Radio

Digital radios vs analog radios

Analog and digital are two ways to run two-way radio on the site frequency. It is not the difference between radio and PoC. The choice depends on what is already on the channel and on the operation.

10 November 2026

Analog radio and digital radio talk on the site UHF or VHF channel, without the internet. The difference is how the voice travels on that channel. Mixing “digital” with PoC in the request leads to a quote for the wrong system: PoC uses data, not the site channel.

Palo Security supplies ICOM, Caltta, Hytera, Motorola, Kirisun and Inrico radios, handhelds, vehicle radios and base stations. The type — analog, digital, or both paths in the same request — is set in the quote, not in an invented model.

Analog radio

Voice travels on the channel as continuous audio. It suits sites that already have analog sets and a working group. At the edge of range the noise rises. It still needs an authorised frequency. UHF or VHF is the band; the article on UHF and VHF covers that choice.

Digital radio

Voice travels on the same kind of channel, in a digital form. DMR and TETRA are two digital two-way standards; the difference between them is in another article. While the signal arrives, the voice stays clean; when it stops arriving, the call cuts. It also needs a frequency authorised at the regulator.

It is not PoC

PoC (or IP radio) does not use the site UHF or VHF channel. PTT travels on a SIM or on Wi-Fi. Analog vs digital is a choice inside two-way. Two-way vs PoC is another article: the path of the audio, not the format on the channel.

Both on the same site

An analog group and a digital group do not talk to each other just because they share a band.
If the site already has analog, extending the same group needs sets that talk in that group. Moving to digital is another path, for the set, not for one radio on its own.
The request can keep analog, move to digital, or close a kit that does both. That is part of the quote.

What to say in the request

Whether the radios on site are analog, digital, or there is no channel yet.
How many handhelds, vehicle radios and base stations the patrol needs.
Whether the call must leave the site — that is when PoC is assessed, apart from this pair.

The frequency is authorised at the regulator. The sets are set in the quote. Tell us what is already on the channel and the number of people. We prepare the request.