Rapid Radios

I keep hearing about these Rapid Radios during commercials while listening to Coast to Coast AM. They are nationwide  walkie talkies that work off of cell towers of every service provider in the U.S. with no monthly fees (but it does cost $50 a year after the first year). It seems odd to me that they tout them as great for emergencies when communications go down when you consider their dependent on the cell towers.

Myself, I would sooner look into Ham radio. Nevertheless they do seem pretty cool. The service is cheap, but the walkie talkies themselves are not, a pair of them cost $400, buy more for better deals. 

rapidradios.com