RTX Offer Jump Start for the Chinese DECT Market
RTX Telecom have just announced a quick route to market for companies wishing to exploit the huge emerging Chinese DECT market opportunity, with a Chinese version of their RTX3002 GAP compliant handset design.  RTX have informed DECTweb that the first  products using the design will appear on the Chinese market later this year.
More info on the RTX3002 on our Design Solutions Page

Life Telecom starts production of new models
Life Telecom have informed DECTweb of new DECT phone designs - the LT401/402 - which have recently achieved type approval (CTR 22, CTR6, CTR10, CTR37, CTR21, LVD and CE) and have begun production this month.  These products will be available first in Italy and Switzerland under the HiTel brand, with other European countries following.  Other new products are also under development aimed at hitting the market later in the year.   Life is also making its products available as an OEM products for third parties to badge and market.
See details of Life's products on the Residential Page and the new OEM Page for other details.

Hoeft & Wessel offer IP interworking with DECT
Amongst the innovative products shown at CeBIT 2000 this year will be the DataGate HW8660 product from Hoeft and Wessel, a DECT basestation with TCP/IP network connectivity.  The DataGate product, with RS232 and 10base-T Ethernet interfaces, also supports roaming between basestations.

Details of Hoeft and Wessel's range of DECT modules, which interoperate with their DataGate product may also be found on DECTweb, on our Modules Page

VTech launches DECT Phones in Europe, and WDCT in the USA
VTech has just informed DECTweb that it plans to launch its own-brand DECT cordles telephones in Europe in the coming months. The new models will be shown for the first time at the CeBIT 2000 Trade Fair in Hanover, Germany which starts 24th February, and will be marketed in the UK and Germany.  VTech also recently launched it’s new range of 2.4 GHz WDCT (World Digital Cordless Telecommunications - US DECT) products at CES 2000, in Las Vegas.
See VTech's Press Release for more information.

Kirk Telecom launches New DECT Phone
Kirk Telecom has just informed DECTweb about its new Kirk-z 3040 DECT cordles telephone.  The new phone builds on their existing dect-z product, with new software allowing a range of advanced features, such as paging functions, alongside a built-in vibrator as a standard feature.
You can find full details in their Press Release

Stop Press !!!    DECT in a Bluetooth Form Factor ... ?
After seeing the real thing privately at DECT2000 (but we couldn't tell you then), DECTweb has just received a brochure from Siemens about its latest miniature DECT engine that will be shown at CeBIT this month.  This new unit takes DECT very firmly into form factor territory until now claimed by Bluetooth, with a volume of only 1.2 cc. 

Branded the "Gigaset  Simcard", to reflect its 24 x 14 x 3.5 mm size, the new engine claims to be the smallest DECT module in the world - certainly at DECTweb we've seen nothing else comparable.  And with a chipset supporting both voice and data the new engine has the potential to revolutionise short range wireless, enabling a host of new applications and short range wireless products.   As we've been saying for a while at DECTweb, and at the DECT Conferences, Bluetooth looks set to create some great new markets for DECT, in this case by pushing the technology forward.

The Siemens brochure suggests that, at this size, the Gigaset Simcard  is ideal for incorporation into mobile phones.  Maybe we can expect something in the GSM/DECT dual mode arena shortly from Siemens ?  If their cellphones automatically hooked up to their huge installed base of Gigasets when in the home, it would certainly give them something of an edge in the cellphone market.  And if they were also configured for handset-to-handset communications (see article below), well, what a powerful product that would be....

Check it out on the Modules Page
You can also find there a presentation on DECT given at December's Bluetooth Developers' Conference.

Siemens at CeBIT
As well as the Gigaset Simcard, Siemens will of course be showing a full range of  DECT products at CeBIT.

Two recent Gigaset products in particular will be highlighted - the new entry-level model which provides  classic DECT functions, together with an ergonomic design, as well as the new mini cordless telephone of the Gigaset 3000 family, which will be on display for the first time. In a mobile format, this has all the functions that are now possible with cordless communications.

From CeBIT 2000 onwards, an innovative Gigaset base station product will allow cordless connection of a PC or notebook via the USB (Universal Serial Bus). This will enable users to surf the Internet around the home, using transmission rates of up to 56 kbit/s.

For further information on Siemens' cordless (and other) offerings at CeBIT, see the Siemens at CeBIT pages.

January 2000  News below - Happy New Millennium to all our Readers !

IP over DECT
IP over DECT also featured at DECT2000 in Rome, with a paper by Guy Cayla of Lucent entitled "DECT - A New Efficient Link to the Internet", as well as demonstrations of real product hardware and demonstration product platforms for IP access over DECT from several companies, based on ISDN, cable and analogue feeds. 
Conference report on DECT2000 - now available in our Features Section

February sees Vision in Business hosting a conference in Dusseldorf on converged networks based around IP.  The conference will address convergence of fixed and mobile, voice and data, over IP networks.   If you attend please e-mail us with an update on it for the DECT community.  Thank you.
Details of the IP Converged Networks Conference here.

Handset-to-Handset DECT Communications
One of the best kept secrets of DECT seems to be the fact that the standard allows handsets to be easily configured, with a small software change, to support "direct mode" - handset-to-handset conversations, without the need for a basestation - ideal to take with you on a camping holiday, out shopping, etc, if you are not a family with multiple mobile phones !   Yet DECTweb is unaware of ANY manufacturer, as yet, having implemented this feature.  The issue was clarified by Guenther Kleindl, leader of the ETSI DECT project, in his talk on standards development at the recent DECT2000 conference.  

We hope to publish more details shortly.   In the meantime for more information on "portable to portable" communication, check out the relevant ETSI standards
ETS300-175 - 6 (section "Identify") and the Annex to TBR6.
Check out our Standards Pages to access these documents.

Maybe 2000 could be the year for a fresh step forward with DECT residential handsets that support this useful feature.

1999 was a 'Hit' for DECTweb - 2000 Promises Further Growth
The past year saw a huge increase in the usage of DECTweb, with over half a million hits during the twelve months (excluding the hits on days when the webstats package was down !).  Membership of the DECTweb community doubled between June and December, in terms of self-subscribed members who regularly receive our free DECTnews e-mailing.   
More usage statistics may be found on our Sponsorship Page

DECT Module Ranges from Siemens and ALPS set to Grow
At IBC's DECT2000 event in Rome last week Siemens announced, at the Modules workshop on the Friday, a new MD32 DECT engine, v2, due for launch in May 2000.    Volume shipment of V1 MD32 products are due before end January.  ALPS also previewed new DECT modules, the UGSE5 and the UGSA4 (FCC compliant ISM band), as well as a new Virtual Cable product, the VC3, all scheduled for April 2000.

More detail soon on our Modules Page

Dual Mode DECT/GSM phone from SAGEM
One of our members has informed us of a DECT/GSM phone from SAGEM now available.  More info shortly on our Dual Mode Page

Dual Mode DECT/GSM1800 in Greece
One of our members has alerted us to the announcement by the Greek PTT of the intention to provide dual mode DCS1800/DECTservice in the country.  Further info to follow, on our Dual Mode Page, as and when we receive it - if any one can help please e-mail us some info.

DECT Multi Media Product Information 
Some new websites have come on-line over the past month relating to DECT Multi Media products, and can be found on our Multimedia & Home Networking Page.  These include ones belonging to the DECT Multi Media Consortium and to Screen Media, manufacturers of the DECT DMAP-enabled FreePAD product, shown at the DECT MMC Press Conference in Paris last November. 
The full set of press releases from this event are also now available on DECTweb:
            The DECT MMC
            Ascom
            Canon
            Dosch & Amand
            Loewe
            Screen Media

Market Studies & Information 
The Market Information section of DECTweb has seen a number of additions over recent months, the latest being the adition of links to MZA, whose first global cordless study will be published later this year.
Check out the Market Information Page

January's the Month to Learn ! 
If you're wanting to get up to speed on all things DECT, then January 2000 is your month !  Both technical and commercial courses and conferences are running, suited to training both engineering and commercial staff.  

On the technical front, RTT are running their "Cordless Design" course 24-26th January 2000, to be repeated again later in the year, 18-20th September 2000. They also have a number of other RF design courses this month and next. 

January 17th-21st sees DECT2000 - the DECT community's annual flagship event being held, this year in Rome.  As well as the usual commercial papers, covering all aspects of the DECT marketplace, this year's event is accompanied by three specialist workshops:
   17th January - "Introduction to DECT Technology" led by T.O.P. Business Training
    21st January - "Planning a Multi-Service DECT Network" led by ATDI
    21st January - "DECT Modules: Creating New Business, Entering New Markets" led by Roke Manor Research

Fraunhofer Announces New DECT Modules 
Fraunhofer Institute has also recently announced  new DECT modules, the M3 and M4 designs, on their website.  These products will be available within the next few months.   The modules represent an evolution of the M2 design, which has been manufactured by IZT Innovationszentrum fur Telekommunikationstechnik GmbH and distributed by Ginsbury. 
Check out the M3 and M4 on our Modules Page

Smaller Virtual Cable from ALPS 
ALPS has launched the latest in its ongoing range of Virtual Cable products, a small form-factor product.  Check out their products on our Modules Page

Siemens wins US Award for Gigaset 2420
Siemens has recently won PC Computing Magazine's "Most Valuable Product" Award in the cordless phone category for its Gigaset 2420 WDCT product, against competition from Panasonic and Ericsson, amongst many others.  The product is featured in the January 2000 issue of PC Computing Magazine. Visit the MVP Awards site for more information on the program.
More info on the Siemens Gigaset 2420, including picture links, on our Residential Products Page

Standards Revamped on DECTweb  
At long last the Standards section of DECTweb has been revised and updated, to reflect new ETSI weblinks and to provide an easier route for people seeking to find and download copies of the relevant standards.  A big "thank you" to those of you who have encouraged us to update this section, we hope you like it and find it easier to use.has been revised and updated, to reflect new ETSI weblinks and to provide an easier route for people seeking to find and download copies of the relevant standards.  A big "thank you" to those of you who have encouraged us to update this section, we hope you like it and find it easier to use.
Take a look....