DECT = Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephony. Probably the most evolved system for medium range (cell diameter ca. 50m) wireless telephony. Very common in Europe.
For small scale applications you should consider the Siemens Gigaset C470IP. For about 60 Euro you get a handset and an VoIP enabled Basestation. You can add up to 5 additional handsets (e.g. the Gigaset 67h, 55 Euro). The Gigaset van work with 6 SIP accounds and an additional landline. Unfortunately it can only handle two simultaneus SIP calls. With additional repeaters (ca. 100 Euro reach) you probably can get coverage for a 100x100m office building. Using the Gigaset C470 IP is probably the cheapest way at the moment to get VoIP Handsets to a group of people. You end up at 60 Euro per Phone with no additional cabeling or switch port cost.
If you have to cover an larger area or need more Handsets you need something more enterprisy. The most important feature is probably "roaming" and "handover". When a handset leaves the radio coverage of a Basestation end enters the coverage of the next station the call must be transparently moved from one basestation to the other.
The Aastra-Detewe RFP 32 IP-DECT-Basestation, the Ascom IP-DECT System, the Polycom KIRK IP 600V3 SIP Wireless DECT Server Base and the NEC Philips AP200 address that market and all work with Asterisk. Polycom KIRK DECT systems can use multiple base stations (cells) and repeaters to achieve large coverage areas and high user density 1500 users+. The Polycom KIRK Server 300 targets the small office market, supporting up to 12 handsets and 6 repeaters.
Aastra and NEC Philips are more geared to the "professional solution provider" which means it is extremely hard to get documentation, firmware, license keys and the like. The Base stations are configured via DHCP options and need to load their firmware via TFTP at each reboot (only one time needed for NEC Philips). There is no documented API to remotely configure the devices, NEC Philips is configurable with dedicated (Windows) software.
The Ascom and Polycom KIRK devices are more suited for "the network guy" and documentation etc. are more readily available. They come with APIs for configuration. Note that the Ascom system claim to support 100.000 users in one single system. Polycom KIRK base units (600v2 & 300) include a web-based provisioning GUI, but can also support centralized provisioning.
It is noteworthy that the Aastra and Polycom KIRK systems can be used not only with the (expensive) DECT handsets from Aastra and Kirk but also with all DECT/GAP handsets. Siemens Gigaset Handsets (e.g. the Gigaset 67h, 55 Euro) are mostly made for the consumer market, are low price/adequate quality products and are very familiar to the users because most of the user have one at home. Be careful: all the features as "transfer" are not available with all DECT handsets! Only Polycom KIRK 4020 and 4040 are really industrial handsets and can survive in very hard environments.
See Also:
What is DECT?
- DECTweb Article - What is DECT?
- Techworld Article - DECT vs Wifi and Bluetooth
DECT - VOIP Products
- Aastra SIP-DECT, IP DECT access points and DECT handsets aastratelecom.com
- AVM Fritz!Box Fon WLAN 7270 with added DECT and CAT-iq (“Cordless Advanced Technology-internet and quality”)
- Ascom IP-DECT Base Stations and IP-DECT Gateways for combination of legacy and IP-DECT in the same system, http://www.ascom.com/en.
- Snom M3 a DECT SIP phone with color display. snom.com.
- Siemens Gigaset C450IP S675IP S685IP a DECT dual mode SIP/PSTN low cost unit. Connects to VoIP directly via Ethernet for PCless operation.
- Siemens Gigaset M34 USB Gateway to Skype - see: Skype Gateways
- Netvox V-208 Two VOIP port wireless DECT PABX/Gateway
- Press Release - Popular Telephony and Logicom announcing DECT-VOIP product
- Dosch & Amand - Com-On-Air PCI or PCMCIA card to turn a MS-Windows PC into a DECT-base station to SIP. List of resellers available on their homepage. Can Buy Here
- Polycom (Kirk) - SIP, Skinny and H323 capable DECT gateways. Products are sold as OEM by innovaphone and tiptel.
- www.broad-tel.com--DECT VoIP Gateway__allows making VoIP calls from DECT wireless handsets.
- NEC Philips AP200 - DECT access points for larger businesses (roaming between multiple base stations), SIP-capable.
- http://www.nec-ipdect.com More about NEC - great in combination with Asterisk. DECT/GAP roaming,...
How to integrate DECT with Asterisk.
For small scale applications you should consider the Siemens Gigaset C470IP. For about 60 Euro you get a handset and an VoIP enabled Basestation. You can add up to 5 additional handsets (e.g. the Gigaset 67h, 55 Euro). The Gigaset van work with 6 SIP accounds and an additional landline. Unfortunately it can only handle two simultaneus SIP calls. With additional repeaters (ca. 100 Euro reach) you probably can get coverage for a 100x100m office building. Using the Gigaset C470 IP is probably the cheapest way at the moment to get VoIP Handsets to a group of people. You end up at 60 Euro per Phone with no additional cabeling or switch port cost.
If you have to cover an larger area or need more Handsets you need something more enterprisy. The most important feature is probably "roaming" and "handover". When a handset leaves the radio coverage of a Basestation end enters the coverage of the next station the call must be transparently moved from one basestation to the other.
The Aastra-Detewe RFP 32 IP-DECT-Basestation, the Ascom IP-DECT System, the Polycom KIRK IP 600V3 SIP Wireless DECT Server Base and the NEC Philips AP200 address that market and all work with Asterisk. Polycom KIRK DECT systems can use multiple base stations (cells) and repeaters to achieve large coverage areas and high user density 1500 users+. The Polycom KIRK Server 300 targets the small office market, supporting up to 12 handsets and 6 repeaters.
Aastra and NEC Philips are more geared to the "professional solution provider" which means it is extremely hard to get documentation, firmware, license keys and the like. The Base stations are configured via DHCP options and need to load their firmware via TFTP at each reboot (only one time needed for NEC Philips). There is no documented API to remotely configure the devices, NEC Philips is configurable with dedicated (Windows) software.
The Ascom and Polycom KIRK devices are more suited for "the network guy" and documentation etc. are more readily available. They come with APIs for configuration. Note that the Ascom system claim to support 100.000 users in one single system. Polycom KIRK base units (600v2 & 300) include a web-based provisioning GUI, but can also support centralized provisioning.
It is noteworthy that the Aastra and Polycom KIRK systems can be used not only with the (expensive) DECT handsets from Aastra and Kirk but also with all DECT/GAP handsets. Siemens Gigaset Handsets (e.g. the Gigaset 67h, 55 Euro) are mostly made for the consumer market, are low price/adequate quality products and are very familiar to the users because most of the user have one at home. Be careful: all the features as "transfer" are not available with all DECT handsets! Only Polycom KIRK 4020 and 4040 are really industrial handsets and can survive in very hard environments.
News
- 2004-11-23 RTX Provides DECT Cordless Phones for Net-Based Calls BizReport Story
- 2005-07-07 - www.broad-tel.com announces a new hot product (DECT VoIP Gateway) and full product line including ATA, IP phone, Video phone, WiFi phone, fxs2fxo converter, FXO PCI card and more ......
- 25 jan 2006 - press release - AVM announces a DECT phone with integrated DSL and VoIP.
See Also:
- DECTweb - DECT news, product directory, general information
- DECT Forum - DECT Industry Association
- Enterprise DECT - german language overview of the subject and especially the Aastra Basestations.
Buy Here
- NEC Philips DECT/GAP base stations and phones:
- NEC Philips website NEC Philips partner locater
- Slovenia http://www.sekortel.eu Sekortel
- Croatia http://www.slsolucije.hr SL solucije
- Croatia http://www.sekortel.hr Sekortel
- Serbia Senter
- 8774e4VoIP.com Aastra and Polycom DECT Solutions
- OPCOM France official Digium french distributor and greatest Asterisk compliant manufacturers. Delivery to France and all of french speaking countries in Europe and Africa. Special discount for integrators/resellers, please, ask.
- Shark Distribution Kirk, Polycom, Siemens - Switzerland
- Belgium VoIPsolutions Shipping all of Europ
- www.voip-easy.com Website dedicated to this product
- VoiceIP Solutions Certified Polycom Dealer / Onsite Service in the Pacific NW (AK, WA, OR & ID)
Comments
333Phlips AP200 DECT
Philips ha announced their DECT/IP access point
http://content.nec-philips.com/hq/productrange/24?f=1623
Anyone has tried it with Asterisk ?
Cheers
333Phlips AP200 DECT
Philips ha announced their DECT/IP access point
http://content.nec-philips.com/hq/productrange/24?f=1623
Anyone has tried it with Asterisk ?
Cheers
333Re: Dosch and Amand links no longer available?
333Dosch and Amand links no longer available?
I have found a Dutch site with these products at http://www.telec.nl/dect/airplug/airplug.asp
Also http://www.google.nl/search?q=+PCI+%22com+on+air+%22&hl=nl&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&as_qdr=all&start=20&sa=N turns up a lot more possibilities.