Radiotelephony procedure (also on-air protocol and voice procedure) includes various techniques used to clarify, simplify and standardize spoken communications over two-way radios, in use by the armed forces, in civil aviation, police and fire dispatching systems, citizens' band radio (CB), and amateur radio. Voice procedure communications are intended to maximize clarity of spoken communication and reduce errors in the verbal message by use of an accepted nomenclature. It consists of a signalling protocol such as the use of abbreviated codes like the CB radio ten-code, Q codes in amateur radio and aviation, police codes, etc., and jargon. Some elements of voice procedure are understood across many applications, but significant variations exist. The armed forces of the NATO countries have similar procedures in order to make cooperation easier.
The impacts of having radio operators who are not well-trained in standard procedures can cause significant operational problems and delays, as exemplified by one case of amateur radio operators during Hurricane Katrina, in which:...many of the operators who were deployed had excellent go-kits and technical ability, but were seriously wanting in traffic handling skill. In one case it took almost 15 minutes to pass one 25 word message.
Introduction Radiotelephony procedures encompass international regulations, official procedures, technical standards, and commonly understood conventions intended to ensure efficient, reliable, and inter-operable communications via all modes of radio communications. The most well-developed and public procedures are contained in the Combined Communications Electronics Board's Allied Communications Procedure ACP 125(G): Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures. These procedures consist of many different components. The three most important ones are:
Voice procedures—what to say Speech technique—how to say it Microphone technique—how to say it into a microphone These procedures have been developed, tested under the most difficult of conditions, then revised to implement the lessons learned, many times since the early 1900s. According to ACP 125(G) and the Virginia Defense Force Signal Operating Instructions:Voice procedure is designed to provide the fastest and most accurate method of speech transmission. All messages should be pre-planned, brief and straightforward. Ideally, messages should be written down: even brief notes reduce the risk of error. Messages should be constructed clearly and logically in order not to confuse the recipient.Voice procedure is necessary because: Speech on a congested voice net must be clear, concise and unambiguous. To avoid interference between speech and data, it will often be expedient to assign the passage of data traffic to logistic or admin nets rather than to those directly associated with command and control. It must be assumed that all transmissions will be intercepted by a portion of the civilian population. The use of a standard procedure will help reduce the threat of spreading rumors or creating panic among those not involved in an emergency response. Some form of discipline is needed to ensure that transmissions do not overlap. If two people send traffic at the same time, the result is chaos. Radio operators must talk differently because two-way radios reduce the quality of human speech in such a way that it becomes harder to understand. A large part of the radio-specific procedures is the specialized language that has been refined over more than 100 years. There are several main methods of communication over radio, and they should be used in this order of preference:
Procedure words Standard (predefined) phraseology (for most things in aviation and maritime use) Plain language dialogue (for things that can't be handled by phraseology) Formal messages Narrative messages Dialogue (normal conversation) Brevity codes, including Ten-codes, and Phillips Code; and operating signals, including 92 code, Q code, and Z code; should be used as a last choice, as these lists of codes are so extensive that it is unlikely that all participants have the full and correct definitions memorized. All of those listed here except the ten-code are designed exclusively for use in Morse code or teletypewriter use, and are thus unsuitable for use on voice circuits.
International Radio Regulations All radio communications on the planet operate under regulations created by the ITU-R, which prescribes most of the basic voice radio procedures, and these are further codified by each individual country.
United States radio regulations In the U.S., radio communications are regulated by the NTIA and the FCC. Regulations created by the FCC are codified in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
Part 4—Disruptions to Communications Part 20—Commercial Mobile Services Part 80—Stations in the Maritime Services (Maritime Mobile Service) Part 87—Aviation Services Part 90—Private Land Mobile Radio Services (Concerning licensed wireless communications for businesses and non-federal governments) Subpart C—Business Band Part 95—Personal Radio Services (MURS, FRS, GMRS, and CB radio) Part 97—Amateur Radio Service (Ham radio) Part 300—NTIA Rules and Regulations
Radio call signs Radio call signs are a globally unique identifier assigned to all stations that are required to obtain a licence in order to emit RF energy. The identifiers consist of from 3 to 9 letters and digits, and while the basic format of the call signs are specified by the ITU-R Radio Regulations, Article 19, Identification of stations, the details are left up to each country's radio licensing organizations.
Official call signs Each country is assigned a range of prefixes, and the radiotelecommunications agencies within each country then responsible for allocating call signs, within the format defined by the RR, as they see fit. The Radio Regulations require most radio stations to regularly identify themselves by means of their official station call sign or other unique identifier.
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