An Overview of Digital Radio Features

Many of the sectors in which our digital radio solutions can be of greatest use are often also some of the most hazardous. Mining and resources, maritime and transportation workers, for example, must contend with high risk situations on a daily basis. Having communications technology that functions efficiently when it needs to is essential.

Prevention is better than cure, as the old saying goes, and it’s a sentiment that certainly applies to emergency management. With our digital radio solutions, users on the network can be alerted of any potentially hazardous situations ahead of time, giving them the opportunity to vacate any danger areas. For added peace of mind, Advanced Location Services can reveal the location of all users in real time, and establish geofences to alert dispatchers should anyone find themselves in an area they shouldn’t be.

Whether in an emergency broadcast or simply a situation that requires the attention of multiple people on the network, the ability to communicate information to groups can be immensely useful. That said, an all-or-nothing approach – contacting a single user or all users – may not be appropriate, which is where group calling comes into play.

For added peace of mind, Advanced Location Services can reveal the location of all users in real time.

Both the RediTALK-Flex and the altusomni Digital Radio Management System, allow dispatchers to set up groups of users on their networks. Once these groups have been set up, the radio dispatcher can simply select the relevant users for whatever the situation dictates.

Group calling is certainly a useful feature of digital radio, but there are still plenty of instances where communicating with a single person is required. The individual calling feature works just as you would expect – the dispatcher either selects the person they need to contact from an integrated contact list of network users or inputs a unique radio ID, and the digital radio system will initiate a call with that person only.

Individual calling, again a feature of RediTALK-Flex and the altusomni, enables efficient and private communications between the dispatcher and single users, or between two people on the network. Effectively eliminating distractions for users who don’t need to be included in the communication, or allowing private conversations to remain secure, it’s an essential feature that digital radio can deliver.

While the primary function of a digital radio network is to allow both individual and group communications via voice, in certain situations an alternative solution may be preferable. For users working in loud environments or when sending information that must be documented to ensure accuracy, text messaging is a useful additional function.

Essentially the same idea as with a traditional SMS message we send and receive over mobile phone, text messaging over digital radio is a great way to distribute non-urgent information to your network. Both variants of RediTALK-Flex support the feature, as does the altusomni, and messages can once again be sent to either individual users, groups or the entire network.

Do any (or all) of these great digital radio features sound like they could make a big difference to your existing communications? Get in touch with Omnitronics today, and learn more about how digital radio can help get the most out of your network.