Why no licence is needed
UK radio licensing regulates who may transmit on which frequencies — and a PoC radio never transmits on frequencies that are yours to answer for. Its only radio transmissions are 4G/5G (and Wi-Fi) data, on spectrum that EE, O2, Vodafone and Three hold national licences for under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006. When your handset keys up, it does so as a device on the operator's network, under the operator's licence — precisely as your phone does. There is nothing for you to apply for because, in regulatory terms, you are not the one transmitting.
This isn't a loophole or a grace period; it's the same settled framework that has covered mobile phones for decades. Ofcom's licensing regime for Business Radio applies to organisations operating their own transmitters on business radio frequencies — conventional two-way radio, in other words. PoC simply isn't in that category. The full three-tier picture (PoC, licence-free PMR446, licensed business radio) is on the UK licensing guide; this page deals with the direct question and its exceptions.
What you pay instead
The regulatory fee is zero, but PoC is not free to run: you pay a commercial subscription of roughly £8–£15 per radio per month, bundling the multi-network data SIM and the PTT platform that hosts your talk groups. Two things are worth being precise about. First, this is a contract, not a permission — there is no body to notify, no renewal that lapses into illegality, no enforcement exposure if you forget a date. Miss a licence renewal on a conventional system and every transmission is technically an offence; miss a PoC invoice and your radios simply stop working until you pay. Second, the subscription buys something the £75 Ofcom licence never did: national coverage and the platform software. The like-for-like money comparison is worked through, line by line, in the total cost of ownership guide.
The edge cases where a licence returns
Hybrid DMR/PoC handsets
A growing class of handsets carries both a cellular modem and a conventional DMR transceiver — PoC for wide-area, direct DMR for basements and blackspots. The licensing logic follows each transmitter separately: the cellular side needs nothing; the DMR side needs an Ofcom Business Radio licence the moment it transmits on business frequencies. In practice this trips people up because the radio is sold as "PoC" and the buyer assumes the licence-free story covers the whole device. It doesn't. If your hybrids will ever use their DMR mode, hold a Simple UK Light licence (£75 per five years covers the fleet) before they do. A hybrid that only ever uses PMR446 within its legal limits — 446.0–446.2 MHz, 500 mW, fixed antenna — stays licence-free, but genuine business hybrids are rarely configured that way.
Gateways bridging into licensed channels
Mixed fleets often run a gateway: a unit that ties a conventional radio channel into a PoC talk group, so site radios and nationwide radios hear each other during a migration or permanently. The gateway contains a conventional transmitter keying up on your radio channel — so that channel's licence must exist and cover it. If you're bridging into a system you already licence, you're usually fine; if a supplier proposes a gateway onto "a spare channel", ask which licence authorises it before anything is installed. A practitioner's tell: a proposal that specifies the gateway hardware but never mentions the licence variation is a proposal that hasn't been thought through.
Your obligations, side by side
| Setup | Ofcom licence? | What you actually owe | Risk if ignored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure PoC fleet | No | Airtime subscription (£8–£15/radio/month) | None regulatory — service stops if unpaid |
| PMR446 handhelds | No | Nothing — stay within 500 mW / fixed antenna limits | Offence only if modified or out-of-band |
| Licensed conventional (DMR/analogue) | Yes | From £75 per 5 years (Simple UK Light), renewed on time | Unlicensed transmission is an offence (WTA 2006) |
| Hybrid DMR/PoC handsets | Yes — for the DMR side | Subscription for cellular + licence covering DMR use | DMR transmissions unlicensed = offence |
| PoC↔conventional gateway | Yes — for the conventional channel | Subscription + the bridged channel's licence covering the gateway | Gateway transmissions unlicensed = offence |
Misconceptions that catch buyers out
- "Network radio must need registering somewhere." It doesn't. No Ofcom database entry, no notification, no per-handset paperwork. The SIM contract is the only agreement in play.
- "Our £75 business licence covers our PoC radios too." It's simply irrelevant to them — that licence authorises conventional transmissions on business frequencies, which PoC never makes. Keep it if you still run conventional radios; it does nothing for the PoC fleet either way.
- "No licence means no rules at all." The handset must still be legally sold UK equipment (UKCA/CE-marked), your operator contract has fair-use terms, and workplace rules on recorded audio and GPS tracking still apply. Licence-free is not regulation-free.
- "The seller said it's licence-free, so the whole radio is." True for pure PoC; false for hybrids. Check the spec sheet for a DMR or analogue transceiver — if one is present, the licence question is back on the table for that side of the device.
- "Wi-Fi-only use changes things." Only in that it's even simpler — a PoC radio running on Wi-Fi is just another device on your network. Still no licence, still the platform subscription.
FAQ
Do I need a licence for a PoC radio in the UK?
No. The mobile operators' spectrum licences cover its transmissions, exactly as with a mobile phone. There is no application, registration or fee to Ofcom.
What do I pay instead?
A commercial airtime-and-platform subscription, typically £8–£15 per radio per month. It's a contract, not a permission.
Do hybrid DMR/PoC radios need a licence?
For the DMR side, yes — an Ofcom Business Radio licence (from £75 per five years) before the DMR transmitter is used on business frequencies. The cellular side needs nothing.
Does a PoC-to-radio gateway need a licence?
The conventional channel it bridges into must be licensed, and that licence must cover the gateway's transmissions. The PoC side needs nothing.
Is any of this different in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
No — Ofcom licensing and the Wireless Telegraphy Act apply UK-wide, and the mobile operators' licences are national.
Next: The full UK licensing picture — PMR446, business licences and the import trap →