There’s no doubt about it: the technological landscape is changing at an exponential rate that can be a little overwhelming, but ultimately renders solutions that offer greater efficiency at lower cost.
If you remember the days of VHS tapes, you might recall that the first VCRs cost $500 or more — which was especially expensive consider how much further $500 went in 1985. Today, we can buy DVD players for under $50, and we don’t even have to rewind the DVDs.
Thinking in those terms, you can consider the move to radio over IP software the next massive jump forward for radio communications. Radio over Internet protocol, or RoIP, is essentially a transition from hardware-based to software-based technology for radio transmissions.
For entities such as public safety organizations — such as police and fire departments — that rely on radio communication for emergency response, radio over IP software is an ideal choice for sustaining interoperable communications with other agencies.
Because radio over IP software is cost effective, it is also a popular choice for maintaining, managing and improving upon existing communications methods without purchasing new radio systems.
Radio over IP software is an excellent support tool for bridging the gap between old and new systems, particularly when prohibitive costs are a major factor and effective communication is non-negotiable.
What is Radio Over IP Software?
Radio over IP software receives IP input from standard sources, such as modems that configure radio or communications data into IP, and dynamically links them together into speaking groups, or other types of links.
More than merely linking radios, radio over IP software facilitates interoperable communication among existing and new systems. Those systems may include public-safety radios, commercial wireless and traditional phones, tablets, laptop and desktop computers, and virtually any other type of linked communications device.
Using radio over IP software, police and fire dispatchers are able to drag and drop group members and channels to create and disassemble communications groups in real time. Enabled by radio over IP software, this capability is a massive step forward in ease-of-use, communications control and, ultimately, the effectiveness and rapidity of response time.
The types of devices that can take advantage of radio over IP software technology are fairly inclusive, particularly because the software is adept at linking old and new for seamless function. In addition to new and older radios, radio over IP covers both analog and digital VHF and UHF radios.
Moreover, cell phones, personal digital assistants, computers, and PBX and IP phones are all compatible with radio over IP technology. By offering this kind of customization, radio over IP enables individuals or groups not typically linked to a particular emergency communications team to be included as necessary.
This ease of use and ability for selective communications is what truly makes radio over IP a revolutionary step in radio communications.
