COMMERCIAL WIRELESS PENETRATION RATES FOR PRIVATR RADIO USERS

Private radio users’ use of cellular and paging services is lower than might be expected, considering their telecom needs, said The Strategis Group, which found about 30 percent of employees were issued radios, while 13 percent received pages and less than 10 percent cellular phones. The findings are printed in Private Radio Markets & User Trends. “These cellular and paging penetration rates are significantly lower than those reported by non-radio users,” said Strategis’ Steven Virostek. The firm said the penetration rates reflect company-issued telecom services only. Wireless use was found to be highest among public-safety organizations, followed by wholesale-retail trade. The average private radio user “keys up’ a radio channel on average 40 times a day, the majority of which are dispatch calls. Strategis also reported about 10 percent of PRUs have implemented data services like text messaging and automatic vehicle location.