The ETSI Technical Committee DECT (TC DECT) has the overall responsibility over the DECT standard and technology.
The DECT committee meets every two-three months for its plenary (face-to-face) meetings. In addition to that, the TC has working groups or plenary e-meetings via tele-conferencing at least every month.
TC DECT has well established procedures for maintenance and evolution of the technology. A Change control mechanism allows the handling of maintenance requests received from any ETSI member on a regular basis. A Work Item creation system allows members to propose new evolution paths or the creation of new specifications. Approximately 200 Change requests and 500 Input papers are handled every year. The response to any maintenance request is usually less than two-three months.
TC DECT has a long term vision of the standard and considers that it fulfils a basic need of the information society.
Current TC DECT developing areas:
DECT. 6.0
DECT 6.0 is the name (created by DECT Forum) given to the version of the standard intended for operation in the United States market. DECT 6.0 is basically identical to DECT with a minor adaptation in the Physical Layer (different frequency and power levels) as required by the FCC. The development of DECT 6.0 is now completed.
The New Generation DECT™
New Generation DECT™ (NG-DECT) is the name given to the further development of the DECT standard performed since 2006 with primary target on VoIP applications. NG-DECT is implemented by the addition of new functions to the DECT base standard (keeping back-compatibility with all previous developments) and the creation of a dedicated set of Application Profiles defining new types of products.
DECT Forum has coined the term "CAT-iq™," as a commercial brand for NG-DECT products. From technical perspective both terms have identical meaning. CAT-iq™ also includes a certification program to ensure technology compliance with the NG-DECT standards, enforcing the compliance with the detailed testing standards developed by TC DECT.
New Generation DECT includes the following new features:
- Superior voice quality better than any existing technology (Wideband and super-wideband Speech)
- New codecs G.722, G.729.1 and MPEG-4.
- Improved audio models (including acoustic interface) jointly developed with the participation of audio experts.
- Complete set of signalling and procedures for VoIP (SIP and H.323) and mixed (base stations with dual PSTN and VoIP connectivity) scenarios supporting features such as multiple lines, multiple calls, call line and name identification, call transfer, conferencing, intrusion call, etc...
- New DECT headset devices (with DECT radio i/f).
- Support of Broadband Data and Audio Streaming
- Video telephony capability
- Streaming CD Quality Audio Content
- Home Monitoring, Door phone, Baby monitor, Mailbox
- Plug & Play functionality of all components
- Enhanced security
- Automatic device detection and configuration (easy pairing).
- Complete testing specifications.
New Generation DECT™ specifications started to appear in March 2007, with the publication of an Overview Report (TR 102 570). Other New Generation DECT™ documents focus on Wideband speech (TS 102 527-1 ), on IP Packet data (TS 102 527-2 ), on Extended Wideband speech services (TS 102 527-3 ) and on Light Data Services (TS 102 527-4 ). The next planned specification is the TS 102 527-5 (additional set of features for VoIP services) scheduled for January of 2011.
DECT Enhanced security
The current DECT authentication and ciphering algorithms, designed around 1990, and being state of the art at that time, have resisted 18 years without any known attack in practical terms. Due to the accumulated increase in computer power, TC DECT considers it is the time to face a general revision of the algorithms and key lengths in order to guarantee a high standard of protection. This task will be performed during the year 2010 and new strengthened algorithms will be included in the version of the DECT base standard scheduled for January 2011.
DECT Ultra Low Power
DECT Ultra Low Power (DULP) is a proposed new technology based on DECT, and intended for Machine to Machine communications such as Home and Industrial automation. The main characteristics of the technology are ultra low power consumption (much lower than IEEE 802.11) and wider coverage (much wider than IEEE 802.15). DECT ULP will be a technical topic in the TC DECT work programme during 2010.
Wireless Factory
TC DECT participates actively in the ETSI initiative Wireless Factory and is one of the selected candidate technologies for Industrial Automation and Industrial communication needs. Further work on the topic is expected during year 2010.
DECT Advanced
DECT Advanced is the name of the Long Term Evolution of the DECT standard. It is defined as a broadband 4G technology with a coverage range intermediate between IEEE 802.11 and 3GPP LTE. The basic technology proposal combines OFDMA with MIMO, subcarrier spacing intermediate between IEEE 802.11 and LTE, modulation up to 256 QAM, Time Division Duplex, optimized for high MIMO efficiency in pico-cellular environments, and channel selection procedures based on Cognitive Radio paradigms. The target data rate of DECT Advanced is 1 Gigabit/sec.
Compared with existing 4G technology proposals, DECT Advanced will have a wider coverage and wall-penetrating properties than IEEE 802.11 and its evolutions, as well as a more refined MAC design based on scheduling algorithm. Compared to the 4G proposals for cellular telephony (LTE and IEEE 802.16), DECT Advanced will have shorter coverage but it will provide 4 times more bit rate for a given FFT complexity. It will also include a completely different frequency selection strategy intended for uncoordinated use over unlicensed channels.
DECT Advanced is intended for both professional and public environment, such as building coverage, factories, ports, airports, railways and Wireless Local Loop (WLL). Future applications requiring high data rate and real time communications will definitely benefit from this very promising technology.
DECT Advanced is a technical topic in the TC DECT work programme.
Other Services
DECT™ registration for the industry
DECT™ Codes are assigned by ETSI for manufacturers, Installers and Operators providing for portable parts and fixed parts for DECT™.
ETSI keeps the following registrations on behalf of the DECT™ Industry.
- Equipment Manufacturer's Code (EMC)
- Equipment Installer's Code (EIC)
- Public Operator Code (POC)
- Public Operator Code TRIAL (POC TRIAL).
DECT™ is a registered trademark of ETSI in Europe for the benefit of ETSI members.