WTW explain pros & cons of different two-way radio systems

Wall to Wall Communications give an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of various types of base station, mobile, and handheld / walkie-talkie two-way radio systems including short-term hire, licensed and licence-exempt systems.

There are many types of two-way radio systems available:

•    licence-exempt PMR446 walkie-talkies
•    Short-term Hire handheld radios (licensed by hirer)
•    licensed Simple UK (formerly UK General) handheld radios
•    licensed Simple Site, e.g. handhelds and a base station
•    licensed Technically Assigned back-to-back system, e.g. handheld radios only
•    licensed Technically Assigned on-site system, e.g. handhelds and a base station
•    licensed Technically Assigned wide-area system, e.g. handhelds and mobile radios and a high-power base station
•    licensed Technically Assigned multi-site system, e.g. handhelds and mobile radios and high-power inter-connected base stations

LICENCE-FREE PMR446 WALKIE-TALKIE RADIO SYSTEM

Advantages of using PMR446 walkie-talkie radios include:
•    they are easily available
•    can be operated on a licence exempt (aka licence free) basis
•    do not require specialised tuning in order to use them
•    often used on existing sites, e.g. outdoor events, business premises, and building sites
•    may be used almost anywhere within the UK
•    may need permission in safety critical areas, etc
•    domestic analogue versions can be very low cost
•    hard wearing / ruggedised versions available for commercial use
•    digital versions are available if casual eavesdropping needs to be minimised

The disadvantages of using PMR446 walkie-talkie radios include:
•    their low power results in relatively short range compared with higher power radios
•    their easy availability may result in the channels being congested with multiple users
•    the further apart two users are, the more likely they are to suffer from harmful interference, e.g. a nearby PMR446 user unknowingly blocking the channel and
•    channel usage is on a first-come first-served basis, with no priority for emergency users

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licence-exempt PMR446 walkie-talkies.

SHORT-TERM HIRE RADIO SYSTEM

Advantages of using Short-term Hire walkie-talkie radios include:
•    no licence fee
•    no significant outlay on radios that may only be used rarely
•    they are easily available via a specialised radio supplier, e.g. Wall to Wall
•    they have more available frequencies than Simple UK radios
•    they are less likely to suffer harmful interference than on Simple UK channels
•    they typically operate a 8 x the power of a PMR446 walkie-talkie
•    may be used almost anywhere within the UK
•    may need permission in safety critical areas, etc
•    hard wearing / ruggedised versions available
•    digital versions are available if casual eavesdropping needs to be minimised

The disadvantages of using Short-term Hire walkie-talkie radios include:
•    in some areas, short-term hire channels may be shared with several other users and
•    channel usage is on a first-come first-served basis, with no priority for emergency users

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on renting and using Short-term Hire radios.

LICENSED SIMPLE UK RADIO SYSTEM

Advantages of using Simple UK walkie-talkie radios include:
•    they are easily available via a specialised radio supplier
•    they typically operate a 8 x the power of a PMR446 walkie-talkie
•    comparatively cheap licence fee when compared with other licensed systems
•    often used on existing sites, e.g. outdoor events, business premises, and building sites
•    may be used almost anywhere within the UK
•    may need permission in safety critical areas, etc
•    hard wearing / ruggedised versions available
•    digital versions are available if casual eavesdropping needs to be minimised

The disadvantages of using Simple UK walkie-talkie radios include:
•    their sharing of a limited number of radio channels can result in the channels being congested with multiple local users
•    the further two intended users are apart, the more likely they are to suffer from harmful interference, e.g. an unintended nearby user unknowingly blocking the channel and
•    channel usage is on a first-come first-served basis, with no priority for emergency users

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licensed Simple UK system radios. 

LICENSED SIMPLE SITE SYSTEM

Advantages of using a Simple Site system include:
•    a base station repeater may be installed - extending the range of the handheld radios
•    they are available via a specialised radio supplier
•    the handheld radios typically operate a 8 x the power of a PMR446 walkie-talkie
•    comparatively cheap licence fee when compared with other licensed systems
•    may be used almost anywhere within the UK
•    may need permission in safety critical areas, etc
•    hard wearing / ruggedised handheld radios available
•    digital versions are available if casual eavesdropping needs to be minimised

The disadvantages of using Simple Site radios include:
•    their sharing of a limited number of radio channels can result in the channels being congested with multiple local users
•    the further apart two intended users are, or the higher the base station antenna, the more likely they are to suffer from harmful interference, e.g. an unintended nearby user unknowingly blocking the channel and
•    channel usage is on a first-come first-served basis, with no priority for emergency users

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licence Simple Site system radios.

LICENSED TECHNICALLY ASSIGNED BACK-TO-BACK SYSTEM

Advantages of using a licensed technically assigned back-to-back system include:
•    the radios are easily available via a specialised radio supplier
•    the handheld radios typically operate a 8 x the power of a PMR446 walkie-talkie
•    the channel is assigned by Ofcom using carefully planned sharing criteria. So, unlike the Simple Site / UK licences, any interference should be minimal
•    licenses may be issued for almost anywhere within the UK
•    exclusive use channels are available in many parts of the UK
•    hard wearing / ruggedised handheld radios available and
•    digital versions are available if casual eavesdropping needs to be minimised

The disadvantages of using licensed technically assigned back-to-back systems include:
•    exclusive use channels can be very difficult to obtain in some dense urban areas, e.g. Central London. Ofcom’s licensing criteria, however, are designed to minimise undue interference between adjacent licensed systems
•    the licence fee is greater than a Simple UK licence but, unlike the Simple UK / Site channels, Ofcom will investigate and resolve undue interference cases to this type of licensed channel
•    two intended users should be able to operate much further apart than Simple UK / Site users before potentially suffering undue interference and
•    the radios can be programmed in to groups of users with each group having an order of priority for channel access. For instance, the Emergency Group can be given the highest priority and, perhaps, Cleaners the lowest

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licensed technically assigned back-to-back system radios.

LICENSED TECHNICALLY ASSIGNED ON-SITE SYSTEM

In addition to the licensed technically assigned back-to-back system advantages, the advantages of using a licensed technically assigned on-site system include:
•    the inclusion of a low-power base station and external antenna should increase the coverage radius of a radio system
•    the base station antenna can be directional thereby concentrating the signals where they are required 
•    the inclusion of a down-fire antenna may increase the coverage down through multi-floor buildings and also reduce interference from adjacent co-channel users and
•    Ofcom considers the use of a down-fire antenna to be spectrum efficient and rewards users with a low fee licence

In addition to the licensed technically assigned back-to-back system disadvantages, the disadvantages of using licensed technically assigned on-site systems include:
•    increasing the base station antenna height will increase the radio system coverage area but will also is increased the potential for incoming interference (see the above reference to down-fire antennas)

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licensed technically assigned on-site system radios.

LICENSED TECHNICALLY ASSIGNED WIDE-AREA SYSTEM

In addition to the previous licensed technically assigned systems advantages, the advantages of using a licensed technically assigned wide-area system include:
•    a wide-area system may have a radius of 30km. This should result in users within, say, 20km of the base station being unlikely to suffer any interference from the base stations of adjacent systems, e.g. 40km away

In addition to the licensed technically assigned back-to-back system disadvantages, the disadvantages of using licensed technically assigned on-site systems include:
•    increasing the base station antenna height will increase the radio system coverage area but will also is increased the potential for incoming interference (see the above reference to down-fire antennas)

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on buying and using licensed technically assigned wide-area system radios.

LICENSED TECHNICALLY ASSIGNED MULTI-SITE SYSTEM

In addition to the previous licensed technically assigned systems advantages, the advantages of using a licensed technically assigned multi-site system include:
•    users at one site can communicate with users at all of the other connected sites

In addition to the licensed technically assigned back-to-back system disadvantages, the disadvantages of using licensed technically assigned on-site systems include:
•    communications between one or more sites could be disrupted if the large area network (LAN) connection is lost

Wall to Wall Radio Communications will be pleased to offer more advice on hiring or buying any type of radio system.