Mesa Fire Department

Mesa officials say the new 911 system has led to faster, more cost-effective responses.

The FirstNet system was put in place by Congress after 9/11 to provide a way for first responders to communicate with each other, especially during emergencies, and a few Valley law enforcement agencies are either using it or testing it.

Brian Yox, Deputy Chief for the Mesa Fire Department, oversees its technology division.

AT&T was awarded a contract to provide the infrastructure for FirstNet, and Yox says prior to using the system, Mesa Fire was entirely reliant on a different provider: Verizon. He spoke with The Show and said that he initially bought a couple of devices with dual routers — one for each provider.

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