DECT
(Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications)
Examples of digital wireless systems
(all originally specified by ETSI)
GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) is a cellular mobile system
• cellular concept
• high mobility (international roaming)
TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) is an example of a Professional/Privat Mobile
Radio (PMR) system
• limited access (mainly for professional usage)
• limited mobility (but other advanced features)
DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) is a cordless system
• low mobility (only within “isolated islands”)
Introduction
• European standard for digital cordless telephony & data transmission
• Picocelluar infrastructure, low power, low interference, high capacity
• Easy to deploy – no need for frequency planning
• Provides cordless access to various fixed or mobile networks via gateways
History
• Early 1980s saw introduction of the first analog cordless telephone systems
CT0/CT1 (mainly Sweden, UK)
• Soon after, an inevitable shift to digital transmission followed. CT2 „coexistence“
standard published in 1987 in UK
• Sweden pushing it„s TDMA/TDD in contrast to UK„s FDMA/TDD
• 1988 – DECT development initiated by ETSI based on TDMA/TDD/MC
principles
• 1992 – DECT is approved standard ETS300-175
Specifications
• Modulation scheme: GMSK
• Access method: TDMA/TDD/MC
• Frequency band: 1880-1900 MHz
• 10 carriers with 1728kHz span
• 24 timeslots per carrier (12 duplex)
• total of 1152 Kbps per carrier
• maximum/mean Tx power: 250/10 mW
• 32 Kbps ADPCM G.726 speech encoding
Overview
• DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone) standardized by ETSI (ETS 300.175-x) for
cordless telephones standard describes air interface between base-station and mobile
phone
• DECT has been renamed for international marketing reasons into "Digital Enhanced
Cordless Telecommunication"
❑ Characteristics
– frequency: 1880-1900 MHz
– channels: 120 full duplex
– duplex mechanism: TDD (Time Division Duplex) with 10 ms frame length
– multplexing scheme: FDMA with 10 carrier frequencies, TDMA with 2x 12 slots
– modulation: digital, Gaussian Minimum Shift Key (GMSK)
– power: 10 mW average (max. 250 mW)
– range: aprox. 50 m in buildings, 300 m open space
System architecture
D4 D3
VDB
D2
PA PT
FT
local HDB
network
PA PT D1
global
FT network
local
network
PA - Portable Application
PT - Portable radio Transmission
FT - Fixed radio Transmission
HDB - Home Data Base
VDB - Visitor Data Base
Reference model
C-Plane U-Plane
signaling, application
interworking processes
network ❑ close to the OSI reference model
OSI layer 3
management
layer ❑ management plane over all layers
❑ several services in C(ontrol)- and U(user)- plane
data link data link
control control
OSI layer 2
medium access control
physical layer OSI layer 1
DECT layers
❑ Physical layer
❑ modulation/demodulation
❑ generation of the physical channel structure with a guaranteed throughput
❑ controlling of radio transmission
• channel assignment on request of the MAC layer
• detection of incoming signals
• sender/receiver synchronization
• collecting status information for the management plane
❑ MAC layer
❑ maintaining basic services, activating/deactivating physical channels
❑ multiplexing of logical channels
• e.g., C: signaling, I: user data, P: paging, Q: broadcast
❑ segmentation/reassembly
❑ error control/error correction
DECT Architecture
PSTN
exchange
BS
DECT
Radio terminal
switch
BS
PBX
Privat branch BS
exchange
Four application examples of DECT
• WLL (Wireless Local Loop) connection, instead of wired access lines for
connecting users to the PSTN/ISDN
• Cordless system (residential use), only one base station => only
intracellular handover Increased
mobility
• PABX wireless extension (business use, e.g. HUT), several base stations
=> intracell and intercell handover
• CTM (Cordless Terminal Mobility), wide area mobility
WLL (Wireless Local Loop)
Radio switch
Local
exchange
Up to 5 km possible
(utilizing directional antennas, etc.)
Cordless system
FP
PP
PP
Local
FP = Fixed Part
exchange
PP = Portable Part
Only one base station (FP), inter-PP traffic possible
PABX wireless extension
Radio
switch
PABX intercell
handover
PSTN
exchange
Intercell handover between base stations is possible
Cordless Terminal Mobility (CTM)
=> Portability over a wider area
=> Public service
Examples:
Same DECT terminal can be used at home and in the office
DECT terminal can be used at several locations in a city
However: no advanced mobility management like in GSM
DECT is a TDD FDMA/TDMA system
Like GSM, DECT is a FDMA/TDMA system. Unlike GSM, however, DECT is based on TDD. The
multiple access structure uses 10 x 12 = 120 bi-directional channels. Each channel can carry
32 kbits/s.
1880 ... 1900 MHz
24 time slots / frame
10 frequencies (FDMA) (TDMA)
time slot 7 in downlink time slot 21 in uplink
Continuous Dynamic - Channel Selection
• DECT portable parts continuously measure RSSI for all carrier and timeslot
combinations and maintain an updated list in memory
• When setting up a call, the frequency/timeslot with the lowest measured RSSI is
automatically selected
TDD <=> reciprocal radio channel
• FDD system (e.g. GSM): Signal fading due to multipath propagation is different in uplink
and downlink.
closed-loop power
control needed
TDD system (e.g. DECT): Multipath fading is the same in uplink and downlink.
open-loop power
control is sufficient
Dynamic channel selection and allocation
• All idle channels are scanned at regular intervals (30 s).
• An RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) list is generated.
• When a new channel is needed, the DECT terminal (PP) or base station (FP)
selects an idle channel with minimum interference for this purpose, utilizing the
RSSI list.
• In this way, the interference level in the DECT network is kept as low as
possible.
Dynamic channel selection and allocation
• All idle channels are scanned at regular intervals (30 s).
• An RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) list is generated.
• When a new channel is needed, the DECT terminal (PP) or base station (FP)
selects an idle channel with minimum interference for this purpose, utilizing the
RSSI list.
• In this way, the interference level in the DECT network is kept as low as
possible.
Mobile-controlled handover
MCHO Handover is always initiated by the terminal
Downlink interference: Intracell handover to a better channel at another frequency
Uplink interference: Base station (FP) tells terminal to perform Intracell handover
Better quality connection to another base station => Intercell handover
Handover
• Support for seamless intracell or intercell handover as a means to escape from
interfered channel and to support endpoint mobility
• Handover managed by the portable part based on the continuous RSSI
measurement of available channels
Intracell handover
chan 1 chan 1
chan 1
chan 2
chan 2
Interference on channel 1 causes an intracell
(inter-frequency) handover to channel 2
Intercell handover
chan 1
chan 1 chan 2
chan 2
GAP (Generic Access Profile)
Minimum mandatory requirements (October 1997) allow a 3.1 kHz teleservice
connection to be established, maintained and released between FP and PP with the
appropriate access rights, irrespective of whether the FP provides residential,
business or public access services.
GIP – DECT/GSM Interworking Profile other
IIP – DECT/ISDN Interworking Profile profiles
RAP – Radio Local Loop Access Profile
CAP – CTM Access Profile
DSP => DPRS = DECT Packet Radio Service (new!)
see: www.handytel.com/technology/dect01.htm
Security
• Subscription: registering the portable to the network
• Authentication: verifying portable's key
• Ciphering: Encryption of audio data by per-call random key.
Application Profiles
• GAP (Generic Access Profile): Basic telephony service, minimum set of
mandatory features, insures mutual compatibility of different manufacturer„s
equipment
• GIP (DECT/GSM Interworking Profile): Allows DECT portables to access
GSM network – DECT base station is directly connected to GSM MSC.
• IIP (ISDN Interworking Profile): DECT-based wireless bridge for ISDN S0
interface. Effective radio channel utilization.
• RAP (Radio Local Loop Access Profile): An alternative to laying cables on
Last Mile. Cost efficient way to spread POTS in developing countries.
Advantages/Disadvanatges
+ No frequency planning needed
+ Low transmitted power, low interference
+ Easy to use, hard to eavesdrop (ciphering)
+ Cordless access to other services (VoIP etc.)
+ Speech quality comparable to ISDN
- Small area coverage
- High infrastructure cost
- Need to carry 2 phones (GSM + DECT)
- Low bandwidth for data (overtaken by 802.11)
Conclusion
• The leading cordless telephony standard nowadays
• Encrypted for high security
• High quality speech
• Data transfer is possible
• Interference avoidance
• Being obsoleted by GSM boom
