Our History

In 2001 the City of Phoenix issued bonds to implement a new State of the Art 800 MHz digital trunked radio system. At that time the existing VHF communications system used by the City of Phoenix’s public safety and other departments was based on outdated technology and was no longer able to meet the operational needs of its users.
The system went live in 2005 as the Phoenix Regional Wireless Network, or PRWN.
In 2008, after much study and consideration, the forward-thinking leadership at the City of Phoenix realized that there were great advantages to the concept of regionalization of communications, so PRWN was dissolved and became the Regional Wireless Cooperative, or RWC. This allowed the RWC to begin offering communications services to Member agencies.
In 2019, after many years of management by the Phoenix Fire Department, the RWC assumed responsibility for the still-in-use Fire VHF (“conventional”) simplex radio system. This system is used by all Metro Phoenix Fire Departments for hazard-zone (Fires, Hazmat, etc…) communications.
Today, guided by our Member agencies, the RWC oversees the administration, operation, management, maintenance, and growth of these two large regional communications networks. We continue to strive toward equity, efficiency, and excellence in all that we do.

About Us

The RWC currently includes 22 Cities, Towns, Fire Districts, and other Government agencies located in the Phoenix metropolitan region, as well as two Associate, one Long-Term Conditional and nearly 50 Interoperability Participating agencies. The RWC is Member driven and truly regional. Because of this our system can provide significantly wider coverage--beyond what cities could achieve individually--seamless interoperability, shared resources, such as people, equipment and tower sites, and funding and financial responsibilities shared by all Members based on their relative size and number of radios on the system.
The RWC is structured as a cooperative venture via intergovernmental agreements, governed by a Board of Directors, with all Members of the RWC having a seat and a vote on the Board. The Board directs the operation, maintenance, planning, design, implementation, and financing of the RWC. Membership is open to all local, county, state, federal and tribal governmental entities.

RWC Radio site on South Mountain, Phoenix

The Radio Networks

The RWC comprises both a Motorola ASTRO 25™ 700 MHz digital trunked radio system, and a VHF Simplex system dedicated to Fire Hazard-Zone operations. These systems provide coverage to 3.5 million residents across 5,000 square miles of south-central Arizona. Our Membership reaches from the Town of Wickenburg in the far northwest to the City of Maricopa in the far south and from the Harquahala Valley in the far west to Scottsdale, Tempe, and Chandler in the east. The system is comprised of 20,000 Member radios with 20,000+ in use by interoperability participants (Local, State, Federal and Tribal agencies authorized to use the system to communicate with RWC agencies).

Our Leadership

The RWC is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of one executive representative from each Member agency. The Board has the responsibility to provide the vision, mission, and goals of the organization, monitor policy, govern the cooperative, represent and protect Member interest in the cooperative, appropriate the annual budget, ensure the assets of the cooperative are adequately maintained, and finally monitor and control function. The Board oversees the annual financial audit process, and ensures the audit is done in a timely manner each year.
The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and serves as a non-voting Member of the RWC Executive Committee. The Executive Director is supported by multiple working groups comprised of our Members technical and operational representatives. The Executive Director also has three staff positions who assist with the administration and financial management of the RWC. This team is housed in the City of Phoenix Office of Government Relations acting on behalf of the RWC as the Administrative Manager.
The City of Phoenix serves as the Administrative Manager of the RWC, responsible for overseeing the administrative and operational aspects of the two networks. The RWC reimburses Phoenix for providing all support, employment, benefits, and costs to operate the system. Phoenix also acts as the Maintenance Managing Member for all RWC zones except Zone 3 (Simulcast H) which operates in and is managed by the City of Scottsdale. The Radio Shop is made up of 26 employees that work diligently on behalf of the Network. They, along with our Members agency wireless communications staff leads are what ensures the Network functions at its highest level.