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Glories of DECT

Defining DECT

Designed to afford radio access technology in support of wireless telecommunication operations, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) or Frequency Time (IMT-FT) is a mass market technology that grew out of Europe and was developed from early 80’s models to become the standard application—for cordless phones, wireless office systems as well as for wireless residential phone lines–that we know in the industry today. As it was set to provide access to a number of telecommunication networks, DECT allowed multitudinous services and applications to prosper quite well. Among these applications is access in PSTN (conventional telephone networks), ISDN (new digital and data phone networks) and residential networks. This also came along with access in wireless PABX, GSM, Wireless Local Loop, Cordless Terminal Mobility CTM, Local Area Network that enabled voice telephony, fax, modem with E-mail, Internet and others of the same sort. DECT, as a radio access technology, is vastly different from the system architecture of GSM (mobile phone networks), functioning in 1880 to 1900 MHz band while employing GFSK modulation–the generally favored level of operation in the business–at the same time.

And DECT Springs

In the 1980s, it was becoming quite apparent that the analogue phones forming the base of consumer cordless phone systems were, at best, merely adequate in performance. Crackles and static were a constant irritation as were interferences from other electronic devices. Security issues were also a matter of concern since analogue phones unintentionally made it easy for users to cue in on other people’s conversations, not to mention the fact the units were bulky and too unwieldy by half to lug around. This was about the time when the big chasm between analogue and digital technology finally emerged. And by the late 1980s, digital was winning.

DECT arrived by late 1987 on the scene. And it was the members of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) that conceived and brought DECT’s functionality to full measure. The move was in reaction to the merging of the UK CT2 standard and the Swedish CT3 standard, two passable bits of technology that sought to establish the ideal in cordless phone technology. ETSI, ruling against the deplorable lack in the functionality of these phone systems, convened and constructed the beginnings of a phone system able to provide laudable multi-functional applications in residential and business set-ups—even in public settings. ETSI thus introduced the DECT standard in 1988.

Standard and Product Forebears

Before DECT became the top standard in network access for traits that, today, we know and recognize it by—great mobility, exceptional acoustic clarity able to compete with the caliber of wired phones systems, secured protection of communications through the genius of digital technology and encryption that made high subscriber densities possible, a bandwidth allocation that was largely negotiable, multiple service support, aggressive cost comparisons along with limber deployment and easy installation—yes, all these things, intensive research and development on a grand scale regarding the nature and intended evolution of DECT technology was first needed among the European telecom industry. Initial resulting standards put particular emphasis on the the notion of improving on the air interface, or radio link as others may know it, between the handset of the cordless telephone and its base—that of which was hooked up to the telephone’s socket. Other concerns also focused on the standards and protocols—their reliability, quality—in supporting handover tasks between several base stations that were all hooked up to one office switchboard (PABX) or pedestrian telecommunication switch.

Other institutions were involved in the standardization of DECT as well like the Commission of the European Community that afforded a great deal of support by establishing the legislative by-laws that opened the way for a common frequency allocation to be made. The community also had a hand in facilitating massive organization of the regulatory environment for consumer level DECT items all throughout Europe.

The first ETSI DECT standards were introduced in 1992—the ETS 300175 along with the 300176. And Olivetti was the man behind its very first product—a wireless LAN type device he called NET3 which was packed as a little piece in a total IT-solution package that he offered the bulk of his industrial client base. The product also appeared in 1992 and was treated to enthusiastic responses from industrial consumers. Olivetti, though, despite of the favorable responses, would put a halt to the production of the item soon after that.

Still, NET3 was immediately succeeded by the first cordless phone system specifically designed for domestic settings. It was in December of the same year and the phone was the original Siemens Gigaset 900 telephone. In an admirable turn of events, that Siemens phone, unlike its predecessor in the market, would later evolve and expand its range of functions until a line of this excellently put-together cordless phones achieved top product status in the industry, earning over a million dollars for Siemens by the end of 1997—a feat that successfully put the company’s name on every list of important players in the field.

Technology and Industry Growth

A shift in priorities characterized the next age of DECT phones. From then on, the work directed attention to the nature of GAP (Generic Access Profile) as well as to other concerns in the inter-working profiles like DECT with GSM, DECT with SDN, DECT with radio local loop along with CTM and a number of other data profiles.

By this time, Europe was basking in the initial years of the growing digital mobile phone industry that was expanding at a relentless rate. GS (Global System for Mobile) was the dominating standard for mobile units—a standard that was also the work of ETSI. Since both technologies—DECT and GSM—were projects of ETSI, it was inevitable that they end up with strong similarities. Thus, when GSM sales began to take off, at the same time when DECT devices started to enter the market, the cost of the technology gradually lessened to a significant degree. It was at this period when the application markets for DECT started to emerge and develop a degree of maturity.Germany saw the early market success for DECT as DECT domestic cordless phones systems were put against the analogue CEPT standard.

These days, 60% of the market is being conquered by DECT products, largely due to the large decrease in its technology costs. The decrease in product prices and increase in production volume was also responsible for the commercial success that DECT domestic phones began to find in neighboring European nations.

These circumstances, coupled with the work as well as additional demands from the DECT-concentrated market introduced a great many extensions and improvements upon the base standard that fully brought out a better, more efficient employment of DECT products. This then led to the 2nd standardization

The second surge in DECT’s market success came with the arrival of the PABX application. As the nature of PABX required that phone systems distributed over a particular setting—like an office, factory or warehouse—be interconnected by wires to a common switchboard also located on the premises, DECT offered more attractive options by proposing that a few radio base stations be wired back to the PABX instead—thus leaving the cordless handsets to make contact with the base stations by way of radio.

This promoted improved mobility since the the user would then be able to move around the site with greater freedom because the handsets were able to switch to the radio coverage of different radios without any interference happening. Hence, DECT WPABX devices found a strong consumer base in plenty of sectors in the society, particularly in warehouse, hospitals, factories and others of the like where instant, reliable communication proved absolutely vital. Convention centers were also among these institutions to employ DECT WPABX for the advantages it offered. That is, for one, the ability to generate a great many phones that can be distributed with much ease and flexibility on an incredibly short time table. DECT cordless phones were sold in general office settings as a part of the entire PABX assembly that could manage a couple of extensions.

DECT in the Present

In the 1990’s, the competition between cordless and wired phone systems were becoming more heated and growing a bit more dramatic: DECT was now fully able to offer telephony services that rivaled the quality as well as the costs of wired units. Telecommunications liberty in terms of service provision was already in full swing and important telecommunication manufacturers were already developing ideas on how to generate products for the emerging wireless market.

DECT WLL trials all over the globe would happen around the mid-90’s but it wasn’t until the year 1997 when the first major breakthrough would occur as a total number of 2 million cordless telephone wires were ordered. And though economic set-backs were particular to 1998, the following year saw an improvement in sales so that by the end of 1998 and 1999, one third of the local loop lines globally employed utilized DECT technology—turning DECT into an industry leader in wireless local loops around the world.

Other profiles developed by ETSI finally allowed DECT to interwork with networks ranging from different set-ups: there was the ISDN, GSM as well as dual mode arrangements that resulted into GSM/DECT phones. Fast data transfers were also worked on until the DECT Packet Radio service, DPRS, and DECT Multimedia Acess Profile, DMAP (a fusion of the DPRS and GAP profiles) were all produced and launched to the public in 1999.

By this time, other data products were also entering the market like the DECT data and ISDN modems. The ISDN based business systems, Multimedia and Home Networking products were appearing as well.

In 1998, CTM Cordless, another DECT application, was commercially introduced in Italy. Termed “FIDO”, CTM is a pedestrian access service that allows you to make use of your cordless handset and base to acess public DECT base stations. Thus, calls can be re-routed to you as long as you are in the range of one of the base stations—reducing troubles brought on by missed calls. This technology though was halted in Italy. It’s cessation was a matter of much speculation, as it concerned the question of whether the technology would be completely eliminated or be allowed to work elsewhere.

The dual mode DECT/GSM service was introduced in 1999, the OnePhone from BT Cellnet while 2002 was the year for DECT data applications. This was largely due to the arrival of Bluetooth that promoted wireless data applications to a great degree.

DECT IN YEARS TO COME

At this point, the conclusive answer seems to be, as it involves and pertains to the direction of DECT, is this: larger markets, lower costs and innovative applications. After all, though the line of DECT domestic digital cordless phones has already found a mature market in many areas of Europe, in other parts of the globe, it is still relatively inchoate industry. Business settings though will continue to rely upon PABX systems for their professionals needs since it affords solutions that are efficient and practical. Still, DECT has already penetrated indigenous markets the likes of China as well as India, with a strong local presence to dispel any associations between DECT and western technology. The Internet has also lent tremendous help in trumpeting DECT potential for data and multimedia functions, whether in developing or developed nations.

As DECT gains mainstream appeal and function, it is a bit of certainty that the future will see the emergence of affordable DECT modules that demonstrate intelligent configurations and that allow a number of functions simultaneously—alerting, revising and eventually taking the place of the run of telephony services and units that we use and know today.

In essence, what DECT truly presents consumers in the future with is this: better technology, better control, better lives. And considering how far the technology has reached in just a brief stretch of time, it is a safe assumption that the years to come may very well see the fulfillment of this vision.