PoC Radio ads are all over social networks these days. Some vendors have some outlandish or less than truthful/deceptive advertisements that make these devices sound like they are a great radio for off-grid or survival situation. Here are the details you should know.
PoC Radio is a Push-To-Talk Over Cellular radio. Keyword here is “Cellular.” It uses voice over data mechanism to communicate and voice over data requirements are very small (in kilobytes per second), so it works extremely well under 4G. The cell service costs about $10 a year, but there are options available to get a lifetime or 10-year service included with the radio.
It requires cell service for the communication to work between point to point or point to multipoint devices. If there is no cell service at one end point or multiple end points, the communication will not be possible between the end points. It allows you to communicate with one to one or one to many (Group). You can communicate with one specific end point (or radio) or an entire list of radios in a group. You do not need to dial any numbers, just select the individual or group you would like to communicate with and push the talk button and begin speaking. Keep in mind, it is like analog/digital radios, so you want to push the button, pause for about a second or two, and then speak.
Some more expensive models support WiFi, but there are some issues with PoC radios that support WiFi to work consistently due to a multitude of potential issues that may be configured for a specific set of networks it may have to go through in order for the communication device acknowledgement to complete. It is not a PoC radio issue, it is a networking issue. But in the end, the feature is a nice to have but rarely works consistently.
Where PoC radios are useful would be for events where at least 4G or LTE cellular service is available. Race events, camp sites (provided there is cell service and not for remote camping with no cell service), group events, construction sites, commercial sites (outdoor preferred but can work indoors as long as there is cellular coverage in the building), among a few others.
Is this good for SHTF or off-grid situation? For a minute, or maybe 72 hours if you are lucky. If the nearby cell tower backup power goes out, this radio will find another cell tower until all the power of nearby cell towers’ power is depleted. For off-grid situations, HAM radio still wins especially if you can use an HF antenna to communicate longer distances than UHF/VHF that may need repeaters to communicate (repeater location backup power can also go out).
Is this useful if my carrier I use for my cellphone has an outage? Maybe, but most likely, yes. Most cell towers support multiple carriers, so if one carrier has an outage, PoC radio will use any available cellular service to communicate. Keep in mind, you cannot reach out to random people on a PoC radio. They must be in your contact list in order to communicate.
Can I communicate with a PoC radio between long distances? Absolutely, if both end points and multiple end points have cellular service. Someone in one location can easily communicate with someone a few thousand miles away in the US, for example, someone in Southern California can talk to someone in Maine.
Should I get a PoC radio? I have so many people ask me this question. I have a few PoC radios, but it has limited use for me. I use my GMRS, CB or HAM radio more often to communicate for my use cases. For long distance, I currently use HAM radio in digital mode via hotspot connected to Internet via cell or satellite. I can contact people globally with that setup and the rig fits in a small hardcase. The biggest device is the satellite dish. I will write an article on how I use a hotspot just about anywhere for D-Star and YSF (Yaesu System Fusion).
Hopefully, this gives you a perspective of what a PoC radio is and how it can be useful, but there is some but minimal planning involved (for end points you can reach) and understand this is not useful if there is no cell service.
