCO Project 16 compliant subscriber units can operate on the new
system until agencies are ready to purchase new user equipment.
• Agencies without an existing 800 MHz system must purchase APCO Project 25
subscriber units to operate on VIPER.
• Interoperability with existing VHF/UHF systems will be considered in the overall
system plan for VIPER
Section 2 -Technical Description of VlY1;K 1VetworK
~g..~ ®~ Page 4 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
The VIPER baseline design in Orange County requires expansion of coverage in the
Northern and Southeastern areas of the county. Additional channels above the baseline
design of five channels per site will be required at some VIPER sites to provide the
capacity to support the Orange County users being added to VIPER. Radio sites
providing Orange County radio coverage will be connected to the Zone Master site
located in Raleigh. Orange County will have to purchase dispatch consoles and switches,
microwave links for the OCEM and LTNC-CH PSAPs, a site in the vicinity of Cedar
Grove, a site in the Chapel Hill area, and digita1800 MHz subscriber units to participate
on VIPER.
2.1 Microwave Connectivity of sites serving Orange County
NC-SHP has stated they will provide microwave connectivity to all Orange
County VIPER sites. Where new microwave links are required, NC-SHP will
determine the best path to the new site from their existing microwave network.
CTA recommends all microwave links added for Orange County's PSAPs provide
redundancy in the form of an alternate path or hot-standby equipment.
2.2 Dispatch (PSAP) Interfaces
The two ways to connect a PSAP into the VIPER network are direct console
connection and RF console connection using 800 MHz control stations. NC-SHP
favors the RF connected console approach. CTA recommends Orange County
PSAPS be directly connected via microwave links into the VIPER network at the
Zone Master site in Raleigh. We recommend this approach to meet NFPA 1221
Dispatching Systems requirements. In addition to the direct connection to
VIPER, we recommend each dispatch position be equipped with a RF control
station as a backup in the event of loss of console communications with VIPER.
A comparison of direct console connectivity and RF linked console connectivity
favored by NC-SHP is described in the following paragraphs.
Section 2 -Technical Description of VIPER Network
.E~,s Page 5 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
2.2.1 Direct connections to Zone Master Site
Description
Direct connected dispatch requires connection between a PSAP and the
Zone Master equipment at Raleigh. The direct connection can be via a
microwave link from the PSAP to a VIPER microwave site to route the
connection to the Raleigh Zone Master site. An alternate means of
providing a link is via a leased T1 circuit to a site in the VIPER network
or directly to the Zone Master in Raleigh. Direct connection provides the
consoles full dispatch control, sufficient capacity to eliminate blocked
calls and console override capability. CTA recommends that microwave
links be used for connection into the VIPER network.
Microwave
Advantages are the link is under the control of Orange County and NC-
SHP on a dedicated microwave circuit. Link path redundancy is assumed
and providing high link reliability.
Disadvantages are that microwave has a higher initial cost compared to a
leased link. Microwave links require more hardware and maintenance to
keep in operation over the long term.
Leased line links
Advantages are that leased links have a lower initial cost compared to a
microwave link. Leased links require less hardware to place into initial
service. If OCEM plans to relocate in the future, a leased line link from
OCEM's current location can provide a temporary direct connection into
VIPER until OCEM relocates.
The disadvantage of the leased link is lack of control by Orange County or
NC-SHP. If the link fails, a third party carrier must be contacted to restore
the link. Security of a leased link is a concern as it is out of Orange
County's or NC-SHP's control.
Section 2 -Technical Description of VIPER Network
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
The long-term cost of leased circuits tend to exceed the cost of an owned
and maintained microwave link within approximately ten years.
Backup RF Control Stations
In addition to normal connection to the Zone Master, separate backup
radios at each console operator position are recommended. These radios
will be used to provide backup in the event of console failure, failure of
the telecommunications link for consoles and if the sites revert to Site
Trunking Mode.
Normal Operation
In normal operation, telecommunicators communicate with field units via
the VIPER network through a direct link to the VIPER Zone Master.
Telecommunicators will have control and monitoring capability of VIPER
talk groups and conventional radio channels remaining in service after
VIPER is implemented in the county.
Site Trunking Mode
Site Trunking mode is the result of a failure of the link between a radio
site and the Zone Master site in Raleigh. The affected site supports local
calls but not wide-area calls. In Site Trunking mode, the direct connected
consoles cannot communicate with field units on that site.
Backup radios should be installed at each dispatch operator position
programmed with all sites providing radio coverage for Orange County
units to allow direct access to a VIPER site operating in Site Trunking.
The backup radios must be connected to an antenna system to permit
accessing all of the sites supporting Orange County. Telecommunicators
will then have the ability to select a site in Site Trunking mode and
communicate with units logged on to that site. Telecommunicator training
in the operation of the backup radios is highly recommended.
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Section 2 -Technical Description of VIPER Network
Page 7 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
2.2.2 RF Linked Dispatch
Description
RF linked dispatch requires no connection between a PSAP and the Zone
Master equipment at Raleigh. A number of RF control stations are
installed at each PSAP and connected to non-trunked console switch
equipment located at the PSAP. The RF control station antennas would be
directed to the closest VIPER trunked radio site having the greatest
channel capacity. Trunked Unit ID and emergency status from the VIPER
trunked system to the console display would require a translator computer
and RF control channel monitor.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages are no telecommunications links to the Zone Master are
required. All console equipment needed for dispatching is co-located at
the PSAP.
Disadvantages are that NFPA 1221 requirements are difficult to meet with
this approach. There is a possibility of blocked radio calls not reaching. the
PSAPs. In addition, the telecommunicator cannot preempt field units.
Blocking occurs when the number of calls directed to a site exceeds the
site's call capacity. The number of RF control stations installed and the
channel capacity of a VIPER trunked radio site supporting dispatch limit
the number of simultaneous calls available to be monitored at a PSAP.
VIPER is a multi-site design and traffic is active at a trunked radio site
relative to the talk groups logged into a site. The RF linked dispatch
approach forces all calls to be assigned to the site supporting the PSAP
simply due to the consoles monitoring talk groups associated with other
areas of Orange County.
Section 2 -Technical Description of VIPER Network
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Normal Operation
In normal operation, the RF control stations are controlled by the
telecommunicator's console to monitor and transmit on talk groups
selected by the telecommunicator. The console's transmission and
reception is through the radio site selected to provide dispatch
communications. Calls to and from talk groups with radios logged into
another radio site in the county will tie up two channels minimum. One
channel is required at the PSAP's end and one at the site providing radio
coverage to the talk group being dispatched.
Site Trunking Mode
Site Trunking mode is the result of a failure of the link between a radio
site and the Zone Master site at Raleigh. The site in Site Trunking mode
will continue to support only local calls and wide-area calls are not
possible involving the site. If Site Trunking occurs at the site supporting
the PSAP console's RF Link stations, only trunked talk group calls
originating at that site will be heard. If Site Trunking occurs at a site in
another part of the county, calls originating at the distant site will not be
heard by the telecommunicator.
Backup radios should be installed at each dispatch operator position
programmed with all sites providing radio coverage for Orange County
units in the radio's personality. The backup radios must be connected to an
antenna system to permit accessing as many if not all of the sites
supporting Orange County. Telecommunicators will then have the ability
to select a site in Site Trunking mode and communicate with units logged
on to that site. Telecommunicator training in the operation of the backup
radios is highly recommended.
Section 2 -Technical Description of VIPER Network
Page 9 of 43
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Figure 2-1
~'_I IRRt:NT VIPER Rt'~MNz SITES
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
3.0 VIPER IMPLEMENTATION TO SERVE ORANGE COUNTY
VIPER Sites planned to serve Orange County and their implementation status are shown
in TABLE 3-1. Sites that have been completed as of this report are listed as completed.
Sites not yet completed are listed with the planned implementation time frame if known.
The number of channels implemented is shown for the sites completed. Channels
licensed where known, indicates the planned capacity expansion for completed sites and
planned capacity for sites not completed. Planned site completion timing is dependent
upon funding and availability of site locations.
°' Section 3 -VIPER Implementation to Serve Orange County
Page 10 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 3-1
VIPER SITES SERVING ORANGE COUNTY
Eno Mountain Orange County Completed 5 10
(Hillsborough),
WUNC Orange County Completed 5 5
(Chatham Mtn.)
Butner Durham County Completed 5 5
RTP Durham County Completed 14 Unknown
Durham City Durham County Planned for 5 5
" completion in
2005
Orange Co. Orange County Planned for 0 Targeted to 4-5
North (Laws) completion in
2005
UNC-MED Orange County Planned for 0 Targeted to 5-7
(Chapel Hill) completion in
2005
Cane Mtn. Albermarle Planned for 0 Targeted to 7
County completion is
unscheduled
'~ Section 3 -VIPER Implementation to Serve Orange County
Page 11 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
4.0 VIPER COVERAGE AND CAPACITY
The VIPER multi-site network offers more coverage and capacity from a greater number
of radio sites than the privately owned design provided in the Phase 2A Final Report.
The four main site locations in Orange County are in the same general areas as in the
privately owned design. VIPER has a site in Durham city which will serve a similar
purpose as the OCEM site in the privately owned system design by providing coverage in
the East Central portion of Orange County including Route 70 and Interstate 85. VIPER
has sites outside of Orange County that provide fill-in coverage in the county which are
not in the privately owned design. Orange County's user radios operating on the VIPER
network will take advantage of the greater radio coverage pxovided in the VIPER multi-
site design by roaming into and out of VIPER sites as they travel throughout the area.
4.1 Coverage
NC-State Highway Patrol has taken responsibility for RF Coverage of the VIPER
infrastructure design including additional sites required for Orange County
coverage. NC-SHP has provided two predicted coverage maps indicating sites
planned for Orange County. FIGURE 4-1 depicts predicted VIPER on-the-street
portable talk-back coverage in Orange County with 6dB antenna gain. FIGURE
4-1 reflects the conditions expected after implementation of all the sites, except
for sites that will not be constructed as noted below. FIGURE 4-2 depicts
predicted VIPER on-the-street portable talk-back coverage in Orange County with
no antenna gain.
The following VIPER sites in Orange County are depicted on the coverage maps
provided by NC-SHP:
• D-Hillsborough (Eno Mountain)
• Chatham Mtn. (WLTNC)
• D-Laws-EMC (Orange County North)
• UNC-MED (Chapel Hill)
Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
[~ Page 12 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
VIPER sites outside of the county providing coverage support in Orange County
are shown in the maps as follows:
• D-Cane Mtn. (Cane Mountain) in Alamance County
• C-Durham City (Durham) in Durham County
• C-Butner (Butner) in Durham County
• C-RTP ETV (Research Triangle Park) in Durham County
NC-SHP has stated the following sites shown on the coverage maps will not be
constructed.
• D-Burlington in Alamance County
• C-NC-55 in Wake County
• C-Durham/MI in Durham County
Users in Orange County operating portable radios should experience good on-the-
street coverage throughout the county, except in the West Central, and
Northeastern portions of the county depicted in blue and red on FIGURE 4-1.
FIGURE 4-2 with 0 dB gain provides an indication of coverage expected in light
buildings up to 6 dB loss when compared to FIGURE 4-1. Users operating in the
close proximity to the VIPER sites (yellow high signal areas) should have
sufficient RF signal margin to communicate in medium density buildings having
higher loss than light buildings. This is based on the assumption all planned
VIPER sites are operational and constructed using the same parameters as used in
the coverage map predictions.
4.2 Traffic Loading
In observing the usage of trunked radio systems installed by each of the major
vendors, we have found that communications systems serving public safety
operations have predictable use patterns and loading requirements.
The remainder of this section discusses traffic loading as it relates to public safety
support functions.
"``°_ Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
Page 13 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
4.2.1 Traffic Loading Definitions
To help the reader understand the radio traffic analysis, some basic
definitions are provided:
A. Erlang
A traffic engineering term used to measure the communications
load for a circuit or set of circuits. One Erlang is defined as one
person speaking continuously. For the purpose of this analysis, 1
Erlang is equivalent to 1 call lasting 3600 seconds in a 1-hour
period.
B. Erlang C Model
Derived from the assumption that all requested calls are held in a
queue that cannot be immediately assigned a radio channel. The
Erlang C formula is based on the following assumptions:
• Calls arrive randomly as characterized by a Poisson
distribution.
• Calls are served in order of arrival.
• Blocked calls are delayed.
• Blocked calls are placed in a queue with an infinite length.
• Top of queue is granted next available channel.
• Infinite number of requests.
• All users (including blocked) can request a channel at any
time.
• Probability of a user occupying a channel is exponentially
distributed (longer calls are less likely to occur).
Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
s Page 14 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
There area (mite number of channels available in the
trunking pool.
Busy Hour occurs at the same time for all subscribers
C. Grade of Service (GOS)
GOS is a measure of the ability of a user to access a trunked system
without delay (i.e., without going into a queue) during the busiest
hour of radio operation. It is expressed as the probability of being
delayed (0% is good, 100% is very busy).
D. Delayed Call GOS
The probability that a delayed call is forced to wait more than the
maximum acceptable call delay (t seconds).
4.2.2 Traffic Loading Model
A trunked LMR system design goal is to deliver a specific call capacity at
a GOS conducive to clear, reliable communications. The busy hour is
based on user demand at the busiest operational hour during a week.
GOS is usually given as the likelihood that a call is blocked, or the
likelihood that a call is experiencing a delay greater than a certain queuing
time.
The traffic loading model that CTA has developed is based on a
transmission trunked LMR system that has a formal queue. If a radio
channel is not available immediately, the call request may be delayed until
a channel becomes available.
This type of radio system trunking is called "Blocked Calls Delayed
Trunking," and its measure of GOS is defined as "the probability that a
call is blocked after waiting a specific length of time in the queue."
.Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
~~_~~~ Page 15 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
For Blocked Calls Delayed Trunking, an Erlang C formula is used to
determine the probability that a call is blocked and is a measure of the
GOS for a trunked LMR system that provides queuing for blocked calls.
The CTA traffic loading model is based on the parameters that require an
Erlang C statistic to be used for traffic intensity calculations. The Erlang
C model assumes that traffic requests obey a Poisson distribution, which
implies exponentially distributed call inter-arrival times. Furthermore, the
Erlang C model assumes a large number of channels and a large number
of users with similar calling patterns.
The loading model takes the subscriber data inputs (number of radio
subscriber units in the Orange County inventory) and calculates the
number of radio channels needed to provide sufficient capacity in a
trunked architecture.
The number of radio channels is determined by using a Delayed Call GOS
for the busiest hour of 1% and a maximum acceptable call delay of 1
second. A Delayed Call GOS of 1% means that 1 out of 100 calls may
experience a delay more than 1 second. This is a generally accepted
standard for public safety trunked radio systems.
CTA's analysis of VIPER multi site traffic loading is based on Orange County's
subscriber unit counts identified in the TABLE 4-1. In this design approach, each
site operates on a different set of channels, and calls are routed to and from the
sites via a central controller. Working channels are dynamically assigned based
on units and talk groups logged in to each site. TABLE 4-2 lists the channel
loading for each site based on user distributions associated with their service
areas in the county. Unit roaming is considered and wide area call loading is
included in the analysis. Calculated capacity of each VIPER site listed in
TABLE 4-2 assumes that NC-SHP has 50 mobiles in each site based on
information received from NC-SHP. The initial subscriber load of 121 units
associated with OCEM referenced in the Phase 2A report is assumed to transfer
to the VIPER Durham -City site. The UNC Operations side depicts a stand alone
site at UNC-Chapel Hill to provide 800 MHz trunked radio service for all non
public safety workgroups at UNC-Chapel Hill. All sites analyzed met the target
1% delayed call GOS.
Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
~£^~- Page 16 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 4-1
ORANGE COUNTY SUBSCRIBER UNITS
Orange County Emergency Management
Emergency Communications Center 0 0 5
Fire Marshal 15 16 0
EMS Division 34 25 5
Orange County Sheriff's Office 150 200 5
Orange County Public Works
Administration 0 1 1
Buildings & Grounds i l 10 0
Sanitation 10 1 0
Motor Pool Division 3 2 1
Engineering
Orange County Solid Waste Management 33 10 2
Public Transportation 0 0 0
Parks and Recreation 0 0 0
Environment and Resource Conservation 0 0 0
Orange County Schools -Transportation 109 9 0
Orange County Schools -Maintenance 27 20 5
Chapel Hi1UCarrboro Schools 0 27 1
Chapel Hill Police Department 58 131 1
Chapel Hill Fire Department 32 33 9
Chapel Hill Public Works 96 26 5
Volunteer Fire Departments
Eno 16 25 1
White Cross 4 20 1
New Hope 24 34 3
Etland 7 11 1
Cedar Grove 11 15 0
Orange Rural 14 25 2
Orange Grove 5 22 1
Caldwell 5 13 1
__ -- __.
Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
"~"~~ ~ - Page 17 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 4-1
ORANGE COUNTY SUBSCRIBER UNITS
Orange EMS and Rescue Squad Inc.
22 .~
65
6
Carrboro Police Department 27 34 0
CarrboroFire Department 14 12 7
Carrboro Public Works 30 6 3
Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) 12 70 8
Orange-Alamance Water 0 0 0
Hillsboro Police Department 16 26 6
Hillsborough Public Works 0 11 0
Universtiy of North Carolina
Public Safety 17 174 10
Environment, Health and Safety 0 20 1
Hospital Police 1 42 3
Communications 0 4 0
Cogeneration 0 56 1
Electric 16 17 1
Housing Support 47 0 2
Grounds 9 46 0
Housekeeping 6 325 2
Building Services 0 7 2
a ""TOTALiTNITS $81 1591 102
Subtotal
'° #" GRAND TOTAL 2574
Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
® - Page 18 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
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____°
~+., Section 4 -VIPER Coverage and Capacity
rra. r ~~ Page 19 of 43
".,.
FIGURE 4-1
VIPER COVERAGE PROVIDED BY NC-SHP
Orange County
~.
~- ~ _ ~ ~ _
1 `~ ° ; ":alp _ R : :, i
618 800MHz Portable Talk-Back Coverage Analysis
-- - -
0.00 0.09 0.10 0.28 0.55 0.98 3.91 981430
FIGURE 4-2
VIPER COVERAGE PROVIDED BY NC-SHP
ORANGE COUNTY
800MHz Portable Talk-Back Coverage Analysis
5
ooo ~ o~ o.~o i o~ oot a~+ 2~r.t
G~ -~
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
5.0 TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIVATE SYSTEM
For reference and comparison to VIPER, the privately owned trunked radio system
described in the Phase 2A report is provided herein. The design for the Orange County
owned trunked radio system is a dual mode 800 MHz 5-site 11-channel simulcast trunked
radio system. The sites chosen in this preliminary design maximize the utilization of
existing facilities used for radio systems in Orange County. Dual-mode was chosen to
provide flexibility of mobile and portable radios for the users. Five sites were selected to
provide coverage of Orange County and its communities.
Simulcast was chosen to provide maximum use of frequencies and provide sufficient
traffic handling capacity for the number of users anticipated on the system. The same
channels are used at all sites and all traffic on the system is rebroadcast at all sites.
Trunked features such as talk group scan will support monitoring scanned calls since all
sites rebroadcast all calls made on the system regardless of user locations.
The 11 channel transmitter sites selected in the preliminary design are as follows:
• Cedar Grove Fire Station in the Northern part of Orange County
• Eno Mountain near Hillsborough
• Orange County Emergency Management
• WUNC tower in the Southern part of Orange County
• UNC Chapel Hill Bullitt building in the densely populated portion of Orange
County
The Orange County trunked radio system will be interconnected using a microwave
system. The microwave links would be hot-standby to provide redundancy in the event
of equipment failure.
OCEM would be the prime site containing the master site and simulcast control
equipment. The master site equipment provides the trunking functionality and interfaces
to support the dispatch console equipment located at this site. The Zone Master
Controller equipment configuration at OCEM is redundant.
Console switch equipment and consoles will be located at the PSAPs at OCEM and
UNC-CH Public Safety.
Section 5 -Technical Description of the Private System
°° ~~~ Page 20 of 43
',.
..,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Dispatch Consoles at OCEM PSAP are connected locally to the Zone Master and IJNC-
CH PSAP connected via microwave link to the Zone Master at OCEM.
Section 5 -Technical Description of the Private System
Page 21 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
6.0 VIPER OPINION OF PROBABLE COST
6.1 Opinion of Probable Cost to join VIPER
This section contains budgetary cost estimates for Orange County to join the NC-
SHP VIPER Network. Also included is information forming the basis of the cost
estimate and various possible upgrade scenarios.
6.2 Basis of Cost Estimates
Estimates were developed for the major categories of equipment as they apply to
the OCEM and UNC-CH PSAPs as described previously in this report. The unit
cost information was obtained from historical CTA Communications cost files
and vendor pricing of comparable projects. The various costs were compared and
weighted in order to derive an average "negotiated price" type of estimate.
Estimates reflect expected negotiated pricing. Although CTA Communications
cannot guarantee negotiated price levels, successful negotiations typically results
in savings on the list price costs, especially in the area ofvendor-manufactured
equipment.
The following tables are provided in this section:
TABLE 6-1 The opinion of probable costs for OCEM PSAP to
join VIPER. The equipment for this PSAP must be
funded and connected to the VIPER network prior
to Orange County entity subscriber radios migrating
to VIPER. This table includes two additional
consoles for installation at the overflow call-taker
positions.
TABLE 6-2 The opinion of probable costs for UNC-CH PSAP
to join VIPER. The equipment for this PSAP must
be funded and connected to the VIPER network
prior to IJNC-CH Public Safety subscriber radios
migrating to VIPER.
Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
•_..~ ~ Page 22 of 43
. < .~
Orange County Emergency Management, Nortb Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
This table includes the same quantity of dispatch
consoles as currently in operation.
TABLE 6-3 The opinion of probable costs for UNC-CH
Services private 800 MHz trunked site. This site
may be implemented independent of VIPER
migration of Orange County and its communities.
The tables in this section include estimates for both fixed and non-fixed
equipment, systems engineering, program management and training. The
following assumptions, also noted in the tables, were applied to this estimate.
A. The estimate assumes that tower and site development costs will be
provided by the Vendor.
B. The estimate for Vendor Services is typically about 15% of the equipment
cost. However, this has historically ranged from 15% of the equipment
cost to 18% of the overall proposal price. Average values were used for
this estimate.
C. The estimates include installation and integration, spare parts and test
equipment, training, full 1-year warranty, and maintenance.
6.3 Subscriber Equipment for VIPER
We understand that 800 MHz subscriber units may be purchased from vendors
through July 30, 2005 via the North Carolina State Convenience Contract (725-
G). The contract has 15% discount for Motorola 800 MHz equipment and
accessories. Orange County and its communities may estimate their subscriber
costs based on the current convenience contract prices. In addition, CTA
provided an estimate for subscriber radios for entities in Orange County and its
communities in the Phase 2A report.
There will be variability in subscriber radio probable cost based on final choices
made regarding the radio tiers and radio model chosen at time of purchase.
Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
r~ ., °,~ ~ Page 23 of 43
~#
~'...
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Non-fixed radio equipment is divided by available features into the following four
tiers:
• High-Tier Units are full featured, public safety grade portable or mobile
radios. These units provide features such as a full Dual Tone Multiple
Frequency (DYNE) keypad which allows free form dialing for telephone
interconnect and private, or single unit calling, and access to 200+ groups
or subgroups necessary for administrative functions.
For economic reasons, High-Tier units are normally recommended by
CTA for administrative, command or management personnel, or
approximately 10% of the fleet. Because of these added features, this tier
typically has the highest cost.
Mid-Tier Units are public safety grade portable or mobile radios that while
less than High Tier units, Mid Tier units include all features necessary for
fulfilling the particular mission of the public safety agency. These radios
typically have a limited keypad which allows menu selection of telephone
interconnect and private, or single unit calling. These radios also may
access 200+ talk groups. Mid-Tier units are normally assigned to front-
line and line supervisor public safety personnel. Mid-Tier radios are less
expensive than High-Tier units.
For economic reasons, Mid-Tier units are normally recommended by CTA
for front-line supervisors, and special unit personnel, or approximately
15% of the fleet. Because of these added features, this tier typically has
higher cost.
Basic-Tier Units, as compared to High and Mid Tier, have fewer talk
groups available and no keypad controls. Reliability will be equivalent to
the High-Tier and Mid-Tier units. These units are limited to very basic
features. The Basic Tier radios are typically enabled for receive-only for
individual call.
Basic-Tier units are normally recommended by CTA for front-line and
field personnel or approximately 75% of the fleet. Because of these
reduced features, this tier typically has the lowest cost.
~-- Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
.f..~ - ~ Page 24 of 43
,: ~, ;: .
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
• Agency-Tier Units are economically priced, limited feature mobile or
portable radios. The emphasis is on cost control through reduction in
features. These units may be limited in the groups and subgroups
available, and ruggedness. Normally few or no advanced features are
available.
The Emergency activation control is not normally supplied at this tier
level. Agency-Tier units are typically assigned to public service or
utilities personnel.
It is expected that High-Tier, Mid-Tier and Basic-Tier Units will be the same
radio model, with the only differences being equipped features or Subsystems as
discussed above, and price. Agency-Tier Units would be expected to be a less
expensive model. The three higher tiers will be from the same family of radios.
The intent is to allow one model/type of accessory, such as a battery, shoulder
microphone, or antenna, to work on all three tiers of the radio.
Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
,t,. ~ Page 25 of 43
....
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 6-1
ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE COST
FOR OCEM DISPATCH
RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE $ 281,000
MICROWAVE $ 238,000
PHYSICAL FACILITIES $ 174,600
VENDOR SERVICES $ 120,700
SPARES -FIXED $ 7,900
CONTINGENCY $ 71,000
OTAL ~ $ 893,200
Description:
- Seven (7) dispatch consoles
- One (1} generator
- One {1) UPS system
- Two (2} Microwave links (both ends)
- One (1) 100' tower
- One (1) Central Electronics Bank (CEB)
- Foundation pads for the tower
- Site grounding work
Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
;<,a ~ Page 26 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 6-2
ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE COST
FOR UNC-CH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (PSAP)
~DIOINFRASTRUCTURE $ 258,400
[CROWAVE $ 238,000
IYSICAL FACII.ITIES $ 124,100
~NDOR SERVICES $ 108,100
'ARES -FIXED $ 7,100
)NTINGENCY $ 63,600
OTAL ~ $ 799,300
Description:
- Five (5}dispatch consoles
- One (1) UPS system
- Two (2) Microwave links (both ends)
- One (1) 50' roof top tower
- One (1) Central Electronics Bank (CEB)
- Foundation pads for the tower
- Site grounding work
t= Section 6 -VIPER Opinion. of Probable Cost
.ff,.P, ~ Page 27 of 43
,. _ ,.
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 6-3
ESTIMATE OF PROBABLE COST
FOR UNC-CH SERVICES STANDALONE FIXED SITE
RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE $ 1,036,400
PHYSICAL FACILITIES $ 150,600
NON-FIXED EQUIPMENT $ 47,600
VENDOR SERVICES $ 212,100
SPARES -NON-FIXED $ 600
SPARES -FIXED $ 13,900
CONTINGENCY $ 124,800
TOTAL ~ $ 1,586,000
Description:
- Six (6) trunked repeaters
- One (1) Large Antenna System
- One (1) Digital Network Controller
- One (1) RF site controller
- Alarm equipment
- Network Management Applications suite
- One (1) generator
- One (1) UPS system
- One (1) 50' roof top tower
- Site grounding work
- Utility work
- Eight (8) control stations for UNC-CH PSAP access
~. ~, Section 6 -VIPER Opinion of Probable Cost
_°"°': Page 28 of 43
..
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
7.0 COMPARISON OF PRIVATE SYSTEM AND VIPER
Comparisons described herein cover those areas of functionality and infrastructure that
are different and can impact how Orange County and its communities will communicate
with each other during or after migration to VIPER. TABLE 7-1 contains a summary of
key differences between the privately owned design and VIPER.
7.1 Functionality Comparison
Mode of O erp ation
The private system design and VIPER Infrastructure are both capable of
supporting analog and digital mode operation. NC-SHP allows analog only for
those participating entities that have an analog or dual mode 800 MHz trunked
system prior to joining VIPER. VIPER ultimately will become an all-digital
network according NC-SHP's long term plan. This limits Orange County and its
communities to purchasing higher cost digital subscriber radios in lieu of lower
cost analog subscriber radios to use the network.
Subscriber Equipment
Digital subscriber equipment can be the same for both the privately owned and
operated radio system and VIPER. Only the high tier digital subscriber units
would be capable of switching between the VIPER network and direct
interoperability with neighboring Motorola trunked systems independent of
VIPER.
The privately owned and operated radio system will support lower tier analog
non-fixed equipment for those entities not requiring digital operation.
Conversely, all new users on VIPER (All Orange County entities) will be
required to purchase all digital radios. Analog mode on VIPER is reserved only
for agencies that already have 800 MHz radios and an older radio system.
Subscriber radios for non public safety responders are a typical category for
analog only subscriber radios. Low and medium tier digital radios are available
to meet the needs of non public safety users operating on VIPER.
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
~- - ~`_ Page 29 of 43
._.,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Public Safety Talk Groups
Both the privately owned system and VIPER network will accommodate public
safety (emergency responder) talk group requirements. Existing public safety use
radio channels in Orange County will be allocated a talk group if the users on the
channel migrate to VIPER.. In addition, an Orange County mutual aid talk group
and five Tactical Fire talk groups will be assigned to Orange County. VIPER has
designated eight Mutual Aid CJIN broadcast talk groups statewide to support
interoperability.
The privately owned system offers greater talk group assignment flexibility due to
Orange County having full control over the network and its talk group
assignments. NC-SHP will monitor talk group activity once all the Orange
County users migrate to VIPER. If a talk group has less than 5% use during a six
month period, the entity may lose the talk group assignment.
Non Public Safety Talk Groups
The privately owned system will accommodate non public safety (public service)
talk group requirements. VIPER limits non emergency responder talk groups to
two for each entity. Limiting non public safety talk groups to two would require
multiple work groups in an entity to share the two talk groups. LTNC Chapel Hill
for example, has eight major non public safety work groups. If limited to two non
public safety talk groups, UNC Chapel Hill users would then hear radio traffic
unrelated to their work group from other work groups as a result. For the majority
of entities with non public safety users, the disadvantage of a shared talk group is
outweighed by having wide area coverage throughout the county and the ability to
directly interoperate with other entities work groups on the VIPER network.
Talk Group Scan
Talk group scan is useful in the simulcast configuration used in the private system
since all sites are transmitting each talk group call. Trunked talk group scan has
limited usefulness in a multi-site network such as VIPER due to the dependence
of the call being routed to the site. If there are no registered users on a site for a
talk group being scanned then the calls associated with the call will be missed.
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
=x.,~ Page 30 of 43
~~
_. ,.
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Users registered at a different site than the originating unit's site will only hear a
multi-site talk group call if the talk group has registered users logged into the site.
Conventional Channel Support
PSAP dispatch consoles will have access to conventional radio channels in both a
privately owned system and VIPER. Each PSAP connected to VIPER will have a
new CEB to interface with conventional channels locally at the PSAP.
Conventional channel access will be required to handle migration and for any
entity not migrating to VIPER and to operate interoperability channels such as the
UHF medical channels being upgraded by the state.
Network Management Support
A privately owned and managed trunked radio system would require more
support to manage than the VIPER system. NC-SHP will perform all network
management in VIPER. Orange County entities must request configuration
changes and addition of subscriber radios onto VIPER from NC-SHP before
changes and additions will be implemented.
7.2 Infrastructure Comparison
Confi uration
The private system design is a five site, eleven channel dual-mode simulcast
system to cover Orange County. VIPER is initially being placed in service as a
dual-mode multi-site trunked radio system with three sites in Orange County.
The baseline VIPER design usually allocates five channels per site. Multi-site
differs from simulcast in that different sets of radio frequencies operate at each
site. Calls on the VIPER radio network are switched and rebroadcast to other
sites dependant upon whether user radios are registered at a site monitoring the
talk group. The quantity of channels allocated to each site is based on the number
of anticipated radio users registered at a site at one time.
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
. ~ Page 31 of 43
~x ..,.
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Redundancy
The privately owned and operated radio system required redundancy in the
design. The privately owned design master site equipment in particular was
redundant. In contrast, VIPER currently operates with anon-redundant zone
controller in Raleigh. Failure of the zone controller in Raleigh will cause loss of
wide-area calls involving more than one site. Sites losing connection with their
Zone Master site will operate independently in site trunked mode. Radio
communications between units logged into a site acting independently is
supported until the zone controller is restored. Direct connected consoles would
lose communications with all sites associated with the master site. This will be
mitigated by having a RF control station at each dispatch operating position as a
backup. NC-SHP recognizes the missing redundancy and has stated their future
plans for VIPER include redundant zone master equipment.
FCC Licensing
Orange County will be responsible for obtaining frequencies and FCC licenses for
the entire private system. NC-SHP is taking responsibility for obtaining
frequencies and FCC licenses for the VIPER trunked repeater channels and
microwave links making up the infrastructure. Orange County and its
communities will have the responsibility to obtain FCC licenses for non-fixed
(subscriber) equipment including control stations whether a private system or
VIPER is chosen.
800MHz Mutual Aid
Conventional Repeaters were included in the privately owned system design to
support interoperability with 800 MHz users with equipment not compatible with
VIPER. NC-SHP has stated that conventional 800 MHz repeaters will be
installed at VIPER sites for the same purpose. Locations and channels have yet to
be determined as of this report.
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
Y~..~ Page 32 of 43
,. ,.,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Analysis Report August 20, 2004
Interoperability Gateway
The privately owned design provided for an interoperability switch to be installed
in the Orange County gateway in Bus/Command Post. NC-SHP is installing
interoperability switches and conventional radio equipment at VIPER sites to
support interoperability with users from non-800 MHz jurisdictions.
7.3 Cost Comparison Privately Owned vs. VIPER
7.3.1 Short-Term Cost Comparison
Orange County and its communities as a whole would face a higher short-
term expenditure if purchasing a privately owned 800 MHz trunked radio
system compared with joining VIPER. There is less opportunity to share
resources to save cost to build out the privately owned infrastructure. The
entire system including PSAPs must be constructed and operational prior
to migrating user entities to the privately owned system. In contrast,
entities have the option to purchase subscriber equipment and use the
VIPER network on a secondary basis until Orange County's PSAPs are
operational on VIPER. The cost of the privately owned system is shown
beginning in 2005 to account for the lead time associated with competitive
bidding specifications development and bid evaluation. The short-term
schedule and cost of VIPER versus the privately owned trunked system
are as follows:
Year Viper Probable Cost Private Probable Cost
2004 $1,200,000
(Includes two VIPER Sites in Orange currently funded by grants &
assuming no tower is required at Orange County North site)
2005 $893,200
(OCEM PSAP)
$799,300
(iJNC-CH PSAP)
$11,245,000
(Entire private system)
$7,825,200
(Subscriber Radios)
Section 7 -Comparison of Private system ana vtrrtc
Page 33 of 43
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
2006 $6,824,900
(Subscriber radios)
$1,586,000
(IJNC Services Radio Site)
$1,000,300
(UNC Services Subscriber radios)
Subscriber radio probable cost may vary from estimate based on final
choices made regarding the radio tiers and radio model chosen at time of
purchase.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol's VIPER implementation schedule is
limited by funding availability. VIPER implementation does not have a
firm schedule, except as identified in TABLE 3-1. By the end of 2005, the
majority of VIPER radio sites providing Orange County radio coverage
are planned to be operational. The next major effort can begin as early as
2005 to develop purchase specifications for equipment required to
complete OCEM and UNC-CH Public Safety PSAPs. Once the PSAPs are
completed and operational on VIPER, subscriber equipment may be
purchased for VIPER by participating entities.
7.3.2 Long-Term Cost Comparison
TABLE 7-2 shows a cost comparison for the Private 800 MHz trunked
system; VIPER assuming UNC-CH Services purchased a separate digital
800 MHz trunked radio system and VIPER assuming UNC-CH Services
remains on their legacy systems. The table provides yearly cost for the
first 10 years and a cumulative cost for 10 year and 15 year for each of the
three scenarios. Maintenance cost estimates for each scenario begin 1 year
after the year equipment was purchased.
The cost for the Private system includes all 800 MHz trunked
infrastructure, console equipment, microwave equipment and subscriber
equipment in the initial purchase.
'' Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
'~^~ Page 34 of 43
~..,,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Following equipment warranty periods, maintenance includes 800 MHz
trunked infrastructure, console equipment maintenance plus microwave
equipment and subscriber maintenance costs.
The cost for VIPER with iJNC-CH Services includes Orange County
purchased sites, console equipment, two microwave links for the PSAPs,
iJNC-CH Services site and all subscriber equipment. The cost for
maintenance includes console equipment maintenance, microwave (2-
hops) maintenance iJNC-CH services maintenance and subscriber
maintenance. VIPER infrastructure maintenance is assumed to be
provided by NC-SHP.
The cost for VIPER without iJNC-CH Services includes Orange County
purchased sites, console equipment, two microwave links for the PSAPs,
all subscriber equipment except for UNC Services which remain on the
existing conventional systems. The cost for maintenance includes console
equipment maintenance, microwave (2-hops) maintenance and subscriber
maintenance. VIPER infrastructure maintenance is assumed to be
provided by NC-SHP.
"" ; + Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
~E.. Page 35 of 43
t~ ~~.,
~ ~.
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
TABLE 7-1
COMPARISON OF VIPER AND PRIVATELY OWNED DESIGNS
~. ~ ~ ~
Number of Sites 5 in Orange County 3 in Orange Four in Orange Co. plus 4
County surrounding sites
System Type Trunked 800MHz Trunked Trunked 800MHz
800MHz
Configuration Simulcast Multi Site Multi Site
Number of 800 Eno Mtn = 11 channels 5 per site Eno Mtn. = 5 channels
MHz Channels WUNC = 11 channels WUNC = 5 channels
required OC-N = 11 channels OC-N = 5 channels
IJNC-Bullitt = 11 UNC-MED = 5-7 channels
channels Butner = 5 channels
OCEM = 11 channels RTP = 14 channels
Durham City = 5 channels
Cane Mtn. = 7 channels
Allowable Digital & Analog Digital for new Digital for new participants
Modes participants
Site Dedicated microwave Mix of leased Mix of leased and microwave
Connectivity and microwave
Redundancy Redundant control Non-Redundant SHP plans to add redundancy
equipment Zone Controller
Control At OCEM in Orange Raleigh, NC Raleigh, NC
Equipment County
Location
OCEM PSAP Zone Controllers Dispatch Switch Dispatch Switch
Equipment Dispatch Switch Consoles Consoles
Consoles Microwave Microwave
Simulcast Equipment
Microwave
iJNC-CH PSAP Dispatch Switch Dispatch Switch Dispatch Switch
Equipment Consoles Consoles Consoles
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
~~~~ j~"~ Page 36 of 43
.,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
1 ~
~•
FCC Licensing Orange Co. responsible Orange Co. Orange Co.
for Infrastructure sites responsible for responsible for
Control Stations Control Stations Control Stations &
Subscribers & Subscribers
Subscribers
800 MHz Yes Yes Yes
Mutual Aid
Stations in
Orange County
Interoperability 1 in Command Vehicle Installed at Installed at VIPER sites
Gateway VIPER sites
Implementation Complete system Phased with two Phased to add two sites in
Timeline installation & acceptance initial sites in Orange County
Orange County
Orange Entire Infrastructure OCEM Dispatch OCEM Dispatch Console
Equipment to Subscriber Radios Console Equipment
Purchase Equipment UNC-CH PSAP
UNC-CH PSAP Dispatch Console Equipment
Dispatch Console Microwave links
Equipment Subscriber Equipment
Microwave links Separate iJNC-CH 800 MHz
Subscriber System
Equipment
Section 7 -Comparison of Private System and VIPER
~' ®~ Page 37 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
8.0 POTENTIAL MIGRATION PATHS
The first migration path is for all Orange County entities to migrate from their existing
conventional radio systems to operation to VIPER. Before entities fully migrate to
VIPER, the PSAPs responsible for dispatching them must be migrated to VIPER first.
The new PSAP dispatch equipment must have VIPER trunked interface and conventional
interfaces to support communications on legacy VHF and UHF conventional channels
during migration and interoperability after migration to VIPER.
8.1 Work currently underway
Efforts are underway to begin this process as Orange County and Chapel Hill
have applied for grants naming VIPER as the project and describing infrastructure
sites in the Northern portion of Orange County and in Chapel Hill near UNC-
Medical Center, plus subscriber equipment for Chapel Hill. Design details must
be worked out with NC-SHP and the locations where the sites are being planned.
8.2 OCEM migration to VIPER.
Orange County Emergency Management must purchase new dispatch consoles,
console switch equipment, backup control stations as described in TABLE 6-1.
Operation of all the equipment is required before OCEM can support dispatching
any entities migrating to VIPER currently dispatched by OCEM.
8.3 UNC-CH Public Safety PSAP migration to VIPER.
UNC-CH Department of Public Safety must purchase new dispatch consoles,
console switch equipment, backup control stations as described in TABLE 6-2.
Operation of all the equipment is required before UNC-CH Department of Public
Safety units migrate to VIPER.
Section 8 -Potential Migration Paths
;~~~~~ ~ Page 39 of 43
...,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
8.4 IJNC Chapel Hill Non Public Safety
LJNC Chapel Hill has the option of keeping their existing conventional radio
systems in service to support non public safety users or constructing a separate
800 MHz trunked system. The VIPER limitation of two talk groups is insufficient
for iJNC Chapel Hill's non public safety work groups. Non public safety users
remaining on their existing conventional systems is a short-term solution. The
university will be faced with converting the conventional systems and subscriber
radio equipment to narrow band to meet FCC requirements in the next few years
if conventional operation is chosen as the long-term solution. Operating on these
conventional radio systems limit direct interoperability between public safety and
services work groups desired and required during an emergency or major event.
CTA recommends LJNC Chapel Hill purchase a separate 800 MHz digital trunked
radio system to support communications based on the number of distinct non
public safety work groups at UNC Chapel Hill. Having all work groups on a
common 800 MHz trunked radio system supports direct interoperability between
all the university's non public safety users. Interoperability with public safety
units on VIPER can be accomplished, either directly when the public safety users
switch to the LTNC non public safety site or indirectly via a patch set up between a
VIPER public safety talk group and the non public safety users by a iJNC PSAP
telecommunicator. Eight control stations are included in our estimate of probable
cost for the separate system to provide links to the UNC PSAP.
8.5. Migration from VIPER to Privately Owned Trunked System
We have been asked to consider a long term goal to migrate from VIPER to a
privately owned trunked radio system for Orange County. In the long term, the
choice will be limited to the ability to re-use any of the VIPER infrastructure in a
privately owned system. Considering this as a long term goal, technology and
newer systems will be available that may preclude re-use of the infrastructure
equipment from VIPER. In absence of knowing the full details pertaining to
ownership of equipment purchased via grants in the pending agreement between
Orange County and NC SHP regarding VIPER, there may be little re-use of any
equipment. Subscriber radios may be re-used in a privately owned system as long
as the equipment has not reached the end of its support life.
Section 8 -Potential Migration Paths
".,.~s ® Page 40 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
The following list of items assumes the infrastructure purchased for VIPER will
be available and useable in a privately owned system after 5 years of operation on
VIPER. We assume that the installed locations for the two sites purchased for
VIPER are unavailable for the privately owned system and the equipment must be
relocated. The re-used equipment would be converted to operate in a privately
owned Motorola 800 MHz trunked radio system.
• Reconfigure two re-used microwave links
• Purchase technology refresh for two re-used 800 MHz sites
• Reconfigure two re-used 800 MHz sites to Simulcast
• Add shelter for one re-used site
• Purchase new Zone Master & Simulcast Control Point
• Purchase three additional simulcast sites
• Purchase three new shelters for new sites
• Purchase one new tower for Eno Mountain Site
• Purchase two new microwave links
Section 8 -Potential Migration Paths
~_ ~ Page 41 of 43
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Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
9.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JOINING VIPER
VIPER offers Orange County a lower short and long term cost alternative to purchasing a
new 800 MHz privately owned trunked radio system. Components of the VIPER
network are already operational in and around Orange County. Orange County, by
joining VIPER, will have met the requirement for having interoperability with VIPER by
being part of the network. The cooperative approach of sharing facilities with North
Carolina State Highway Patrol in adding coverage and capacity is a good alternative to
building a totally separate radio system in the county. As of this report, CTA has not
been able to obtain a copy of the VIPER agreement to review. We can only assume the
terms of the agreement will be acceptable to Orange County when it is provided by NC-
SHP. Direct interoperability with some of Orange County's neighboring counties
already on VIPER will be supported by joining the network.
CTA recommends that Orange County and UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Public
Safety purchase replacement dispatch equipment and link into the VIPER network before
any of Orange County's entities migrate from their legacy radio systems to VIPER. The
telecommunicators at both PSAPs will then have the ability to support and dispatch users
operating on their legacy systems before and as they migrate to VIPER. The
telecommunicators will have the ability to dispatch users once they have fully migrated
to VIPER. The telecommunicators will also be able to control conventional channels that
remain operational after all of Orange County and its communities have migrated to
VIPER. Telecommunicators will be able to establish a patch between conventional
channels and talk groups on VIPER to provide interoperability with users on VHF or
UHF. CTA recommends maintaining the conventional channels where paging is
currently in operation and required in the future.
If Orange County entities purchase VIPER compatible subscriber radios before the
PSAPS are ready, we recommend they continue their primary operations on their legacy
radio systems until the PSAPs are in a position to properly support them. Entities may
use the VIPER subscriber radios as a backup and as a means to achieve direct
interoperability with agencies outside of Orange County operating on VIPER.
Entities migrating to VIPER with a large number of radios or limited ability to provide
vehicles for installation in a short period of time may need to equip their vehicles with
both legacy radios and VIPER subscriber units. After all of the entity's vehicles have
VIPER installed the legacy radios may be removed if desired.
Section 9 -Conclusions and Recommendations for Joining VIPER
'~~"~ ®- Page 42 of 43
....,
Orange County Emergency Management, North Carolina
Final VIPER Anal sis Re ort Au ust 20, 2004
Entities migrating to VIPER with a small number of vehicles have the option of
removing their legacy radios when migrating to VIPER and using a telecommunicator
configured patch between their legacy system and their VIPER talk group during the
migration period.
Section 9 -Conclusions and Recommendations for Joining VIPER
'~ ~" Page 43 of 43
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