by Ethan Faverino | Nov 7, 2025 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Axon, a global leader in public safety technology, has signed an agreement to acquire Carbyne, the cloud-native emergency communications platform trusted by agencies serving over 250 million people worldwide.
The $625 million transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, marks a critical milestone in Axon’s mission to transform public safety from the moment a 911 call is placed.
By combining Carbyne’s modern call-handling core with Axon’s AI-driven Prepared platform, the company introduces Axon 911–the industry’s first fully integrated, start-to-finish emergency response system.
Axon 911 seamlessly links callers, dispatchers, and field responders through real-time data, live video, multilingual translation, and automated evidence workflows. From the initial alert to final case resolution in Axon Evidence, every critical detail is captured, shared, and actionable.
“Every year, more than 240 million 911 calls are made in the U.S., and in too many cases, vital information is lost between the call and the response,” said Axon Founder and CEO, Rick Smith. “By uniting Axon’s 30-year legacy of innovation with Carbyne’s cloud-based call management platform, we’re closing that gap, giving call takers and dispatchers instant visibility and connecting them directly to officers in the field. It’s how we transform a call for help into the first moment of intelligence.”
The transformation relies on two complementary engines. Prepared by Axon serves as an AI overlay that enhances any existing 911 system with real-time transcriptions, automated triage, and non-emergency deflection. It currently operates in over 1,000 centers across 49 states and serves nearly 100 million residents.
Carbyne functions as a cloud-native core with 99.9% uptime, intelligent routing for voice, text, and video, and real-time voice-to-voice translation. The platform currently processes more than 250 million data points annually.
Together, Prepared and Carbyne power Axon 911 as a unified platform. Call data instantly feeds Axon Fusus for real-time analytics and command visibility. Dispatchers can trigger Axon Drone as First Responder (DFR) directly from the call screen to help deliver real-time updates. Body-camera footage, drone feeds, and digital evidence are automatically archived in Axon Evidence.
Even though 80% of 911 calls now originate from cell phones, most centers still rely on decades-old landline systems. A survey done by Carbyne with the help of the National Emergency Number Association reveals that 86% of centers face high call volumes at least weekly, with 35% experiencing them daily. Additionally, 63% report that 50-80% of calls are non-emergencies.
“Carbyne was created to modernize how help arrives — by giving emergency professionals the clarity, resilience, and confidence they need in critical moments,” said Carbyne Founder and CEO, Amir Elichai. “Joining Axon allows us to scale that mission globally and integrate more deeply into the broader public safety ecosystem. Together, we’ll help agencies save time, reduce uncertainty, and improve outcomes for the people and communities they serve.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | Oct 12, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
A traffic stop in Arizona turned into a full arrest after what began as a speeding violation escalated into multiple criminal charges — and a surprising 911 call from the driver.
According to law enforcement sources, a deputy pulled over a vehicle for criminal speed (excessive speeding) earlier this month. During the stop, the driver allegedly placed a 911 call to report that his vehicle was being towed by the deputy.
When deputies pressed for identification and documentation, the driver was unable to produce a valid driver’s license or any legal identification. Further investigation revealed that he had outstanding warrants. Authorities also determined the individual had given false information to the deputy.
Because of the outstanding warrants and the suspected immigration status, the driver was arrested on multiple charges:
- Speeding (criminal speed)
- Providing false information to law enforcement
- Driving without a license or identification
- Violating active warrants
The deputy involved reported that once the driver realized the vehicle would be towed, he dialed 911, perhaps in an attempt to prevent the impound. The driver’s quote—“What happen you bro? I no speed my friend”—suggests he denied speeding and attempted to argue during the stop.
The video shows the deputy stating the driver has been in the country illegally “at least” since 2011, and it is likely that immigration enforcement agencies will be involved depending on the outcome of the local criminal process. In many jurisdictions, collaboration exists between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, though policies vary by county and state.
What began as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into a broader criminal arrest after attempts to conceal identity and existing warrants came to light. As the case proceeds through the legal system, more details may emerge, including the driver’s identity, the exact charges filed, and whether immigration enforcement agencies will become involved.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 17, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has ordered a telecommunications company to detail its response to a 48-hour service outage last month by making an hour by hour report. At the same time, commissioners are considering a plan that could lead to the appointment of an interim manager of the troubled company.
The directive to Frontier Communications of the White Mountains stems from yet another outage which left thousands of rural cellphone and landline phone users without service from 3 p.m. June 11 through the afternoon of June 13.
It comes on the heels of an ACC-approved plan in March which laid out the company’s strategy for responding to such outages after a study found 911 service was inaccessible by Frontier’s customers for 66 hours from April 2020 to April 2021.
Among the most vocal critics of how Connecticut-based Frontier Communications has responded to the outage issues is St. Johns Police Chief Lance Spivey. During the June outage, a 74-year-old resident died while 911 service was unavailable, Spivey said.
“We have one service provider that provides telephone and internet, and that’s Frontier,” Spivey said during testimony at a recent ACC hearing. “So if Frontier goes down, everything else goes down.”
It is unclear whether the medical issue the resident suffered would have been fatal had prompt medical attention been available, but the police chief noted the incident was very upsetting to the two bystanders who came upon the resident as well as the emergency responders who finally responded after being flagged down to the scene.
In addition, a five-year-old girl who suffered a gruesome playground injury was forced to wait several hours for treatment while staff at her local hospital worked to establish communications with Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
The June outage also led to a lack of communication options which impacted how officials at the Salt River Project’s Coronado Generating Station near St. Johns responded to an equipment failure.
According to SRP spokesperson Erica Roelfs, employees at the coal-fired plant experienced a delay in reaching experts who needed to be conferred with. This time, Roelfs noted, the delay did not present a safety threat.
A criminal investigation is underway after Frontier reported various equipment and fiber optics lines were vandalized by two shotgun blasts at two locations across a three-mile area in Navajo County. The damage caused an outage area which covered all of Apache County as well as the majority of Navajo County.
Any decision on whether to prosecute the vandal or vandals in connection with the St. Johns resident’s death will be made once the investigation and an autopsy is complete, Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting has said. Another facet of the investigation will be Frontier’s response time to the outage, Whiting said.
A $10,000 reward has been offered and anyone with information about the vandalism should contact the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office at 928-524-4050.
The ACC’s actions earlier this year about outages in 2020 and 2021 included concerns with Frontier’s lack of progress in doing more to prevent service outages. But after the recent deadly outage in June, the St. Johns police chief wrote to the ACC, calling the company’s efforts “insufficient and inadequate.”
The chief also contended Frontier’s response to the problem is “blatantly jeopardizing” public safety.
Part of the problem appears to be a lack of a reliable outage redundancy plan to help restore service for the more than 330,000 customers whose service relies on Frontier’s lines. Another issue is that repair crews often have to drive several hours to locate the cause of an outage.
The company issued a statement after the June outage stating that company officials were willing to discuss its network redundancy with regulators in the future. Members of the ACC did not wait.
At a June 28 hearing, several people impacted by the outage were able to testify at an ACC meeting. Kevin Saville, general legal counsel for Frontier, assured commissioners the June outage was not due to a network failure.
“This was at a minimum vandalism and even potentially sabotage,” Saville said.
However, some of the company’s previous comments about the June outage came under attack, including a claim that Frontier’s customers lost 911 access for only one hour and three minutes while crews repaired the line.
Frontier’s statement about the short outage was misleading, according to St. Johns Assistant Fire Chief Jason Kirk, because most of the area receives its telecommunications service from other providers such as AT&T and Verizon who rely on Frontier’s equipment.
Kirk testified to the ACC that tens of thousands of citizens “were separated from communications and data for almost two days” and that everything from gas pumps, grocery stores and other facilities were “rendered useless because of the unavailability of the fiber connection.”
During the June 28 hearing, a Frontier manager gave commissioners an overview of how the company responded to the outage. However, that was not good enough for the ACC.
Commissioner Sandra Kennedy noted local officials were upset by Frontier’s attitude in responding to the June outage. She called for a more detailed report of the company’s response.
“That is my concern, for an hour-by-hour recap on what the company did. We may not regulate internet, but by gosh, we’re going to try to help the folks out who need our help who are complaining about your company,” Kennedy told Frontier officials.
That June hearing led to the July 8 town hall at which community members were allowed to share their experiences about Frontier. Among those who addressed the three ACC members in attendance was Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse.
As a result of the community input, Frontier Communications was formally directed to respond to the ACC about each of the comments made. The company expects to comply this week.
In the meantime, the ACC revisited its earlier outage investigation into the four Frontier companies which operate in Arizona. During discussions on July 12 and 13, the commissioners drafted and edited a Remedy Plan to address eight issues.
One of the drafts includes a clause allowing the ACC to appoint an interim manager of the local Frontier “for the convenience, comfort, and safety, and the preservation of the health, of the customers and member of the public in Apache and Navajo Counties.” The ACC website does not yet list the next meeting date at which a Frontier Remedy Plan will be discussed. In a related matter, the ACC is considering an October 2021 application by the four Frontier companies operating in Arizona to classify and regulate retail local exchange telecommunications services as competitive, and to classify and deregulate certain services as non-essential. The ACC will continue to accept public comments on the application through the end of the year.
by Corinne Murdock | Oct 7, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Flagstaff will now have behavioral health specialists and medics answering 911 calls related to mental health crises, substance abuse, and public intoxication. The city council approved a $2.6 million contract during Tuesday’s meeting for the “alternative response mobile unit” service offered by Terros Health.
According to the council’s executive summary of the contract, the mobile response units will only operate from 10 am to 8 pm. They will also have “cultural items” on board in addition to the medical basics.
The mobile response unit will be conducting proactive outreach and responding to calls in a van. The van will provide enough space for specialized equipment for basic life safety response, in addition to comfort items such as water and snacks, emergency clothing, toiletries, blankets and cultural items like abalone shells, sage and cedar and the ability to transport individuals as needed.
Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy tweeted the news on Wednesday.
“We did it! In a few months, a behavioral health specialist and medic will respond to 9-1-1 calls around mental health and public intoxication, diverting calls that don’t require police presence,” wrote Deasy. “Council approved the contract with Terros Health. A defining moment for Flagstaff!”
https://twitter.com/MayorDeasy/status/1445748957674496002
Flagstaff’s decision to assign certain 911 calls to response teams of behavioral specialists and medics is part of a larger national movement – one that picked up speed after the death of George Floyd.
Terros Health is a nonprofit mental health services provider that receives Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funds and has federal Public Health Service (PHS) status. They’ve recently partnered with Mesa Public Schools (MPS) to offer their services, paid for by patient insurance or outside financial assistance.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
