Great advice: Three reasons why DECT can help you solve common problems with mobile phone communication

21. December 2016 Published by Raphael Doerr

Businesses across the world increasingly rely on smartphones and mobile phone networks. As one of the greatest consumer electronic devices of the 20th century, they have revolutionized our lives in numerous ways from digital maps to watching video on the move. However, for making and receiving business critical telephone calls, the smartphone still has a number of problems that organizations still struggle with. A solution that many are turning to is DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), a technology offering unrivalled voice quality that celebrates its 25th anniversary and is still delivering a highly reliable and scalable solution for digital communication.

1: My smartphone is portable and always with me but why can’t I always guaranteed coverage at my site? With DECT means you can create your own wireless network and expand it as you need to ensure coverage!

One of the best features of smartphones is access to national and international mobile phone networks that keep you connected wherever you roam. However, for organizations with large campuses, or factories with thick walls and dense machinery, or even for sites that are on the edge of a mobile network coverage area; guaranteeing a strong signal is not always possible. The mobile phone network owner decides where coverage extends and if you are not covered then gaining reception can be difficult – especially inside certain types of structure. DECT uses its own set of frequencies and allows organizations to deploy their own mini-base stations which provide coverage for DECT handsets across an entire site, on any floor of multiple level buildings and even to outside locations. Each basestation has a range of – of up to 300 meters and can be linked together to cover a huge area. DECT phones act just like a normal telephone and can also use the features of a local telephone system and internet based telephony service with the ability to seamlessly make, receive and transfer calls along with common features such as voicemail, call hunt groups and conference calling. Where the mobile network stops, DECT continues!

2: My apps are fantastic but why is it that sometimes voice call quality drops? With DECT, you can always guarantee high quality digital voice calls because you control the network!

As the mobile phone network is controlled by the service provider, if there are atmospheric conditions or a site which has a lot of obstructions that impact signal strength, then call quality can suffer. In comparison, DECT basestations can be deployed in far greater numbers across any size of site to provide a much better level of signal coverage. As a DECT phone roams between these basestations, the phone automatically connects to the basestations with the best signal strength to ensure that no matter where you roam across your warehouse, factory or even golf course – the DECT phone is always able to make and receive calls with the best possible call quality.

3: My mobile phone provider gives me voicemails and lots of other features when I’m away from my desk but I can’t tie these features into the services offered by my deskphone? With DECT, you can combine mobility with desk phone features and even transfer calls to your mobile when you leave your site!

Although a few mobile phone services now offer the ability to connect to local host and third party cloud telephony services, the choice is limited and you are still dependent on signal coverage to the mobile phone network. With DECT, you can connect the handset to both local telephony and internet based services in almost any combination you like. You can even route calls to smartphones and other devices as you need, because essentially you control the network across the entire site. The features that you want to use are decided entirely by your choice of telephone system or provider and you can add and remove features as and when you need. Of course, once you leave the site you are not covered by your DECT network, but with a few simple settings –calls can be automatically routed onto a mobile network or passed to a colleague. The essential aspect is that you are in complete control of the call handling and not at the mercy of the mobile phone network. Best of all, you can have a single number that can ring either your DECT or smartphone depending on whether you are on or off-site to ensure that you never miss that vital call and always get the best possible call quality!