Siemens Delivers DECT-Based Phones

DECT is a relatively new cordless telephony standard in the United States, but it has been around for more than 10 years in Europe. Unlike Wi-Fi, which operates in unlicensed frequencies in the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, DECT operates in a licensed band (1,920 MHz to 1,930 MHz) free from call quality-damaging interference. Siemens product announcements signal a significant push from this German-based vendor to provide an alterative to Vo-Fi (voice over Wi-Fi) in the home. While the uptake on Vo-Fi in the enterprise has been modest, in the home it has been considered a contender for cellular-centric femtocells. But the Vo-Fi deployment problems in the enterprise--poor coverage, interference and a short battery life--are nonissues for DECT-based products. Enterprises won't need to concern themselves with DECT, though, as its scalability is limited, and it would require deployment to a separate overlay network's wireless base stations just for voice. Frank Bulk NWC Contributing Technology Editor

Siemens Home and Office Communications Devices this week said it is delivering an array of cordless phones--including VoIP models--based on DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephony) standards.

Siemens new Gigaset phones include models E450, S450 and S455, as well as new integrated VoIP devices, the S450 IP and the SX762 WLAN DSL gateway.

DECT is a long-time European telephony standard, but the DECT 6.0 standard for wireless communications frequency was recently approved in the United States, Siemens said. Siemens has been delivering DECT-based phones in Europe for more than 10 years, the vendor said.