Why the DECT standard is an underestimated technology

Munich, March 26, 2013 – The Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard has existed since 1993. It is used by the millions, but has almost fallen into oblivion. Yet it has obvious advantages when it comes to security, efficiency and costs.

Technology has to be sexy and new. So a standard that has been around since 1993 has a tough time of things against the latest technologies like WLAN, WiFi or Bluetooth. The Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications standard or DECT may be familiar to a lot of us, but it is not associated with innovative technology. But that could not be further from the truth. Anyone who wants sexiness when it comes to security, efficiency and cost should take a close look at DECT.

Its strength is in its maturity
DECT was introduced in 1993 and continuously developed further since then. This 20-year process has given rise to a very robust, trouble-free and now also very low-cost technology. The cost advantages come from the standard’s very widespread use in telecommunications devices; moreover, there are no additional license fees for the frequency band reserved for DECT. The proprietary frequency band from 1,880 MHz to 1,900 MHz overlaps with hardly any other wireless standard and so can work with fewer problems, greater reliability and a better throughput.

Simple and secure
The many development stages have resulted in an extremely secure, yet very easy-to-use standard. The fact that DECT is extremely widespread makes the standard the undisputed transmission convention compared with new rival products such as ZigBee or Z-wave. DECT is also superior when it comes to standardization and user friendliness. As it is an easy-to-use plug & play technology, DECT products can be put into operation by anyone quickly and without any technical know-how.

It started with voice and ends with data
DECT was developed to enable cordless transmission of voice and data and was initially used for high-quality voice transport. Since then the standard’s quality and performance have been continuously enhanced and the transmission rate significantly increased. Although voice needs no more than 32 to 64 kbit/s, music and media data can now be sent at up to 550 kbit/s thanks to channel bundling. DECT’s latency is also far lower than WLAN or other technologies, which means that the delay between the picture and sound is lower with a home cinema surround system and the sound now matches the lip movements of the people in a film, for example. From a technological perspective, transmission rates of up to 6 mbit/s will be possible in almost real time, enabling many further application areas to be tapped.

For the sake of the environment: High-quality and power-saving
The continuous further development of the DECT standard has led to the environmentally-friendly and energy-saving enhancements Eco DECT, Eco DECT Plus and DECT ULE. The first two technologies reduce the transmitting power. The DECT ULE (Ultra Low Energy) standard also enables particularly low-power operation: for example, the energy of a button cell is sufficient to supply mobile, wireless devices with power over a long period of time. As a result of the unrestricted transmitting power in the frequency band and despite the low power requirements, ranges of 40 to 100 meters in buildings and up to 400 meters outdoors are possible – without the repeaters that WLAN applications or the rival standard ZigBee often require and that cause additional energy costs.

Also with firmware updating in future
In use of the DECT standard up to now, it has not been necessary to install updates. Yet with the new possible uses of the DECT standard and products like the Gigaset SL910 and future Android-based products on which more and more new applications can be installed, Gigaset will go over to integrating DECT in such a way that updates are possible and DECT thus becomes a more sustainable and versatile standard.

Solid DECT ULE technology as the foundation for the success of Gigaset elements
At IFA 2012, Gigaset premiered the product series Gigaset elements from the “Home Networks” Business Unit. The modular, sensor-based system for the networked home uses the above-mentioned advantages of DECT ULE technology and so combines one of Gigaset’s core competences with the modern, Internet-based subject of “connected living,” which Gigaset sees as a further development of the “smart home.”


Gigaset AG, Munich, is an internationally operating company in the area of communications technology. The Company is Europe's market leader in DECT telephones. The premium supplier ranks second worldwide with around 1,600 employees and a market presence in about 70 countries.

Gigaset AG is listed on the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse and thus is subject to the highest requirements for transparency. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 'GGS' (ISIN: DE0005156004).


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