What does DECT stand for

Asks monkeysay

A. DECT stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications.

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Q. What is DECT

A. Officially it is a unified digital radio access standard for cordless communications i.e. phones, and covers both the residential and business marketplace. But it has been adopted for a wide range of cordless applications in the home and the office, and there are now more than 200 DECT products on the market.

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Q. What are the benefits of DECT

A. Since it launched in 1998, DECT has had so many benefits that it has been adopted as a cordless phone standard in 110 countries so far. It is only recently, however, that it has been employed in an office environment in the UK at an increasing rate.

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Its main advantages include:

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1. It can handle both voice and data traffic (and it is compatible with ISDN)

2. It takes advantage of other digital radio techniques to maximise its use of the radio spectrum - which means it delivers great sound quality, has incredibly fast (transparent) connections and has a low risk of interference. This is mainly because it employs DCS/DCA or dynamic channel selection/allocation - in other words it doesn't operate on one radio channel, but it selects the best channel available at the time of your call, and uses that.

3. It is cheap to install and use.

4. It can handle a lot of users - up to 100,000 users are permitted in any 2km office area, which is great in a large office environment or in highly-populated residential areas.

5. It provides an extremely secure connection - it combines TDMA/TDD digital radio technology with DCS plus encryption, authentication and identification - to prevent any eavesdropping on calls.

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Q. What is its unique selling point (USP)

A. DECT has two; the first is that it is very flexible. It is the only standard that supports a whole range of applications, from single-cell domestic cordless phones to multi-cell cordless PBX systems and wireless local loop systems for fixed users. The second is that it is equally suited for data and voice services in all environments, whether it is just for a single line with one cordless phone or for a large-scale system with several thousand users.

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Q. So how will DECT improve my quality of life at home

A. It provides better speech quality, functionality and security than could be obtained with previous generations of cordless phones, with a lot less interference.

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Q. How will DECT improve my quality of life in the office

A. This is where DECT really comes into its own - because you can carry your networked DECT cordless phone with you anywhere in the office, just like a mobile phone. This increases productivity because you can answer all your calls that come through reception, and it saves your colleagues having to take messages. It also cuts down on customer frustration as it cuts down on calls being answered by a machine. It also saves the company money on the amount of return calls that have to be made.

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For business use there are three options for using DECT. The first is for one base station serving one handset and is very similar to that used in residential homes.

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The second gives total coverage of an office (or building) but is plugged into your existing phone system or switchboard and so only gives partial integration.

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The third option is to have DECT integrated into the PBX switch, which is fantastic as it provides seamless mobile communication that can cope with several thousand users on one network.

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Q. How much does it cost

A. Check with your telecoms supplier, but a small 4-line, 8-extension exchange will cost less than �1,000 to install.

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Q. What about the actual handsets

A. They vary in price, but you can buy them online competitively at http://www.freedom-mobiles.co.uk/dect.htm. Prices range from �89.99 (for the Ascom 233 and the Philips Onis 200) to �149.99 the Philips Zenia Voice and �179.99 for Samsung's SP-R6150.

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Q. What is a PBX

A. It is a private branch exchange or private telephone network�- usually used within an office environment, because it is a lot cheaper to install than an external line for every telephone within the company. It is also easy to use as you just call your colleague's extension, instead of their entire number.

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Q. Does DECT have any disadvantages

A. It is not compatible with all switchboard systems (especially old ones) so it is best to check out whether your existing system is DECT compatible before investing in a new network of cordless phones.

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By Karen Anderson