MANILA, Philippines ? The two-way radio could make a come-back this year.



This was what a Japanese maker of two-way radio technology said when it announced expansion of its operations in the country on January 12.



Vertex Standard, which has been around since the fifties, has recently put up its operations in Manila and now offers a wide range of two-way radio communication systems.



Stephen Ritchie, Vertex Standard's director for distribution in the Asia Pacific region said that the expansion into the Philippine market "has always been in our business strategy."



Jasmin So, the company's country manager, revealed that two-way radio use is not only appropriate for construction, manufacturing, and taxi companies but is also cheaper as it is offered in a 4,000 to 15,000-peso price range.



Focused more on providing advanced technology when it comes to commercial, marine, airband, amateur radios as well as their accessories and peripherals, Standard Vertex has introduced its product portfolio composed of their two-way radios VX-160, VX-231, VX-350, VX820, VX4100, and the VX4200.



The said radio products boast of die-cast chassis, "making it solid and rugged for every day communications required by commercial and industrial users." Their product line also provides users with extensive channel capacity that ranges from 16 to 501 channels.



Their product lines, according to Ritchie are not toys having been built following military specifications. The radios are also equipped with the Auto-Range Transpond System (ARTS), a feature enabling workers to keep in touch even if they are out of communication range.



Ritchie added that their decision to put up a shop in the Philippines is "timely as the companies in the region are improving." He added that Vertex Standard aims to "provide businesses a greater return on their investments" when it comes to inter-company communication strategies.



Aside from companies focused on manufacturing and construction, Vertex Standard also targets amateur associations which may need two-way radio technology for easier communication, said So.



So revealed that Vertex Standard has been serving clients in the Philippines since February 2010 including hotels, local government units (LGUs), taxi companies, and security agencies.



So stated that Vertex Standard is set on finding its niche in the Philippine market and is confident in its decision to expand its operations to provide appropriate communication technologies to a wide range of companies.