Basically, me, what would be my advice for a local radio network here in Saltash.
Personally I am a licensed radio amateur / ham so if I wanted to personally get a radio message across the Town I am able to do so, well as a radio ham anywhere in the World. But for a local community project their range and equipment is limited.
Citizen Band Radio was mentioned and whilst its licence free at 4w, theres lots to consider, another licence free option is PMR446 or even digital PMR446 however limited at 1/2 a watt range will be limited, more so in a built up area. A UK Business licence would mean more power upto 5w and this would need to be arranged via Ofcom as would all the radios under that licence.
Lets look at the graph below to see their overall options.
Business Radios
Licence Required- 1 Channel / Frequency
- 5w - Good ish range
- Will need rugged commercial radios
- Ofcom approved so should not cause interference
- Could be pricey
- Range depends on terrain
PMR446
Licence Free- 8 Channels with 38 sub channels
- 0.5w
- Price approx per radio
- Analogue or digital
- Limited range, 9x less power than commercial
- Range 2-3 miles open field, 1/4 mile in town centre
Citizen Band (CB)
Licence Free- Handhelds approx £80 each, mobiles from £49.99
- 4w - Good range
- New and used radios around
- UHF / 40 channels
- Homebase antenna - 1/2 wave approx 18ft
- Often abused by others
Did you know the radios bought on eBay etc are often on UK general so are on basically testing channels and are illegal to operate as they are. Ofcom employ people to ensure these radios are complient at events etc. Get them programmed and get a damn licence.