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By: Dominic Donaldson

If your business includes networks of employees in different locations of close proximity, currently communicating to each other using mobile phones, you may be wise to swap them for two way radios and save yourself a bundle. In an era where half of the entire human population owns a mobile phone, it's hard to imagine the days where we didn't have them glued to our side. All around the world, people are spending hours every day, calling friends and relatives and sending discrete text messages. There is no denying that the mobile phone has enhanced the average social life and acts as an excellent source of communication. However while mobile phones suit our out of work needs, there may be more efficient methods of communicating between employees. Step over the mobile phone and welcome the two way radio.

There are a number of key advantages two way radios have over the mobile phone. First of all, usage is free. You do not pay every time you make a call. With mobile phones, you either pay monthly or pay as you go and the corporate giants who own the mobile networks will bill you every time. Two way radio's overcome this expense as you don't get charged per use.

Secondly, two way radios offer instant communication. With a mobile phone you need to wait until the receiver has heard the ringtone and picked up their mobile, which may not even happen if the phone is on silent for example. If a message is left on voicemail, the receiver will outrageously be charged to listen to the message. With two way radios, companies using them will ensure users have constant access to their radios therefore communication will be received instantly.

Where you have networks of workers, for example, ski shuttle drivers on a ski resort, instant communication throughout a network of people is essential, to enable the drivers to do their job safely. If there is a problem on one of the mountains or the roads for example, one driver is able to inform all drivers instantly via radio. If they were using mobile phones, they would all need to be contacted individually, which is not only inconvenient, phone useage while driving is illegal in many countries, takes too much time and would be more expensive.

With two way radios, you also don't have the problem of loosing network coverage like you occasionally do with mobile phones. In a situation such as mountain patrol or ski shuttle drivers, loosing mobile phone signal could be the difference between life or death so ensuring you always have solid lines of communication open, is essential.

There are many types of two way radio available on the market and what you go for depends on your requirements. The first thing to decide is whether you need non licensed or licensed radios. With non licensed radios, you don't have a license to pay for. Coverage ranges from one to four kilometres and you have access to eight separate channels, which others share. Licensed radios do have the license fee to pay however this gives you access to a wider coverage range from three to ten kilometres. If you choose, your license can be your own and no others can share the radio lines.

Typical opportunities for using two way radios in business would be event organising, construction, transport management, facilities management, leisure centres or outdoor pursuits such as sports activities. Depending on the size and nature of your organisation, will depend on what type of two-way radio will be most suitable for you. GPS can even be integrated over the radios so you can track the location of the user, speed and movement, set alarms and send messages.

Two way radios are an invaluable tool to many organisations and while mobile phones serve our personal lives suitably, radios may not only be more cost effective for organisations worldwide, they can also speed up business and therefore act as a more efficient method

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the communication industry.
Find out more about two way radio and why they may benefit companies more than using mobile phones.

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Why You May Want To Swap Your Mobile Phone For A Two Way Radio