Modern portable radios can meet first responders’ needs today and into the future

It’s compact and lightweight. As anyone who carries a radio all day every day can tell you, when it comes to enhancing user productivity, the advantages of a compact, lightweight and ergonomic radio are second to none. The next-gen radio is intuitively designed to feature top- and front-displays, distinct contoured buttons and natural grip points that make it easy to handle, even when wearing gloves.

It operates on sophisticated software. Software features that used to be exclusive—for instance, GPS, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi programming—have become expected by many users. And, because agencies soon will be required to capture and store vast amounts of data through the use of body cameras and other similar devices, many forward-looking jurisdictions are opting to select a radio with greater memory capacity, designed to support the kind of high-speed data streams that are making their way into first-responder radios.

Just like other smart devices, radios may benefit from occasional software updates as new capabilities are added. In contrast to years past—when the only way to upgrade to new software was to physically connect to the radio—newer connectivity options are now making it possible to update software seamlessly and wirelessly.

It features a smart user interface. Technology parallels frequently are drawn between emergency radios and smartphones, but the user interfaces on these comparable devices are very different. The presence of many small and subtle icons on a smartphone, all of which are activated with the same kind of touch, is not an appropriate display for first responders. In public safety, a different approach is needed—one that makes it easy to perform common tasks and displays only critical information.

Audio quality is crystal clear. For years, analog voice was optimized for best intelligibility, though not necessarily the most accurate sound. As trunking has evolved and voice has been digitized, software vocoders were optimized for ease of transmission and intelligibility. Now, as broadband voice connection appears on the horizon, public-safety users who for years have experienced voice that was 'intelligible' can suddenly experience high-quality audio in a portable radio.

Think about push-to-talk audio with HD quality and instant-recall. It allows much more reliable communication among busy users.

The best radios on the market today combine faster and lower-cost components, and any new built-in communications platform likely is developed using the latest feature-rich software in a compact and lightweight portable. It’s a matter of finding the right device – one that is as advanced as it is rugged, and as practical as it is visionary.

LTE is Here

For years, analog talkaround was the benchmark for traditional voice, and many argue that it remains the gold standard for communication. After all, it’s been optimized over the years for simplicity and seamless fringe performance. Moreover, in a disaster when all infrastructure is offline, simple talkaround may be the only option.

So rather than abandoning old-fashioned talkaround in favor of digital communications, it’s important to equip first responders with radios that are, above all, frequency-agile. As technology migrates toward broadband and cell phone quality voice, make sure new P25 radios can still transmit the highest-power conventional talkaround possible. It’s a solution that’s becoming more and more prevalent as circuit components become smaller and more powerful.