Written by Jonathan Werner, ToooAir Product Engineer
This is by far the most common question I get when I tell people what I do for work.
When people ask what I do for work, I usually see their eyes glaze over halfway through my answer.
I’ll say something like, “I work in telecommunications”, and immediately they assume I spend my days either scaling phone towers or managing mysterious infrastructure. Neither is true but honestly, that version of me would be far more impressive.
So instead, I try again.
“I work at ToooAir. I program, rollout and support Push to Talk over Cellular (POC) radios. Think, traditional walkie-talkies, except they use the mobile network, so you’re not limited by distance or line-of-sight.”
That’s usually followed by a polite nod… and then the inevitable question:
“wAiT… wHy CaN’t I jUsT uSe A pHoNe?”
And that’s fair enough.
On the surface, it sounds like I’ve dedicated my career to reinventing something that everybody already has in their pocket.
What is PoC Radio?
POC sits in the strange gap between the old way and the new wave of communication technology. Think of it as the simplicity of old-school radios, combined with the coverage of modern mobile networks.
At ToooAir, we help teams talk to each other instantly.
- No texting
- No dialling
- No calling and hoping someone pick up.
Just press a button and speak, and everyone who needs to hear it, hears it at the same time. The kind of communication that makes sense when things are time critical, hectic or slightly on fire (figuratively and in some cases literally).
I then drill out a couple scenarios for my concrete thinking compatriots.
POC In Practice: Security
Security is usually the easiest example to understand.
Imagine a security guard spots a thief and tries to call for backup.
With a Phone:
They need to unlock it, navigate to the right app, find the right contact or dial a number, and make a call. That call goes to one person.
If that person misses it, the message stalls or if they answer late? Too bad. The thief has already jetted off with priceless artefacts… or rare dinosaur bones (I guess in this scenario they’re robbing a museum? I dunno I’m getting sidetracked :P).
With a POC Radio:
The guard spots the thief. He presses one button and instantly every relevant staff member hears the same message at the same time. There’s no delay, no call screening, and no confusion about who was informed.
Within a minute, back-up arrives, the thief and his crew are apprehended and Ocean’s 12 and 13 never get made (Sorry Steven Soderbergh).
“Okay Jono, I get how that works in that situation… but where else is PoC radio actually useful?”
“Well, my fictional friend, I'm glad you asked.”
Let’s talk about transport and fleet operations.
POC In Practice: Transport & Fleet Operations
Picture a truck driver rolling down the highway:
They’re already juggling deadlines, traffic and roads that probably weren’t designed with B-doubles in mind. Now, dispatch needs to pass on an update; it could be a route change, a delay or maybe a heads up about an accident ahead.
With a Phone:
Using a phone comes with its own set of risks while hauling 100 km/h on the Hume. Answer it and risk a fine for being on their phone. Ignore it and miss something important. Pull over to call back and suddenly the schedule’s blown.
With a UHF Radio:
Traditionally, truckies have relied on UHF CB radios and they’re great at what they do. You can warn someone about a speed camera, ask for a lane, or have a quick yarn with whoever’s nearby.
The catch is, nearby is doing a lot of heavy lifting. UHF only works within line-of-sight and range, which means you’re talking to whoever happens to be around you, not your dispatcher, not your supervisor, and definitely not your entire fleet spread across the state.
Enter the POC Radio:
Dispatch can talk to the entire fleet or jump into a private call, if necessary. Updates come in handsfree and everyone stays informed. AND if you’re running with the ToooAir platform, there is a host of other features that makes fleet management even easier, like live GPS tracking, dynamic talk groups and historical audio recording (shameless plug).
“I didn’t realise how versatile PoC radio actually is. Jono, you’re surprisingly good at explaining this stuff and somehow the sound of your voice still hasn’t put me to sleep. Why don’t you tell me how PoC can better the hospitality industry?”
“Well, well, well. What can I say? It’s what I do.” I reply in my most Matthew McConaghey-ian cadence.
Let’s wrap this up.
POC In Practice: Hospitality
You’ve seen FX’s The Bear right? You know, the stroke inducing kitchen drama? Everyone yelling, everything urgent but still somehow nothing gets communicated clearly. Well, if you haven’t seen it, have you been living under a rock? Go watch all 38 episodes right now and make sure you have a bottle of blood pressure medication. I’ll wait…
…
…
…
You back? Cool. Let’s get back to PoC.
Enter the POC Radio:
Now that this reference will make sense, imagine if the staff members of the restaurant were equipped with PoC radios. Instead of everyone shouting over each other in a cramped kitchen, missing calls, storming out back, or yelling “YES, CHEF” into the void, communication would actually be… calm.
Head Chef Carmi presses a button: “86 the beef. Fire two risottos. Table twelve needs eyes.” Everyone hears it. Instantly. No running. No guessing. No dramatic misunderstandings that spiral into emotional breakdowns before the amuse bouche.
PoC radios keep the whole team in sync without stopping the flow. Front of house, back of house, managers, security all hearing the same update, hands-free, in real time. Less chaos, fewer panic attacks, and probably a much shorter season.
With a Phone:
Phones are a nightmare in hospitality. They ring at the worst possible moment, get missed during service, or force staff to step away from the floor when things are already at breaking point. And just like every other example, they only ever reach one person at a time which is great, until five people need the same information right now!
Will POC in hospitality make great television? Maybe not.
Better hospitality? Absolutely.
“Wow Jono, PoC is just so versatile and I now see the blunder of my original thinking.”
“No worries, Mr. Literary Device, that’s what you are here for.”
And with that, the imaginary conversation usually wraps up which is about the same time the original question finally makes sense.
Final Thoughts: Phones Aren’t Built for Effective Team Communication
So, to conclude my spiel, you can use a phone. Phones are incredible. They’re great at one-to-one conversations, scrolling, and calling your mum back three days late. But when work gets loud, fast, messy, or time-critical, phones start asking too much of the people using them.
PoC radios are built for those moments. When teams need shared awareness instead of individual conversations. When hands are busy, eyes are up, and seconds matter. When pressing one button and being heard by the right people right now is the difference between smooth operations and total chaos.
So, the next time someone asks me, “Why can’t you just use a phone?”, I already know where the conversation is headed.
Because once you’ve seen PoC in action on a site, in a truck, at a venue, or in a kitchen that feels one missed message away from a meltdown it’s pretty hard to unsee why it exists.
If any of this sounds familiar or if you’re dealing with teams that need to communicate faster, clearer, and without the usual phone-related chaos, flick us an email at info@toooair.com.au.