ITALKPTT

[bubbablitz]

Hello. My company is considering switching over from traditional LMR to ITALKPTT. Just doing some web browsing and some brief reading on the company's website, it seems that these radios are using the cellular infrastructure, i.e. cell towers, rather than mountain top or building repeaters. We were given portables on loan by our radio guy to test out in the field and in our vehicles and it seems the coverage is pretty much anywhere. If we like it, our manager will be switching over and having mobiles installed into our vehicles shortly. Commercial radio techs: Any disadvantages with type of technology? Is this sort of like FirstNet or the same technology? Is this regional or nationwide coverage? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a pleasant day.

 

[jeepsandradios]

Its most likely just using the LTE backbone. Pro is it will work anywhere. Con is its gets expensive month after month. I was involved in the LMR/Nextel stuff back in day. We lost tons of users to Nextel Mobiles at the time and then a year later they were back because of the fees involved. Sadly IT folks would rather be a pay and forget it.

 

[bubbablitz]

Its most likely just using the LTE backbone. Pro is it will work anywhere. Con is its gets expensive month after month. I was involved in the LMR/Nextel stuff back in day. We lost tons of users to Nextel Mobiles at the time and then a year later they were back because of the fees involved. Sadly IT folks would rather be a pay and forget it.

So in the event of a cellular outage, no switching over to simplex/car-to-car I would presume?

 

[IAmSixNine]

This will be running on cellular data. So coverage will vary depending on what cellular provider they have a deal work out with to provide the data. If this is proprietary tech then you will be investing in the equipment and monthly charges for air time. You need to ask that company if you are running through their servers or if its being resold as something else. There are several companies who offer services like this.
Klein offers a similar service but i believe they claim they run their own custom software and servers.

Blackbox IOT Radios - Two Way WiFi Radio

The Blackbox IOT Radios for Two Way WiFi Radio is a radio that talks Nationwide using Klein Electronics' push-to-talk application. Shop online today.

kleinelectronics.com

There are others like Zello who offer business solutions as well. IF this company has their own software just make sure they will be in business down the road so your not investing in all this hardware then it stops working in a year or so.
As @jeepsandradios mentions now you have a monthly cost vs owning your own radio system which is a higher up front cost but lower cost in the long run. But its also limited in distance from the shop.
Also if something happens to the wireless carrier infrastructure aka no service you will have no working radios.

 

[bubbablitz]

This will be running on cellular data. So coverage will vary depending on what cellular provider they have a deal work out with to provide the data. If this is proprietary tech then you will be investing in the equipment and monthly charges for air time. You need to ask that company if you are running through their servers or if its being resold as something else. There are several companies who offer services like this.
Klein offers a similar service but i believe they claim they run their own custom software and servers.

Blackbox IOT Radios - Two Way WiFi Radio

The Blackbox IOT Radios for Two Way WiFi Radio is a radio that talks Nationwide using Klein Electronics' push-to-talk application. Shop online today.

kleinelectronics.com

There are others like Zello who offer business solutions as well. IF this company has their own software just make sure they will be in business down the road so your not investing in all this hardware then it stops working in a year or so.
As @jeepsandradios mentions now you have a monthly cost vs owning your own radio system which is a higher up front cost but lower cost in the long run. But its also limited in distance from the shop.
Also if something happens to the wireless carrier infrastructure aka no service you will have no working radios.

Okay, I chime that in to the manager. Thank you.

 

[MTS2000des]

So in the event of a cellular outage, no switching over to simplex/car-to-car I would presume?

Unless the subscriber radio offers LMR fall back, aka DMO (direct mode operation), yep- no cellular network, or issue with network, servers, etc, you have a nice paperweight.

 

[12dbsinad]

I beleive ITALKPTT has a model that does both LMR and LTE (mobile unit) if you're worried about outages you could always use a simplex channel to talk. Even LMR trunking can be unreliable because they usually aren't built to a PS standard and it's only as good as the backhaul which a lot of times is a commercial network like fiber. Other than that, they work well with excellent audio. Mobiles are easy to install and only draw 1.5 amps so you can tap it off the cig lighter and away you go. Between these guys and all the other LTE options LMR trunking systems of any flavor are becoming a thing of the past unfortunately for general business radio use around here. A fairly large M dealer near here is slowly dismantling it's TRBO system that was once massive. More profit, less overhead, no maintenance and coverage anywhere.

 

[bubbablitz]

I beleive ITALKPTT has a model that does both LMR and LTE (mobile unit) if you're worried about outages you could always use a simplex channel to talk. Even LMR trunking can be unreliable because they usually aren't built to a PS standard and it's only as good as the backhaul which a lot of times is a commercial network like fiber. Other than that, they work well with excellent audio. Mobiles are easy to install and only draw 1.5 amps so you can tap it off the cig lighter and away you go. Between these guys and all the other LTE options LMR trunking systems of any flavor are becoming a thing of the past unfortunately for general business radio use around here. A fairly large M dealer near here is slowly dismantling it's TRBO system that was once massive. More profit, less overhead, no maintenance and coverage anywhere.

Okay, thank you everyone for your input. It really helps.😊

 

[70cutlass442]

Okay, thank you everyone for your input. It really helps.😊

What do the units and monthly fees cost? I have customers on the same system using Hytera gear around $15-$20/month. I've seen prices all over the place on POC airtime.

 

[bubbablitz]

What do the units and monthly fees cost? I have customers on the same system using Hytera gear around $15-$20/month. I've seen prices all over the place on POC airtime.

We’re supposed to be getting them sometime this week. I’ll see if I can squeak that out of our local manager.

 

[speedway_navigator]

RB20 PoC Network Two Way Radio (US)

Retevis RB20 Network Two Way Radio

www.retevis.com

Some shuttle drivers at winter X games were using these with Tmobile sims, I think the guy said they were only paying $10 a month.

 

[bubbablitz]

What do the units and monthly fees cost? I have customers on the same system using Hytera gear around $15-$20/month. I've seen prices all over the place on POC airtime.

Speedway_navigator was correct. $10/mo. I believe that you have the option of dual sim cards, (AT&T or T-Mobile) for redundancy, but I don’t know if they will be doing that. Also, they’re buying, not leasing the radios, and I don’t know for how much. We shall see what happens!

 

[70cutlass442]

Speedway_navigator was correct. $10/mo. I believe that you have the option of dual sim cards, (AT&T or T-Mobile) for redundancy, but I don’t know if they will be doing that. Also, they’re buying, not leasing the radios, and I don’t know for how much. We shall see what happens!

That's a fair price!

 

[bubbablitz]

Hello. My company is considering switching over from traditional LMR to ITALKPTT. Just doing some web browsing and some brief reading on the company's website, it seems that these radios are using the cellular infrastructure, i.e. cell towers, rather than mountain top or building repeaters. We were given portables on loan by our radio guy to test out in the field and in our vehicles and it seems the coverage is pretty much anywhere. If we like it, our manager will be switching over and having mobiles installed into our vehicles shortly. Commercial radio techs: Any disadvantages with type of technology? Is this sort of like FirstNet or the same technology? Is this regional or nationwide coverage? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a pleasant day.

Okay. My company purchased the ITALKPTT radios. The coverage is sufficient as long as we're in the the AT&T network area. The problem that that we are encountering is choppy transmissions at times and reception where one unit hears everything, yet another hears nothing. We're noticing that this occurs frequently in between buildings, under overhangs, etc. I believe that the radios were Y connected to a puck antenna that already existed, mounted on the dash for POS terminals. I can't be sure because I'm not in the loop as far as management is concerned. The puck antenna is for GPS, and dash mounted and, whether its a dual 4G/LTE/5G antenna is unknown, because I can't tell by just looking at it. I'm trying to explain to my manager that a roof mounted radome antenna with a dedicated cable to the radio would probably correct these problems, because it would be mounted at the highest point away from any obstructions and interference, possibly caused by other electronic components inside of the vehicle. Also, if the puck is strictly a GPS antenna, wouldn't the signal be configured to send and receive up and down instead of omnidirectional? Thank you for your professional input.

 

[MTS2000des]

Okay. My company purchased the ITALKPTT radios. The coverage is sufficient as long as we're in the the AT&T network area.

The problem is, if AT&T does not have coverage, then even an external antenna may not help. Other facts can also affect QoS with PTToLTE, including network prioritization. If the PTT operator is using an MVNO, network congestion may also affect voice quality. There are many factors outside of the subscriber at play with these services, and many are beyond the scope of what an end user can mitigate.

 

[bubbablitz]

The problem is, if AT&T does not have coverage, then even an external antenna may not help. Other facts can also affect QoS with PTToLTE, including network prioritization. If the PTT operator is using an MVNO, network congestion may also affect voice quality. There are many factors outside of the subscriber at play with these services, and many are beyond the scope of what an end user can mitigate.

 

[12dbsinad]

ITALK I believe runs on T-Mobile and ATT and default set-up prioritizes T-Mobile even with marginal signal strength. Have them force the SIMS to utilize ATT only and see if that helps.

 

[Reelfishguy]

I have several ITALK that are on the Verizon network