COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM INCLUDING VOIP BRIDGE RADIO PROVIDING CHANNEL DESIGNATION FEATURES AND RELATED METHODS

A communications system includes a Voice over IP (VoIP) device, a plurality of radios each configured to communicate using a plurality of different radio channels, and a bridge radio. The bridge radio includes a VoIP interface configured to communicate with the VoIP device, a radio interface configured to communicate with the radios, and a controller coupled to the VoIP interface and the radio interface. The controller is configured to receive a communication request from the VoIP device to communicate via a given radio channel. The communication request includes an IP address associated with the bridge radio and a channel identifier associated with the given radio channel. The controller also bridges communications between the VoIP device and at least one of the radios over the given radio channel based upon the received communication request.