information without a separate system or installation. When combined with voice communications, it can be an ideal com- munication solution. Lee adds that smart devices operating within a browser and internet protocol offer a much simpler and streamlined approach to communications with more features and options. Tey avoid the headaches of complex hardware wiring installation. “Tese ‘virtual’ radios eliminate the need to install radio base stations,” says Lee. “Tere are no cables to run, no antennas to install, no need for expensive servers and systems. Dispatchers can operate on multiple radio channels or talk groups from a single PC.” Tis may be accomplished with deployed tablets on the bus. “Mount- ing solutions with integrated push-to-talk (PTT) mics and speak- ers allow tablets to be used for compliant, one-touch PTT radio operation,” he adds. In time, Lee says he sees smart devices being able to work with traditional two-way radios. If this can be accomplished, smart device communications, such as individual smart phones, may be used interchangeably. Tis latter capability isn’t quite there yet, though. Moving forward, two-way radio use is alive and well. Its advantages are real and should continue. When combined with GPS features, its utility is great, especially during a storm. “If a weather emergency strikes before school bus drivers pick up children at school, they can communicate with each other and school officials regardless of the device or network they are using, be it two-way radio [or] smart phones,” says Randy Helm, director of North America portfolio strategy for Motorola Solutions in Chicago. “Tey become part of a communications work-group where information can be shared between phones, two-way mobile radios in the bus, and computers. Today, bus dispatchers can use GPS tracking on the vehicles to give location updates to the school office that the bus will be late, for example, due to a flooded road on the usual route. Te superintendent can use a PTT application on his mobile phone to speak with the group of school bus drivers on their mobile radios to coordinate the delayed pick-up for the students.”
DIGITAL INVESTMENTS Modernization and the features of a digital two-way radio system drove the school board in Belding, Michigan to approve a more advanced digital communications system three years ago. At that time, the school board received three bids ranging from over $7,000 to just over $4,000 for a new radio communication
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PHOTO CREDIT: MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS
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