Emergency Communications Gear: What Actually Works When the Network Drops
Mobile networks fail in precisely the events where you need them. Towers lose mains power and run down their batteries within hours. Bushfire destroys backhaul. Floods cut fibre. And in a major event, the towers that survive get congested by everyone else trying the same thing.
Every alternative below solves a different problem, and buying the expensive one while skipping the twenty-dollar one is the standard mistake.
The 10-minute version
- Buy a battery-powered AM/FM radio first. Twenty dollars, no subscription, and it is how emergency broadcasts actually reach you when everything else is down. Most households do not own one.
- A PLB is the right tool for wilderness. One button, no subscription, direct to search and rescue, roughly $350–600, and it works where nothing else does.
- Decide what problem you are solving — receiving warnings, calling for rescue, or talking to your own group. Different devices, and no device does all three.
Receiving information
Battery AM/FM radio — the essential one
What it does: receives ABC Local Radio, which is Australia’s designated emergency broadcaster, plus commercial stations carrying emergency information.
Why it matters more than anything else here: during a bushfire or cyclone, official warnings go out by radio. If the power is off and the mobile network is congested or down, a $20 radio and a packet of batteries is the entire information channel.
What to buy: any small AM/FM radio taking AA batteries. AM matters — it carries much further than FM and is what regional emergency broadcasting relies on. A wind-up or solar model is a reasonable backup, but a plain battery radio plus spare batteries is more reliable than a hand crank you will resent.
Cost: $20–60.
The most common gap in Australian households, by a distance.
Car radio
Free, you already own it, and it works. Worth remembering as a fallback, though running the engine to listen has obvious limits.
Smartphone apps and warnings
Excellent while the network is up: state emergency service apps, the Bureau of Meteorology app, Fires Near Me, VicEmergency, the Emergency+ app for giving your coordinates to an operator. Install them now — they are useless at the moment you need them if you have to download them first.
Calling for help
Personal locator beacon (PLB)
What it does: one button transmits your position on 406 MHz to the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite system, routed to the Australian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre. Works anywhere, including deep valleys, with no subscription and no network.
Get one if: you go bush, boating, four-wheel driving, or anywhere out of mobile coverage.
Practical points:
- Register it, free, with AMSA. An unregistered beacon still works but registration lets rescuers ring your contact and confirm the situation rather than launching blind
- Battery life is 5–10 years; note the expiry
- It is one-way. You cannot say what is wrong, and you cannot cancel easily
- Only activate for a genuine emergency — serious injury, or genuinely lost with no other option
- They can be hired from many national parks and outdoor stores for a few dollars a day
Cost: $350–600 to buy, $5–15 a day to hire.
Satellite messenger
What it does: two-way text messaging over satellite, plus tracking and an SOS button. Garmin inReach and Zoleo are the common ones.
Advantages over a PLB: you can send “we’re fine, running late,” which prevents a large proportion of unnecessary searches. You can also describe the emergency, which changes the response sent.
Disadvantages: requires a subscription, needs sky view, and the batteries need charging.
Cost: $300–700 plus $20–60 a month, with suspendable plans.
Satellite phones and satellite-capable smartphones
Sat phones are expensive to buy and run, and are worth it for genuinely remote work. Increasingly, recent smartphones support satellite SMS or emergency messaging where coverage exists — worth checking whether your handset and carrier support it, because it may already cover the gap you were about to spend money on.
Talking to your own group
UHF CB radio
What it does: licence-free two-way radio on 80 UHF channels. Handhelds have realistic ranges of a few kilometres in the open and far less in hills or suburbs; in-vehicle units with a good aerial do considerably better.
Good for: convoy travel, keeping a group together, roadwork and truck channel awareness, and neighbourhood coordination in an extended outage.
The channels that matter:
- Channel 5 / 35 — emergency only. Never use for anything else
- Channel 40 — highway and truckers
- Channel 18 — caravanners and campers
- Channels 22 and 23 — data only, no voice
Cost: $60–150 a pair for handhelds, $150–400 for a vehicle unit.
Realistic expectation: handheld UHF will not reach the next suburb. Marketing claims of tens of kilometres assume line of sight between hilltops.
Amateur radio
Genuinely capable, including long-distance communication independent of any infrastructure, and Australia’s WICEN volunteers support emergency services with it. Requires a licence and an exam. A worthwhile hobby, not a preparedness purchase.
What to actually buy, in order
- Battery AM/FM radio and spare batteries — $20–60. Do this now
- A charged power bank — $30–80. Keeps the phone alive through an outage. See emergency lighting and power banks
- A car phone charger and a car inverter — $20–60
- Emergency apps installed and warnings enabled — free
- A written contact list on paper, including an out-of-area contact — free, and the thing everyone omits
- A PLB if you go bush — $350–600, or hire it
- UHF handhelds if you convoy or want neighbourhood coordination — $60–150
- A satellite messenger if you are regularly remote — $300–700 plus subscription
Thresholds
| Situation | The tool |
|---|---|
| Bushfire, flood or cyclone warnings, power out | Battery AM/FM radio, tuned to ABC Local |
| Remote area, life-threatening emergency | PLB. Register it with AMSA first |
| Remote, want two-way and non-emergency messages | Satellite messenger |
| Convoy or group within a few kilometres | UHF handhelds |
| UHF channel 5 or 35 | Emergency only. Never casual traffic |
| Phone works but you can’t describe where you are | Emergency+ app for coordinates |
| Extended outage | Power bank, car charger, and one phone kept off as a reserve |
| Any plan | A paper contact list and an out-of-area contact |
What it costs
| Tier | Spend | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Apps installed, warnings enabled, paper contact list, out-of-area contact agreed |
| Essential | ~$50–100 | Battery AM/FM radio, spare batteries, a power bank |
| Solid | ~$150–300 | Add UHF handhelds and a car inverter |
| Remote | ~$400–700 | A PLB, registered. Or hire one per trip for $5–15 a day |
| Serious | ~$600–1,200 first year | Satellite messenger plus subscription. Justified if you are regularly out of coverage |
The drill: the thirty-minute setup
- Buy a battery AM/FM radio and a packet of AA batteries. Put both in the kit.
- Find your local ABC Local Radio frequency and write it on the radio in permanent marker. You will not be able to look it up.
- Install your state emergency app, the BOM app and Emergency+, and turn warnings on.
- Write the contact list on paper — family, out-of-area contact, insurer, doctor, power utility — and put a copy in the kit and the car.
- Charge the power bank and put a reminder in your calendar to recharge it quarterly.
- If you own a PLB, check it is registered with AMSA and note the battery expiry date.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important emergency communication device?
A battery-powered AM/FM radio. Emergency broadcasts go out over radio, ABC Local Radio is Australia’s designated emergency broadcaster, and AM signals travel much further than FM. It costs around $20 to $60 and needs no network or subscription.
PLB or satellite messenger — which should I buy?
A PLB if you want one reliable button for genuine emergencies with no ongoing cost. A satellite messenger if you also want two-way text — being able to send “running late, all fine” prevents a great many unnecessary search operations, at the cost of a subscription.
Do I need to register a personal locator beacon?
Yes, free, with AMSA. An unregistered beacon still transmits, but registration lets rescuers contact your nominated person and confirm details, which speeds up and better targets the response.
How far do UHF CB handheld radios actually reach?
Realistically a few kilometres in open terrain, and considerably less in hills or built-up areas. Advertised ranges assume line of sight between elevated points. Vehicle-mounted units with a proper aerial perform much better.
Which UHF channels are for emergencies?
Channels 5 and 35 are reserved for emergency use only and should never carry casual traffic. Channel 40 is the highway and truck channel, channel 18 is used by caravanners, and channels 22 and 23 are data only.
Will my phone work in a blackout?
Possibly, briefly. Mobile towers run on battery backup that typically lasts hours rather than days, and surviving towers become congested. Keep a charged power bank and a car charger, and do not rely on the network as your only information source.
This article is general information, researched from the sources listed below and not reviewed by a professional in the relevant field. Check the sources, and get advice or training suited to your situation. Read our full disclaimer.