Business Radio
Business Radio is the generic term used by the industry and the UK regulator, Ofcom, to describe the various two way radio systems, which can be used by businesses and for which Ofcom allocate sections of the radio spectrum. Previously this class of radio system was termed Private Mobile Radio or PMR. The technology used for Business Radio can be flexible provided that the equipment is approved for use in the UK.
Business Radio covers the radio systems used by Process Industries, Transport, Local Authorities, Taxis, Couriers, Bus companies, Airports, Schools and Emergency Services etc.. Equipment used would include hand portables, vehicle units and base stations, dependant on user requirements.
Two way radio systems are basically divided into two groups by the regulator Ofcom, one being licensed and the other being licence exempt. The licensed group is the one predominately used by businesses, particularly if they have mission critical or safety of life activities as these channels are carefully allocated to ensure a good quality of service. License exempt channels are mainly used for leisure activities but occasionally by businesses where safety is not an issue as these channels are not allocated per user and are effectively self regulating and occasionally subject to interference from other users.
Within the licensed group there are three licence categories:
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Area Defined Licence
These are used for operators who require a large geographical area with exclusive use of the channel. -
Technically Assigned Licence
Used by operators who require a smaller geographical area of coverage and who will share the channel with a user in an adjacent area. -
Light Licence
This type of license will apply mainly to on site use where channel sharing is acceptable and a group of channels will be allocated and users in similar geographic areas will co-ordinate use between themselves. A degree of interference monitoring will be undertaken by Ofcom.
Apart from the Licence Exempt category all the other categories will require a licence fee which in the case of an Area Defined Licence or Technically Assigned Licence, is paid annually whereas the Light Licence is renewed every 5 years.
Procom will arrange all licensing for their customers.
