Two-way radios, more commonly known as walkie-talkies, were originally developed for the Canadian government during the Second World War by Canadian Donald L. Hings. Similar designs were created for other armed forces, and after the war, two-way radios spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work.

Major characteristics include a half-duplex channel, where only one radio transmits at a time, though any number can listen, and a push-to-talk switch that starts transmission. Typical two-way radios resemble a telephone handset, possibly slightly larger but still a single unit, with an antenna sticking out of the top. Where a phone's earpiece is only loud enough to be heard by the user, a two-way radio’s built-in speaker can be heard by the user and those in his immediate vicinity. Hand-held transceivers may be used to communicate between each other, or to vehicle-mounted or base stations.

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