On the eve of the next millennium the DECT-MMC (DECT-MultiMediaConsortium) - a joint venture of renowned international IT and TC key players - is presenting the first market-ready innovative products based on the new ETSI standard (EN 301650) for wireless multimedia applications DMAP (DECT Multimedia Access Profile): wireless printers with DECT Ethernet adapter for professional applications, FreePads for the integration of DECT telephony and DECT multimedia, the first wireless ISDN bundle systems for telecommunications and multimedia or home multimedia television with a wireless ISDN-DECT connection. In principle DMAP can be used in almost all IT/TC products, such as PC cards (PCMCIA, ISA, PCI, USB), printers, scanners, modems, video cameras, Web phones, Web pads, Web TV's, information appliance systems or even set-top boxes.

Developed by the German high-tech company, Dosch & Amand, located in Munich, DMAP represents a new generation of DECT. For the first time ever, this system makes wireless ad-hoc communication between various electronic equipment possible with a full 128 kBit bandwidth (ISDN), as well as dynamic bandwidth control with high error protection and full compatibility to established international DECT wireless telephony. With the new DECT generation, DMAP, a more powerful, pan-European uniform standard for wireless utilization of multimedia services is now available which finally puts an end to the annoying cable spaghetti in the coalescing residential, SoHo and business sectors and which also makes completely new applications possible. The effort needed for specification and realization of the first global fully multimedia capable data radio was very complex. And it is not without reason that there were no solutions of this kind on the market before DMAP. Because of all this, DMAP resulted in the founding of the international DECT-MultiMediaConsortium at this year's DECT World Congress '99 in Barcelona in February.

What is DECT-MMC?
The industrial consortium founded by Ascom, Canon, Dosch & Amand, Ericsson, Hagenuk, and National Semiconductor represents a growing group of internationally operating IT, TC and consumer electronics companies, which have made the strategic decision in favor of the new DMAP/DPRS standard and are incorporating additional DMAP specifications in their terminal equipment program. (For a current list of members please see below).

The objective of DECT-MMC is to open the market for DECT data products which are compatible with each other.  Via PnP interfaces and the concentrated cooperation of the developmental departments of the individual consortium members DECT-MMC will also have an enormous effect on the full inter-operability of DECT products. In the future, the quality logo "DECT-MMC" shown on electronic equipment will indicate that these products are able to communicate with each other without cables, at ISDN transmission rates and in ISDN quality, easily and regardless of their manufacturer. The additional standardization for data transmission rates up to 2 Mbit/s on the air interface also guarantees the use of DECT for future requirements of multimedia voice and data transmissions. With „Direct Links" transmission density of up to 20 Mbit/s can be achieved in a single radio cell, thus all future applications for home and office automation can be fully covered.

A New DECT Generation: Superior to all Technological Alternatives
The incentives for internationally operating IT, TC and consumer electronics producers to become involved in DECT-MMC are just as numerous as they are unique. DECT technology offers unrivaled advantages in the sector of residential, SoHo and business technology in comparison to all other technological alternatives: Canon justifies their involvement in DECT-MMC as follows, "DECT is already established as a standard in more than 100 countries - and no license is needed for the use of DECT terminal equipment." They continue, "One big advantage in comparison to the 2.4 GHz ISM band, is that wireless peripherals have to share the frequencies within the 2.4 GHz ISM band with other household appliances, such as the microwave oven, which can greatly interfere with the stability of the data transmission." Another advantage of DECT is that the frequency band of 1.8 GHz is reserved exclusively for DECT in Europe.

"What makes DECT so interesting as a universal radio transmission standard for future home and office use are the various general mechanisms within the standard which also apply to other radio transmission standards," explains Marcus Gloger, Director of the Development Department at Dosch & Amand. "Brand new algorithms, which were already formulated in the framework of the DECT standardization years ago, are being presented again and again at international congresses. For precisely this reason DECT was suggested and accepted as having a special role as an IMT2000 Standard because it is the only IMT2000 standard which is not only completely defined, but on the basis of which commercial products already exist today." For Hagenuk - which is representative for the growing number of DECT-MMC members - the close cooperation between the individual members for the development of promising DECT multimedia applications and the corresponding active role in the design of the new DECT generation is of central significance.

Virtual Communications System
Franz Dosch, Chairman of DECT-MMC and President of Dosch & Amand is convinced that DMAP "has the potential to revolutionize the entire DECT mobile communication business because, in the future, frequency bandwidths will be very, very expensive. With the new generation of DECT DECT is no longer just a substitute for cable, as it previously was, but an totally mobile component. This is a visionary approach because it makes applications possible that don't even exist today or which can't even be realized over cable," explains Dosch.

Thus, the new DECT generation makes comfortable wireless ad-hoc communication with high transmission rates between DECT terminal equipment possible. For example, printing takes on a whole new dimension, "Anybody who is inside the DECT radio transmission cell can execute the command Wireless Print without even knowing the printer and without having to configure the printer in advance," explains DECT-MMC Chairman Dosch. "Furthermore, several computers can use the same printer simultaneously."

At Hagenuk everyone is convinced that, "after the link defined by HAVI (Home Audio Video Interoperability) and executed on the market only a small amount of time will pass before the communications sector is included." Loewe has already completed this step with its "TV + Internet" solution. With the new DECT generation it is also possible to display a list of calls made on a wireless telephone on a television. Or to connect the wireless ISDN-DECT connection from the gate telephone via an integrated video camera to the television. This then displays the image of the person ringing the doorbell in a corner of the monitor or the image can be sent around the world to a corresponding DECT-MMC product via the DECT/ISDN network. Similar scenarios are also conceivable for the industry.

Wireless data networks and wireless voice networks in warehouses are still separate. But here too, the new DECT generation will provide solutions. According to Franz Dosch, "thus, the new DECT generation separates itself from the dependency of the physical interface of the hardware component and backbone system and is transformed to a virtual, service transparent communications system in which all DECT-MMC products are integrated via wireless ad-hoc transmission. It is no longer a question of cable or DECT, but rather service transparent access to wireless networked components - to the DECT-MMC products, mobile access to fixed networks such as PSTN, ISDN, ADSL or transparent mobile access to LAN computer networks with one single communications platform DMAP."

DECT-MMC: Enormous Economic Potential
Up to now the DECT industry mainly benefited from the boom in wireless telephony in private households, offices and in professional business telephone networks. But today the Data Services market requires more support than pure voice applications due to the enormous diversification of applications. Thus, a simple standard interface with a PnP interface to the high-speed connection, which is used uniformly by the entire industry is of paramount strategic significance. The DECT-MMC intends to conform to precisely these interoperability standards and licenses and establish new products as "DECT-MMC" brand products. This would force open the door to a new era of mobile communications solutions in the residential, SoHo and business sectors, which would provide the industry with a gigantic market for DECT data products. The activities of the DECT-MMC have created the optimal conditions necessary for the European IT, TC and consumer electronics industry to mark its terrain for wireless home and office networks and to secure the enormous DECT investments of the past few years.

The high-performance new DECT generation makes the vision of wireless networked terminal equipment become reality and, in the future, will be an integral component for an infinite number of innovative solutions for wireless home and office communications.

List of DECT-MMC Members
    Ascom
    Canon
    Dosch & Amand
    DSS, Digital Switch Systems
    Ericsson
    Hagenuk
    Italtel
    KPN Telecom
    Loewe
    National Semiconductor
    Screen Media
    Telegate
    Urmet

Further applications are currently in the review process

Further Information

    DECT-MMC
    Dipl-Ing. Franz Dosch
    c/o DOSCH & AMAND
    Scheinerstrasse 9
    D-81679 München
    Gemany

    Tel.: +49 / 89 / 92 20 07-0
    Fax +49 / 89 / 92 20 07-15

    CONTACT T.I.E.M.
    Public Relations GmbH
    CEO Volker Hoffmann
    Ungerer Strasse 40
    D-80802 München
    Germany