Radios are everywhere these days. Have you noticed? Two-way radios are used in just about every business. Associates at your favourite local retailer, the attendant who takes your ticket at the movie theatre, supervisors on a manufacturing floor, construction site workers builders a housing complex, and the logistics manager at a transportation hub all use two-way radios on a daily basis. These workers experience the power of instant push-to-talk communications every day and they find it difficult to imagine functioning without it.
Two-way radios, three ways.
So what are some of the reasons radios are so important? First it is the basic functionality of radio – push-to-talk for instant communications. Two-way radios are designed for the job. They are rugged and durable, with extremely long battery life and loud, clear audio. You will see simple radios, designed for just “talking and listening,” expert radios with colour screens and keypads, and specialized radios that keep people safe in hazardous environments.
The “4 C’s” of coverage, capacity, cost, and control show why radios play such an important part of business today.
- Coverage - designed to meet specific requirements, whether it is a single site warehouse or a multi site manufacturing operation
- Capacity - engineered to address peak usage, using dedicated licensed spectrum and right-sized to each organization’s specific needs – so calls always get through
- Cost - predictable costs, with no additional airtime fees like those associated with cell phones
- Control - high degree of control over system requirements, design, priorities, features, and operation – allowing a system to be configured for a specific use case
A modern digital radio system includes voice and data capabilities, which is an added benefit over older analogue voice radios. Data features like GPS location, text messaging, telemetry, radio programming, encryption, and enhanced safety features are available on two-way radios using the same dedicated radio infrastructure which can be designed to be highly resilient.
Radio systems can also be integrated into your line-of-business application such as Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Work Order Management. And the modern radio can act as the hub of a Bluetooth™ personal network, connecting wearable devices that enable workplace data manipulation as well as hands-free audio.
So next time you are at your local retailer, attending a sporting event, driving through a construction zone, passing an emergency scene, or watching the airline employee load your bag into the plane, take a careful look at the people working there. You’ll see they are all using radios to do their job.
John Kedzierski is Motorola Solutions Director of Product and Solutions Marketing and previously the Motorola Solutions Area Sales Manager for the States of Illinois and Indiana.
