Digital two-way radio is the new standard in radio communications. Available in both a licensed form and a licence free form, digital radios offer many benefits over and above traditional analogue radio communications.

Why is digital two-way radio better than analogue radio?

Digital mobile radio (DMR) is a method of digitising speech and transmitting it over radio waves, whereas analogue equipment uses 'audible speech', digital radios 'digitise' the speech similar to how a mobile phone does. The diagram below shows an analogue radio signal compared to a digital radio signal, notice the digital speech quality stays strong right up to the extremeties where it quite suddenly drops off, whereas analogue signals tend to fade away gradually.

(Right: Analogue vs. Digital 2 Way Radio Speech Quality)

Top 11 benefits of digital 2 way radio

Digital 2 way radio offers many benefits when compared to analogue two-way radios. We'll cover them in more detail later on in this article, however in summary the main benefits are...

• Astounding speech quality - no static, fading or noise.
• Much greater security - cannot be eavesdropped with traditional scanners, encryption as standard in most cases.
• More features - GPS tracking, lone worker, over the air programming, remote kill/stun, man down and radio-telephone integration are all offered by the leading manufacturers.
• Direct calling - call radios directly, without other radios hearing or being aware of the conversation.
• Double the channels - most traditional radios use 25khz channel spacing, digital only uses 12.5khz so you can get an extra channel (slot) for free!
• Use pseudo trunking features to make radios automatically select an available slot (channel), thereby supporting multiple simultaneous conversations without anyone ever having to manually change channel.
• Longer battery life - generally 2-6 hours extra usage.
• Stronger range - stronger signal at the extremities gives a much further usable range.
• Text Messaging - Popular for mobile phones short text messages can now be sent using two-way radio. Using the radios keypad/keypad mic you can write a message (or select from a list of pre-programmed messages) and then send it - either by typing the group or radio name into the recipient field or by selecting contacts from the radios phone book.
• IP Connectivity - Sometimes called Radio Over IP (RoIP) this allows you to connect multiple systems and bases together over an Ip network (LAN, broadband, microwave links, leased lines etc) - in order to interconnect sites, provide wide area coverage and remotely manage the system.
• RoIP & Wireless Data - Thanks to better usage of channel spacing RoIP is now a viable alternative for wireless data and telemetry applications, For example a vehicle radio can be used to also relay information such as the vehicles location, speed, status of engine etc. Similarly digital radios on buses can be used to form a real time data link back to HQ in order to check and validate bus passes on the vehicle. Aside from giving excellent non-line of sight coverage Radio Over IP is also free of call charges so has no ongoing running costs.

Do I need a new licence for digital 2 way radio?

Digital licence free two-way radios (limited to 0.5w output power) do not require any form of licence in the UK. For licensed equipment; OFCOM radio licences do not differentiate between analogue and digital, so if you opt for licensed models and you have an existing licence then no changes need to be made. If you do not have a licence then we can arrange one on your behalf, free of charge. OFCOM licences currently cost around £45 for a shared licence and about £75 for a private site licence. You can learn more about radio licences on our 2 way radio licensing blog article, or buy OFCOM radio licences from our shop.

Migrating to digital two way radio

All of the major manufacturers (ICOM, Motorola, Kenwood, Hytera etc) models offer analogue and digital channel support on the same radios - so you can slowly change your radio fleet and when you're completely ready switch to your digital channel!

Will analogue 2 way radios become unusable soon?

There will always be a place for analogue radio and digital may not be for everyone. OFCOM are responsible for licensing two-way radio in the UK and they have not announced any intention or plans to withdraw licensing (and/or support) for analogue two-way radio equipment. It is our feeling that given the amount of telemetry and communications equipment still using analogue, it is highly unlikely that it will be withdrawn in the near future. As such withdrawal of support for analogue equipment need not be a consideration when looking to migrate to digital.

Do all digital mobile radios work with each other?

There is a single 'DMR' standard, however this has been interpreted differently by different manufacturers. As such there are currently 2 different types (or sub-standards) of digital 2 way radios. The first of these standards (currently the most popular) is 'P25 TIA102' and is used by MOTOROLA and HYTERA, the other is the 'NXDN' protocol which is used by KENWOOD AND ICOM. The 2 standards (P25 and NXDN) are not interoperable, so Kenwood and ICOM digital 2 way radios are not interoperable with Motorola and Hytera.

Which manufacturers sell digital two way radios?

Motorola, Kenwood, Hytera and ICOM all offer digital 2 way radios. Recently, following Motorola's withdrawl of the DTR2450, ICOM became the only leading manufacturer that offers a licence free digital 2 way radio (the IC-F4029SDR). Both offer handheld and mobile versions in their digital range. In addition to the radios themselves all 4 of these manufacturers also offer base stations (repeaters or 'talk through') devices for their radios. When a repeater is integrated with the radios then we typically refer to this as a radio system.

Does digital two way radio use UHF or VHF?

Both, exactly the same as analogue radios. You can learn more about the radio bands and UHF vs. VHF here, but in summary if you're looking to take a new radio licence then VHF gives greater range, but isn't so great at getting through dense obstructions such as buildings. UHF uses shorter radio waves, whilst it doesn't have as much range as VHF it is great for penetrating obstructions. Farmers and Taxi's tend to use VHF, whereas shopping centre radio systems and on-site communications tend to be VHF. Both UHF and VHF are available as digital handhelds and mobiles, although given the above we tend to sell more VHF mobiles than UHF, and more UHF handhelds than VHF.

What about the radio features - do these work between manufacturers?

No. Whilst standard speech works with radios using the same substandard (see above), many of the radio 'features' only work with equipment from the same manufacturer and software written specifically for that manufacturers system. Some software does exist that is cross-system/manufacturer compatible (including despatch and tracking software), however this is rare. The features such as man-down, GPS, lone worker etc are all normally managed via the radio systems repeater(s) (sometimes called base station or 'talk through').

What are the names of each manufacturers 'solution'?

Each manufacturer offers their own software solutions to control & use these features (there is also plenty of aftermarket software available). Typical software includes despatch consoles for taxis, timekeeping systems, vehicle tracking, guard tour systems and lone worker management applications. The features, such as lone worker and GPS, are normally specific to each manufacturer and are not cross compatible. Each manufacturer has given a name to their feature set , or system. They are as follows...

• Hytera DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)
• ICOM IDAS (Integrated Digital Advanced System)
• Kenwod nexEDGE (Next Edge)
• Motorola (MOTOtrbo)

How much did the manufacturers pay someone to think of their system names?

In our opinion; not enough.

How do Motorola, ICOM, Kenwood and Hytera digital radios differ?

As previously stated there are two standards currently in use, so in the early stages of choosing radios or a radio system then you will need to decide on a manufacturer as your decision at this stage will restrict what you can buy in future. To compare the different types of digital mobile radio systems from the leading manufacturers then please continue to the next page.

> Read On: Compare Cost & Features of Digital 2 way Radio Systems