Visit our brands:
Two-Way Communications

Instant Communication is Essential. How Good is Your Process?

Decorative Arrow Pattern
School bus drivers depend on effortless, instant communication between dispatchers and other buses throughout each day.

Simple, instant push-to-talk communication is as critical in today’s world of sophisticated smartphones and mobile devices as it’s ever been.

For example, the ability for a school bus driver to push a single button on a two-way radio to talk to a dispatcher, a specific bus, or an entire group of buses and the dispatcher at once will always be a big part of efficient and safe daily operations on his or her route.

Smartphones are great, but not for instant push-to-talk communication.

A smartphone, although useful in many other ways, can never truly take the place of a push-to-talk (PTT) two-way radio (or “radio,” as we'll call it from here on out) that’s been designed to be universally user-friendly and to respond immediately at the push of a button.

Unlike a smartphone, a radio is always ready to go.

A radio doesn’t “time out” or require the user to unlock it between uses, and it doesn’t need an app that has to stay open and running at all times in order to offer anything close to a true push-to-talk experience. A radio also doesn’t provide the user with distractions like social media and email notifications and alerts popping up—or phone calls coming in at inconvenient times—on a device that’s needed for instant push-to-talk communication.

Smartphone: Unlock, swipe, launch, repeat.
Smartphones require too many steps to operate to be used efficiently for instant push-to-talk communication.
Radios: Push to talk.
Radios can be configured to accomplish complex functions and communications, but they're simple to use and always ready.

LMR and PoC: Two solid paths to reliable PTT communications.

Typically, push-to-talk communication like in the school bus driver example above is done with the use of traditional land mobile radio (LMR) technology, which uses the antennas on mobile (vehicle or base station) or portable (handheld) radios to send and receive audio (sound) back and forth. This means that in order for radios to “talk to” and “hear” one another, their antennas must either be within a limited distance (or “range”) of each other, or in range of a separate, higher-powered antenna connected to a repeater which then carries the audio between radios that would otherwise be too far away from each other to be able to communicate efficiently, if at all.

While LMR wide-area coverage solutions, like DMR Tier 2 or Tier 3 for example, are oftentimes valuable and practical options, they can require an initial investment in engineering and infrastructure like repeaters, towers, and antennas to provide optimal usability and coverage, and/or a monthly subscriber fee per radio to use a third-party’s existing LMR network.

Some general caveats of LMR may include things like purchasing and maintaining the FCC-licensed broadcast frequencies that are required for legal usage, as well as its dependence on variables like antenna height and characteristics, and even on strange things happening within the atmosphere that could interfere with a radio’s performance.

PoC is designed to work right out of the box.

Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) is an advanced version of earlier, similar PTT technology that’s been in development and in varying use for decades. Unlike its predecessors, though, it offers far better reliability and usability than the older technology and devices were able to provide, and it operates on the same national high-speed cellular networks that our mobile phones and devices use.

Since modern PoC devices connect to widely-available cell towers and operate on established LTE networks across the United States, coverage issues are easily solved or avoided completely. No need for any additional antennas, engineering, or infrastructure outside of possibly adding something like a cellular signal booster in a particularly stubborn building or facility.

In addition to eliminating the upfront costs that can accompany an LMR solution, the monthly LTE service fee for PoC devices can also be substantially less than an average cellphone plan or DMR Tier 2 or Tier 3 subscriber fee.

Instant push-to-talk communication in a single location or across the entire country, and dispatching and location management from a Windows PC, iOS, or Android device.

Devices like RadioManUSA RMM-750 mobile and RMP-700 portable PoC radios also come equipped with built-in GPS which ties in seamlessly with the optional full-featured RealPTT Dispatcher desktop and mobile app for location and communications management.

LMR or PoC? The choice is up to you.

Land mobile radio and Push-to-Talk over Cellular each offer great features and benefits, and they are both solid and dependable forms of instant push-to-talk communication.

Contact our experts to discuss custom two-way communications and security-technology solutions in St. Louis, Southeastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, Chicago, San Antonio, and Houston.

Tags:

push-to-talk over cellular, poc, land mobile radio, lmr, two-way communications, radio, radiomanusa, fleet tracking, management, warner communications, st. louis, southern illinois, voceon, chicago, houston, san antonio, texas, dittronics, southeastern missouri, voceon store

related articles
View All
Link Arrow
Who We Are
What We Do

What our customers say:

Let's Connect

Ask a question, schedule a consultation or service, and more.
Call or visit one of our 6 locations.

St. Louis

(314) 993-7070
St. Louis
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Warner Communications
1340 Baur Blvd
St. Louis
,
MO
63132

Southern Illinois

(618) 224-7138
Southern Illinois
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Warner Communications
21 W Front St
Trenton
,
IL
62293

Southeastern Missouri

(573) 545-3912
Southeastern Missouri
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Dittronics
14 N Winchester St
Benton
,
MO
63736

Chicago

(847) 773-1010
Chicago
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Visit
voceon.com
.
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Voceon
825 E Golf Rd, Suite 1140
Arlington Heights
,
IL
60005

Houston

(281) 616-7244
Houston
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Visit
voceon.com
.
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Voceon
1219 Price Plaza
Katy
,
TX
77449

San Antonio

(726) 200-3500
San Antonio
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Visit
voceon.com
.
Address, Website, and Map
Address and Map
Voceon
5419 Bandera Rd, Suite 701
San Antonio
,
TX
78238

test

Send us a message.
* = required field

Share your contact information.

Profile your company or organization.

Please select all that apply:
Please select all that apply:

Describe your two-way communications and/or security technology needs.

Please select all that apply:
Please select all that apply:
Thank you! Your request has been received.

We will review your request, and one of our representatives will follow up with you within two business days. If your request is urgent, please call us.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Straight to your inbox.
Straight to your inbox

Quality news and views you can use.