Warwick upgrades town and police communications with fiber service
Warwick moved police dispatch and Town Hall onto fiber and VoIP, aiming for clearer emergency calls and steadier service at 132 Kings Highway.
Warwick’s emergency dispatch operations now run on upgraded fiber Internet and VoIP at Town Hall, a change the town says should make police, fire and ambulance communications more reliable when seconds matter. The Warwick Police Department, which handles emergency dispatch from Town Hall, depends on steadier connectivity for calls, records and coordination, and the town lists 845.986.5000 as its direct emergency number in addition to 911.
WVT Fiber, an Archtop Fiber company, announced the partnership with the Town of Warwick and the police department in a May 11, 2026 release. The company said the new system replaced legacy network technology with a more secure, resilient and future-ready fiber solution, and said fiber service is less energy-intensive than traditional network systems. That combination, the company said, could improve call clarity, strengthen digital security and reduce operating costs for the municipality.
Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer said the town was pleased with the relationship and described the transition as seamless after nearly a year of service. For Warwick, the upgrade reaches well beyond a technical switch. It affects the basic machinery of local government at Warwick Town Hall and at the police station at 132 Kings Highway, where reliable service can shape how quickly staff answer residents, process information and stay connected during emergencies.
The project also fits into a broader buildout in the Warwick Valley region. WVT Fiber said it has built more than 375 miles of fiber infrastructure across its service area and pointed to upcoming service for the Kings Estates housing development. The company also said it provided complimentary high-speed connectivity at Warwick Applefest in 2025, where more than 1,000 unique users processed transactions, communicated and stayed connected.
The timing matters in a town that covers more than 100 square miles in southern Orange County and has the county’s second-largest population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Warwick’s population at 31,763 in July 2024 and reported that 94.5% of households had a broadband subscription in 2020-2024 data. Even with broad household access, the town’s own communications backbone still has to hold up for public-safety work, and the town posted a Feb. 16, 2026 notice for Warwick Police Department renovations as another sign of ongoing infrastructure attention.
The fiber upgrade follows Archtop Fiber’s Jan. 3, 2024 acquisition of Warwick Valley Telephone. After New York State Public Service Commission approval in December 2023, Archtop said it would invest $3.75 million to expand broadband fiber coverage in Orange County and move WVT customers to an XGS-PON network with speeds up to 10 Gbps. In Warwick, the immediate test is less about download speeds than about whether core town services run with more stability, clearer voice traffic and fewer failures when public safety depends on the line.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
