So, you’re a manager, technician, or the owner of a business researching mobile radios to buy for the first time, perhaps to replace older radios? When you’re browsing the web, you might notice how oversaturated the market is with products. Do you need a license, do you need all these features, does price really matter?
When I first started out in the radio industry, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information. With time, radios became easy to understand. With mobile radios its not that complex and can be easily divided into 3 sections. What are radios, types of popular mobile radios for businesses, and how they fit into each industry. Lets dive into it, step by step starting from the basics.
What are Mobile Radios?
Radios in general are also known as walkie talkies or two-way radios. They are used to communicate between others on a specific frequency. You might be familiar with the ones on a security guard or a grocery store employee’s belt. These are known as handheld or portable radios.
In contrast mobile radios are primarily installed in vehicles, hence the name mobile as it can move around in a vehicle. On the other hand, they can also be on a desk in an office, used as a control station to monitor conversations or reach others easily with its long range.
The range of a mobile radio correlates with the output power of a radio. A stronger output power is attributed to its power source, since most mobile radios are in a vehicle, they use the vehicle’s battery. This can provide the mobile radio up to 50W of output power. Typically, a handheld radio has a small battery pack maxed out around 5W.
When installed in vehicles or buildings, they are a handy tool to quickly reach others. No need to dial, use a smart-assistant, text, it’s just instant response communication. Plus, it is legal to operate on the road, unlike cell phones. Before explaining the different types of mobile radios, its important to understand how the Federal Communications Commission regulates products and licensing.
Federal Communications Commission
Before we dive into different types of radios, first we need to explain the concept of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensing. The FCC allocates who can operate on specific frequencies in a certain area. If they are on the same frequency, that means users can talk with each other, or worse, interfere with each other. For example, a construction site next to a grocery store use a different frequency to ensure they don’t talk with each other.
Most of the time, radios used by airports, governments, or grocery stores, require FCC licensing. There is usually a fee associated with licensing. But, individuals do not need to take an exam to operate the radio.
A lot of walkie talkies or radios you take on camping trips or see kids playing with most likely don’t require a license. These are known as license-free radios where anybody can use them and operate on specific frequencies. No fees required. So how would a license-free and licensed radio change my communications need? Let’s explain some popular mobile radios, licensed or license-free.
Popular Mobile Radios for Businesses
After explaining the FCC licensing, we can further drill down types of mobile radios that do and don’t need FCC licensing and what to expect. Below are common types of mobile radios businesses.
License Free Mobile Radios
CB Radio
CB or Citizen Band radios are commonly known to be used by truckers to check on the latest developments on the road, communicating with weigh stations, alert each other of speed traps, and more. They operate on a private band and do not require licensing to operate. This means you can operate on one of 40 channels with others who also have CB radios.
CB radios permit anybody to use this radio for personal or business use.
CB radios are extremely helpful for certain industries such as trucking. Like mentioned earlier, users can communicate with other organizations and individuals to stay up to date on road conditions. The CB radio band might be labeled private, but there is zero encryption. That means, anybody with access can monitor and communicate the CB frequencies and channels. To combat this, lingo is created to throw off any listeners. To avoid problems such as those and more, consider other types of mobile radios.
FCC License Required
Land Mobile
Land mobile radios are the most common version used for businesses. Radio enthusiasts also refer to this as the business band. These two-way radios are used to communicate long ranges. Unlike CB radios, the ranges can be expanded with the use of conventional or trunking repeaters. Examples of these would be Icom’s F5400D series.
With land mobile radios, you do have the choice between analog and digital communications to transmit and receive voice. Analog is a standard, cost-effective, but aging technology. The industry is slowly trending to digital which provides more clear and stable audio communications and better spectrum efficiency. CB radios are strictly analog.
Other Mobile Radios
These are FCC-approved products but do not require an FCC-license to operate.
LTE
LTE mobile radios use LTE signals to communicate to other radios. You cannot legally use a phone and drive, however Icom’s IP501M is a radio through and through. It just uses cellphone towers. It avoids the cost and time of setting up a traditional radio system. Additionally, because of the nature of cellular networks, you must pay a monthly operating fee.
Features:
- Full-duplex, conversations occur like phone calls, no need to release the PTT button
- Priority interrupt calling
- Individual, group, talkgroup, multigroup
- Bluetooth for hands-free operation
Satellite
Satellite mobile radios, don’t use either radio or cellphone towers to relay signals. They use satellites across the world to communicate. Great for places without radio or cellular infrastructure. Icom offers the SAT100M, the world’s first satellite mobile radio in the world. It uses Iridium’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites. Same with LTE, monthly fees are required to operate the radio.
Features:
- Voice recording function
- Short data messaging
- Bluetooth for hands-free operation
- GPS
Choosing a Mobile Radio
Choosing a radio depends on your business model. Many business radios have lots of different applications and features as we mentioned in the previous section. Below are some types of radios to consider for your industries and what to expect for cost.
General Business Types
Mobile radios can fit in any industry. Here is some information to help narrow down your choices. For businesses that have a mobile work force fleet with a need for frequent short communications, land mobile radios are the top choice. These radios would not leave a region, like staying in one town or city.
When vehicles do need to leave the regional area frequently and travel long distances, consider LTE radios. LTE radios can communicate nationwide wherever cellular connection is available.
Anything outside a traditional radio/cellular range, satellite solutions are a great tool to consider. Some organizations do have a satellite radio as a backup just in case the main radio infrastructure goes down.
If you need some sort of combination of these solutions, Icom’s connect solutions use the VE-PG4 gateway combines various types of radio technology to enhance your communication needs. Merge all land mobile, LTE, and satellite technologies into one. Radios are used to enhance safety and efficiency, but not all industries are the same. Below are some solutions to specific business types.
Business A: Transportation Logistics/Construction
Solution: Choose a land mobile or LTE radio. Land mobile is great for regional areas around cities or counties, you can add repeaters when necessary to extend ranges. LTE radios has the benefit of cross-country communications for logistics. Plus, LTE radios can provide more frequent GPS updates. Compared to land mobile radios which don’t update as fast, this is critical for medium to large fleets. In addition to LTE radios, for any reroutes or emergencies, dispatch can interrupt any conversation to relay the information quickly.
Icom’s mobile radios have noise cancelling technology and are compatible with accessories to speak over loud vehicle cabins, equipment, or surroundings.
Business B: You Are a Small Company/Retail Store
Depending on your need, you most likely need one mobile unit installed in a vehicle or office. The vehicle unit would need enough output power to travel around a local area and keep in contact with those who have handheld radios. Vice versa for those in a stationary office and need something strong to talk with others who have handheld radios, a stationary mobile unit will get the job done.
Solution: A land mobile radio has 50W of output power, that’s a lot of range perfect for a small setting.
Business C: Emergency Crews
When we think of emergency crews we think of fire, EMTs, disaster response teams from public safety agencies. They are often in vehicles responding from dispatch on the go. Emergency crews can also be a select set of people in a business that handle work emergencies. There is a need to communicate with each other – no matter the distance and problems such as a down-radio infrastructures from natural disasters.
Solution: First responders would typically use P25 radios, these are land mobile radios specifically created to communicate with other public safety organizations. In the instance of current land mobile radio infrastructures being inoperable due to accidents or natural disasters, Icom’s satellite technology comes in handy. Satellite allows you to communicate worldwide. Otherwise a land mobile would suffice as the primary radio for non-first responder organizations. You can also program dedicated land mobile channels to better coordinate among teams.
Business D: Security
Security detail is very important for numerous businesses. Mobile radios in vehicles are great for teams patrolling large areas with needs to travel outside fixed local areas. Private security organizations would have a fleet to track and coordinate with. GPS coordinates are a safe backup to track vehicle movement when needed.
Solution:
LTE radios are great for security teams with a need to stay local and travel outside of fixed local areas. The frequent GPS updates can help keep tabs on movements and they can interrupt calls with each other in case of emergencies.
Business E: Marine Harbors/Airports
An equivalent to a mobile radio in the marine industry is a typically called a fixed mount. Think of a CB radio, but for boats. Airports typically use land mobile radios for maintenance crews. They may also use aviation specific mobile radios to contact pilots.
Cost & Effectiveness
Cost is very important, you might notice mobile radios are usually on the higher side. A CB radio’s price range can be around $100. You may want to save a couple of bucks and consider a CB radio for basic operations, but again – you have no true private methods of communications or channel availability.
With efficient communications from quality radios, you can essentially make back the money with time and investment.
Icom is a long-standing company and is a worldwide leader in marine, aviation, and amateur radio communication products. When considering a mobile radio that is land mobile, LTE, or satellite radio, keep in mind of Icom’s presence and history in the two-way radio industry.
Conclusion
Different types of mobile radios have a similar build, but have completely different functionality. Icom produces high-end mobile radios that can integrate with complex systems, fleets, or small crews.
For general small-mid range operations, choose something like a Land Mobile radio. For a less complex set up for mid-large range operations, try the LTE radio solutions. For anything outside of a traditional radio/LTE range or for a backup, the satellite radios are a great fit. CB radios are a great complimentary piece to those who want to stay informed on their surroundings. Even if you are still having a hard time choosing a radio, you can always contact us to help you choose.
