Radio communication continues to play an important role in my industries and services. The use of the internet as a method of transporting radio communication between devices has become more common with devices such as Vocality allowing you to connect to various types of radios from different manufacturers that make use of different bands. Part of understanding what is RoIP is seeing how useful a solution it is and the advantages it offers.
RoIP Explained
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RoIP stands for Radio over Internet Protocol. It is a network technology that allows radio communications to be transported via the Internet. It could be considered similar to VoIP (voice over internet protocol), which is a common solution for phone line needs. VoIP has become commonplace in both business and personal use, to replace traditional copper line phone systems. RoIP connects radio users in much the same way and is often used in situations where push-to-talk is used. It converts voice communication into data and transports it via the internet to the receiving party. Much like the internet itself, this technology dates back to the 1990s and has been improved upon in the decades since then.
Some Advantages of RoIP
RoIP is often compared to older radio communication technology known as Land Mobile Radio or LMR, which is a common two-way type of radio communication. It was invented in the 1940s and, while widely used, it was well-known for having common issues such as a lack of coverage, device issues, and low reliability. RoIP tries to correct these issues. Here are some ways it does so.
- A key advantage of RoIP is that it can connect to communication via multiple people, no matter what type of radio technology they are using. This is very useful as traditional radio communication has run into issues with different brands and frequencies not being able to communicate with each other. RoIP can link various types of devices from different sources and with different frequencies. Some systems can even link push-to-talk smartphone apps into the same communication system.
- The coverage area of RoIP is far wider than LMR systems. This is due to the internet being readily available in most locations and RoIP can easily make use of existing internet backbones to communicate data as needed.
- Due to taking advantage of the internet, RoIP has greater reliability. This is because internet infrastructure has several points of failure which reduces outages and makes systems more stable. These multiple points of failure are a notable advantage over LMR, which can be brought down due to one point of failure.
- There are financial advantages as well. RoIP offers more efficient use of finances due to the fact it does not need a traditional radio setup and uses cheaper and more readily available equipment. Plus, the ability to use multiple types of devices means you do not need specialized radio equipment or to replace old devices due to compatibility issues.
Technological Improvements
Like other types of technology, RoIP is constantly being improved upon. Some of the features and improvements being added to RoIP include improved audio quality, better implementation of data encryption, the addition of data communication for transport multimedia such as photos and videos in addition to voice, location tracking, implementation of other technologies to improve safety, and bots to share common and important data points.
Final Thoughts
The use of RoIP is a practical way to replace aging radio systems and the various limitations they have. RoIP systems can be set up using readily available hardware and linked together with your existing radio communication devices. You also gain the advantage of removing any issues your different devices may have had communicating with each other.