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Question from Barry: I’ve been hearing the ads for Rapid Radios and I’m wondering if you think they’re really as good as they say they are?
They claim to be a lot better than cell phones because they work literally anywhere. Is that really true?
Rick’s answer: Thanks for a great question, Barry. I’ve been hearing those ads as well and they do sound almost too good to be true.
I did some research on Rapid Radios and this is what I found out…
These devices really do work just like regular walkie-talkies, but unlike walkie-talkies they don’t communicate with each other directly. They connect to one another via cell towers just like smartphones do.
The advantage of using the cellular networks is they do allow you to talk back and forth with someone virtually anywhere, even if the other person is thousands of miles away.
If you’re wondering if you’ll need to sign up for a cellular plan to use them, the answer is no. They work automatically right out of the box with all cellular carriers, and you won’t need to sign up for a service plan. As long as both you and the person you want to talk to have a useable cellular signal you are good to go.
But the above being said, there is also a limiting factor involved with the use of the cellular networks: There are places where there is no cellular signal available to connect to. And if there is no cellular signal at your location you won’t be able to talk. That means their claim that Rapid Radios will work anywhere simply isn’t true. Yes, they work anywhere they can connect to a cell tower (which is the vast majority of the US) but they won’t work everywhere.
Of course most locations in the US now have at least one cell tower covering it with a useable signal, but there are still plenty of areas that don’t.
Another VERY limiting factor is you can only use a Rapid Radio to communicate with another Rapid Radio. They won’t connect to any other device.
Like most traditional walkie-talkies, Rapid Radios are sold in pairs, and those pairs aren’t cheap. You can add additional radios so you can talk to more people but the costs involved with that can get quite steep in a hurry.
Another claim they make is you’ll be able to stay in touch via your Rapid Radios even when other forms of communications are down (due to natural disasters or some other catastrophic reason). But that isn’t necessarily true either.
There are a number of possible scenarios in which all the cell towers in a given geographic region would be taken offline at the same time, and if there is no working cell tower in an area that would prevent your Rapid Radios from working.
The bottom line is this: Rapid Radios would be an excellent option if you want the convenience of simple “push to talk” communications AND you know both you and the other person will always be in a location where a usable cellular signal is available.
But if you really need an affordable way to communicate with multiple people who are located in various places you’d probably be better off simply using a regular cell phone.