License-free usage in U.K. requires that radios have a fixed antenna and our radios have a removable antenna.  So to use our wireless intercoms, you will be required to get a license. See the Business Band link below for more information.

License Free
http://radiotechnology.suite101.com/article.cfm/pmr446_cb_2way_radio_in_the_uk

Business Band
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/licensing/applications08/changes/

The Department of Defense also has standards for two-way radios and radios that meet this standard must meet levels for such criteria as vibration, rain, salt air, sand/dust, shock (dropping), humidity, temperature as well as other factors.

Buying two way radios that meets mil-spec standards means you are buying a quality product that is built to withstand tougher use.

You may also see radios with an “IP” designation. IP stands for Ingress Protection and it is an international standard that specifies the sealing effectiveness of the enclosure of a product. It is a two digit code that tell you how effective the enclosure is to penetration from fingers, dust, and moisture.

For instance, for a radio that meets IP 55, the first 5 means it is protected from the amount of dust that would interfere with its operation. The second 5 means that it is protected from water that shoots from a nozzle.

So when it comes time to purchase a two way radio you need to ask yourself what kind of useage it’s going to see. In industrial environments or for heavy-duty outdoor usage, you likely need a mil spec radio. In an office environment or for residential use you could probably get away with a lighter duty radio as long as you don’t drop it too often.

Most Mil-Spec radios will also have some feature content you will probably not find on lower cost radios. Channel Scanning is one such feature. If you want to monitor more that one channel, then you’ll need channel scanning capability. Higher quality accessories such as headsets with strain reliefs are another. Features like emergency call (man down), plus two-tone encode and DTMF tones that can activate other systems are additional features not found on cheap two way radios.

For more assistance on choosing the right radio for you, make sure you get the free book called Two-Way Radio Success: How to Choose Two-Way Radios, Commercial Intercoms, and Other Wireless Communication Devices For Your Business.

This book is about using two-way radios and other wireless devices for improving communication in your business. The results of this improved communication will vary, but depending on your application, they can include increased safety, improved productivity, better customer or employee satisfaction, increased profits, or other benefits.

With the increased penetration of cell phones, and cell phones with push to talk capability, the use of two-way radios has slowly declined over the past several years. However, since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the shootings at high-schools and universities, and the major natural disasters such as hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, people have discovered that you can’t always depend on the cell phone network. The cell phone network may go down, but the airwaves will not.

There are other non-emergency situations where two-way radios just work better than cell phones too. This book will point those out and it will show you applications for these radios that you’ve never thought of. We will show you other products that work with two-way products that you likely didn’t know existed.

You can download this free two-way radio book at the following address: http://www.wirelessintercomsonline.com/downloads/freebook.htm

1. When you want to call someone on a cell phone at a minimum you have to press a speed dial button and wait for the connection. Between the dialing and the time delay of the person on the other end answering, thirty seconds can go by (if they answer at all). With a two-way radio you simply press a button and start talking. In emergency situations this speed could be critical.
2. If you want to broadcast a message to a group, you can’t do that with a cell phone. You would have to call everyone individually. When you start getting over three people in a group, the time it takes becomes very significant, not only in the time it takes to dial and connect with people, but also in the idle chatter that goes along with phone calls. In an emergency, a cell phone would waste critical time.
3. Two-way radios can connect with accessory products that cell phones can’t. You can set up wireless public address systems that can receive broadcasts from two-way radios. So no matter where you are you can make an announcement. You can also set up customer assist call boxes throughout your store that customers can use to contact you wirelessly. There are wireless outdoor call boxes that can communicate with two-way radios so you can put these devices wherever emergency assistance may occur.
4. You can get two-way radios that pick up weather alerts from NOAA weather radio so you’ll be instantly notified when bad weather is approaching.
5. The Emergency Call or “man down” feature enable the radio user to immediately notify all other radios on the same channel. For example, if the radio user should become injured, trapped or is in danger, a simple push of a button will call everyone and the microphone on the radio is automatically activated for a brief period so the user can call out a message. The user may not be able to even dial a phone number on a cell phone.
6. Two-way radios continue working in natural disasters or even snowstorms. Even if cell phones do work, the cell phone towers are overloaded with everyone trying to make calls so your call may not go through.
7. Some two-way radios are built to military standards, which means they will work in wet environments or even after they are dropped on concrete. Most cell phones are delicate devices.
8. There may be places at your business where cell phones don’t work. Two-way radios can reach all areas of your business.
9. There is no monthly contract with two-way radios. You never have to worry about exceeding your allotted minutes with a two-way radio like you do with a cell phone.

For more information, go to www.intercomsonline.com,