City of Mesa News
The following news releases were issued by the Public Information Office this week.
Mesa City Council approves contract for new state-of-the-art radio system
800 Megahertz Trunked Radio System to change how Valley cities communicate with each other
Mesa took a major step into the 21st century Monday when the City Council approved a $15 million contract with Motorola to replace the City's aging radio system with a state-of-the-art communication network that will benefit citizens valleywide.
The City Council's unanimous approval highlights the partnership between Mesa, the City of Phoenix and the telecommunication industry, which joined together five years ago to improve how police, fire and city workers communicated with each other. "This is a significant project for the City of Mesa and all cities in the Valley because it will allow something our police and firefighters have not been able to do before, and that's the ability to communicate across city lines," said Mayor Wayne Brown. "Approving this contract is a precedent setting decision for Mesa." The contract calls for Mesa's portion of a new 800 megahertz, digital trunked radio system, which will provide radio communications for Mesa police, fire fighters and city workers, as well as fire fighters in Gilbert and Apache Junction.
Currently, Mesa and Phoenix use a variety of radio systems with 20-year-old technology. The 800 megahertz digital system will be designed using standards set by the public safety community and the telecommunications industry. The new system will use "open" technology - meaning manufacturers will be able to build systems that will be compatible with one another. The City of Mesa has been a leader in developing these standards.
Citizens will benefit with improved public safety because police and fire personnel will be able to go anywhere in the Valley and talk to their own dispatch center, to another city's dispatch center, inside buildings or to each other in the field.
Mesa is the only city in the country to play a leadership role in setting the new industry standards. In 1990, the City of Mesa joined the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and some federal agencies to develop new communication standards, known as Project 25. The project is unique in that it was driven by users rather than the telecommunications industry. "Project 25 is a wonderful example of communities working together with the telecommunications industry to meet communication needs and save taxpayer dollars at the same time," said Don Pfohl, Mesa's Communication Director who participated in developing the new industry standards. "Before, these systems were designed so they wouldn't talk to each other. That eliminated competition so costs were higher. With an open communication system, manufacturers will be able to design their products so they are compatible with one another. That's a real plus for the cities."
