Comparison: Two way radios Vs Cell Phones

Being connected to people with a communication device has become almost as important as breathing fresh air. If we can not immediately reach other people, we soon turned into a panic. Therefore, mobile phones and wireless devices are so popular these days. Some of you might be thinking “bah, who needs two way radios, we’ve got cell phones now and they work everywhere”. Before jumping to any conclusion, let’s compare them on different basis.

As a voice service, a cell phone is a still device for making a phone call to another phone, be it land line or wireless. On that basis, if you want to talk to the other person, it requires dialing a number, letting it ring, waiting for an answer, hopefully talking to the person you are calling. The whole process takes at least a minute, usually more, just to make the connection.

With a two-way radio you push a button, instantly talk to one person or to your whole talk group, (depending on your set up), get the info you need, give those persons further instructions or info, get their response, and act accordingly. The whole process usually takes just a few seconds, seldom more.

Mobile phones, of course, we can communicate to extreme distances, while transceivers are used for short distances.
 
Two way radios will provide better reception in hard to reach areas of your property. Cell phones are prone to dead spots or areas of poor reception and transmission.

If you constrain yourself to the urban areas in which we have grown accustomed to be living, then you might have a point since cell phone coverage is excellent there due to the high population density. However, countless activities take place in areas where cell phone network coverage can only be dreamt of. This can either be an underground site or simply an extremely remote area. Two way radios don’t need a base station to function, so they don’t experience this kind of problem.

After several recent natural disasters, many people have learned that two way radios continue to work in an emergency when cell phones and even land lines become useless. Even if cell phones do work, the cell phone base stations are usually overloaded with everyone trying to make calls so your call will, in all probability, not go through.

With a cell phone, cost of talking to someone has to be paid on the basis of each minute of conversation. This can be through a monthly plan or just a minute to calculate. Two way radios equipped with a “telephone interconnect” can make and receive telephone calls through your existing telephone equipment and carrier for no additional monthly or per minute charges.

Cell phones generally are fragile, breakable, and most are too lightweight for tough work environments. Many two-way radios are built to military standards, which mean they will work in wet environments and endure very hard shocks. 

Conclusion

The truth is that cell phones and two way radios both have advantages which set them apart from each other. Neither is better, and both are important to have on hand for a variety of situations.