Have you ever wondered why police officers and firemen still use two-way radios instead of cell phones?

The answer is that two-way radios are better for public safety for these six reasons.

1. Government (city, county, state, and federal) authorities require ownership of the network infrastructures that they rely on, such as the towers and base stations. Cell phone companies only lease their services, therefore the government does not want to depend on these companies for critical services.
2. The current cell phone technology does not provide priority channels. For instance, if police officer or fireman needs to make an emergency call, there is no guarantee that a cell phone call would go through if there are already a lot of calls on the network. Also, dropped calls and poor reception are unacceptable in emergencies.
3. The need for very quick communication. Very few cell phones have instant communication capabilities, such as Push To Talk or Walkie Talkie abilities.
4. Two-way radios are much more rugged than cell phones. Police use their radios as clubs for defensive purposes. Firemen need radios that work in high temperatures and be easy to use while wearing large gloves and masks.
5. The security of the network is also extremely important.
6. Finally, two-way radios typically have much better encryption than public cell phones, since eavesdroppers are less tolerated on official communications.

via source