transport communications
Two Way Radios for Transport & Fleet Communication
Seamless communication across transport networks breaks down the distance, improving logistics and allowing you to deliver on time, on budget and with confidence. Digicom provides reliable and safe communications for all requirements and can offer extended coverage solutions, so you can be confident that your cargo is secure and your drivers safe.
Transport & Logistics
Fleet communication that travels with the vehicle.
Digicom Wireless supplies in-cab and vehicle-mounted radio systems for transport operators across Australia: linehaul and interstate freight, distribution and last-mile fleets, bus and coach operators, and the depots that dispatch them.
The Problem
A fixed site can be surveyed. A route cannot
Every other radio system is designed around a boundary you can walk. A transport fleet has no boundary. The same truck moves through a depot yard, a metropolitan delivery run, a stretch of highway with patchy cellular and a regional receiving dock, and dispatch needs to reach the driver in all four.
Handing drivers a mobile phone does not solve it. Calls are one to one, they are illegal to hold while driving, and they fail exactly where the coverage is worst. What a fleet needs is push-to-talk that works hands-free from the dash and keeps working as the vehicle moves between networks.
Why It Matters
On-time delivery, driver safety and cargo security run on the same link
When dispatch can see where a vehicle is and talk to the driver without waiting for a callback, reroutes happen in minutes rather than at the next stop. That is the on-time delivery argument, and it is the one that pays for the system.
The safety argument matters just as much. A driver unloading alone at a customer site at 2am has an emergency button on the dash and GPS location attached to the alert, so the depot knows something is wrong and knows where. Cargo security works the same way: a known vehicle position and an open channel are what turn a suspicion into a response.
- Motorola Solutions Platinum Channel Partner
- Motorola WAVE PTX Specialist
- ACMA type-approved equipment only
Specifying the Fleet
What decides whether your drivers stay contactable.
Three questions settle most fleet specifications: how far the vehicles go, what dispatch needs to see, and what happens when a driver stops answering.
Where the run actually goes
A metropolitan distribution fleet working inside one depot footprint can sit on a licensed conventional system with a repeater. A linehaul fleet running interstate cannot, because no private network follows the Hume. Most operators end up with both layers, and the useful question is where the handover between them sits on each route.
Voice and vehicle location on one system
Running a separate telematics box and a separate radio means two subscriptions and two screens on the dispatch desk. Digital mobiles report position over the same channel they carry voice on, and TRBOnet puts the fleet map and the talk groups in front of the same controller.
What happens when a driver stops answering
Fatigue check-ins, a duress button within reach of the driving position, and an escalation path that does not depend on someone happening to notice. The alert has to land on a controller who is watching, with the vehicle position attached. Emergency alarm management handles that escalation.
Design a Custom SystemRecommended for Transport
In-cab hardware for depot and highway work.
Both of these mount in the cab and run off vehicle power with a hands-free microphone. The difference is the network underneath: one rides the cellular carriers nationally, the other runs on your own licensed channels. Fleets that do both usually fit a mix. Ask about leasing if you would rather hold the fleet on a monthly cost.
Motorola WAVE TLK 150
A dash-mounted WAVE PTX unit that talks over the 4G and 5G network, so the truck stays on the dispatch talk group interstate. No repeater network of your own, and GPS position reports back to the depot.
Motorola DM4601e
The vehicle-mounted digital workhorse for depot yards, shunting and metropolitan runs on your own licensed channels. Colour display, built-in GNSS for fleet location, and enough audio to be heard over a diesel at idle.
Motorola WAVE PTX
Push-to-talk that follows the truck to the far end of the run.
A licensed conventional system covers the depot and the surrounding run. It does not cover a driver three states away. Motorola WAVE PTX carries the same push-to-talk over the 4G and 5G carrier networks, so a controller in the depot can raise a vehicle anywhere the carriers reach, on one talk group, without building any infrastructure.
It bridges into the conventional fleet as well, which is the part that matters for cross-network operations. A yard controller on the licensed channel and a linehaul driver on cellular sit in the same conversation. Where a route runs past the edge of carrier coverage as well, a Cel-Fi in-vehicle signal booster is what keeps the cab connected, and the all terrain page covers the fully remote case.
- Talk to any vehicle on the national carrier footprint
- Bridges depot licensed channels to the cellular fleet
- Vehicle location on the dispatch map alongside voice
- Emergency and duress alerts routed to the controller
- Dash-mounted units, handhelds or driver smartphones
- Subcontractors added to the talk group for a season
Capability Index
Coverage across the depot, the cab and the long haul.
A transport system is three environments stitched together. Work out what each one needs, then decide where the handover between them happens on your busiest route.
Zone 01
Depot and Yard
Shunting, dock allocation, forklift and loader movements, and the controller who has to keep trailers moving through a finite number of doors. Short range, high traffic, licensed channels.
Zone 02
In-Cab and Last Mile
The driver on a metropolitan run, doing twenty drops and taking reroutes as they come. Hands-free from the dash, position visible to dispatch, and a duress button the driver can reach.
Zone 03
Long Haul and Interstate
Linehaul running well past any private network you could build. Carrier-based push-to-talk, bridged back into the depot channels, with a plan for the stretches where the carriers thin out too.
Common Questions
Transport and fleet radio questions answered.
Coverage, tracking and driver safety are what fleet managers ask about first. These are the answers we give before we quote anything.
What is the best two way radio system for a truck fleet? It depends on how far the vehicles travel from the depot.
There is no single answer, and any supplier who gives you one has not asked about your routes. A fleet working within a depot and its surrounding suburbs is well served by licensed digital mobiles with a repeater, because you own the channel and the running cost is fixed.
A fleet running interstate needs push-to-talk over the carrier networks instead, since no private system reaches that far. Most operators run both and bridge them together. We size it against your actual route list rather than a vehicle count. Browse the product range or ask for a recommendation.
How do we stay in contact when a route leaves radio coverage? Two layers: carrier push-to-talk, and a booster for the thin patches.
The first layer is Motorola WAVE PTX, which puts the talk group on the 4G and 5G carrier networks. That covers the vast majority of the highway network and reaches vehicles well outside any repeater footprint.
The second layer is for the stretches where the carriers themselves get thin. A Cel-Fi in-vehicle booster with a roof antenna will hold a usable signal in places a phone on the seat gives up. For routes that spend real time off the network, the all terrain approach applies.
Can we track vehicles and talk to drivers on the same system? Yes. Position and voice run over one channel and one dispatch screen.
Digital mobile radios with built-in GNSS report position over the same channel that carries voice, so you are not paying for a separate telematics subscription just to see where a truck is.
TRBOnet puts the fleet map, the talk groups and the alert queue on one dispatch screen, and logs the traffic. GPS tracking covers the detail of update rates and geofencing.
Do we need an ACMA licence for radios in a transport fleet? For your own channels, yes. For carrier push-to-talk, no.
If you want private channels that only your fleet uses, you need an apparatus licence from the ACMA. We prepare and lodge the application, coordinate the frequency so it does not clash with a neighbouring operator, and program the fleet to match. All equipment we supply is ACMA type-approved for use in Australia.
Push-to-talk over cellular does not need a licence at all, because it runs on carrier spectrum rather than yours. That is one of the reasons fleets with a lot of interstate work start there.
How do radios help with driver fatigue and duress? Scheduled check-ins, a reachable duress button, and an escalation path.
A lone worker timer prompts the driver at set intervals and escalates to the controller if there is no acknowledgement. That gives you a documented check-in pattern for drivers working overnight or unloading alone at a customer site.
A duress button mounted within reach of the driving position sends a priority alert with the vehicle position attached. What makes it work is the escalation behind it: emergency alarm management decides who is notified, in what order, and what happens if nobody answers.
Can one device work in the depot yard and out on the road? Yes, once the two networks are bridged into shared talk groups.
The usual arrangement is a licensed conventional system covering the yard and a carrier push-to-talk layer covering the road, bridged so both sit in the same talk groups. A yard controller keys up once and reaches the shunt drivers on the licensed channel and the linehaul drivers on cellular.
That bridge is radio over cellular, and it is the piece that turns two separate systems into one fleet. Which device a given driver carries then becomes a question of where they spend their shift.
Can we hire radios for a peak freight season? Yes, pre-programmed to your existing fleet so the units drop straight in.
Seasonal peaks, contract surges and casual subcontractor vehicles are all good cases for radio hire. Units ship programmed to your channels and talk groups, so they work alongside the owned fleet from day one.
Where you want the whole fleet on a fixed monthly cost instead of a capital purchase, leasing covers the hardware and keeps servicing included.
Operators
Who we equip across transport and logistics.
The right build changes with the shape of the run. Here is how we approach the operations we see most often.
Linehaul and Interstate Freight
Carrier push-to-talk in the cab so a controller in Sydney can raise a driver in Adelaide on the same talk group, with vehicle position on the dispatch map and a duress button within reach of the seat.
Distribution and Last Mile
High drop counts and constant reroutes. Hands-free from the dash so the driver takes a change without stopping, and enough location detail that the depot can answer a customer without calling the vehicle.
Depot and Warehouse Yards
Shunt drivers, dock allocation, forklifts and gatehouse on licensed channels with a repeater sized to the yard. Where the warehouse itself has cellular dead spots, see our warehouse coverage case study.
Bus, Coach and Passenger Services
Driver to depot contact on scheduled services, incident reporting from the vehicle, and an escalation path for a driver dealing with a passenger situation alone.
Specialised and High-Value Cargo
Where the load justifies it: tighter position reporting, restricted talk groups, and voice recording so movements and instructions are on record. Escort and guarding work is covered on our security page, and airfreight forwarders working landside are covered under airports.
Servicing an Existing Fleet
We repair, reprogram and expand fleets we did not originally supply. Our repair centre keeps ageing vehicle radios running while a staged replacement is planned, rather than forcing a whole-fleet swap.
Start With the Routes
Send us your route list and depot layout
We will map where a licensed system is worth building, where carrier push-to-talk is the better answer, and where the two need to bridge. You get a straight recommendation and a cost, not a catalogue. Book a free system evaluation to begin.