> It seems that there are some people who consider a DECT fixed part
> (basestation) as non-voice equipment. The background for this interpretation
> is that the communication between the portable part and the fixed part is in
> a digital format. The fixed part would then be TTE equipment having a
> digital (non-voice) input while having an output intended for connection to
> the PSTN network (just like a modem). So, if there is only a non-voice input
> how can it then be classified as voice equipment :)
Hang on a minute Pieter. The decision by certain Notified Bodies to approve DECT fixed parts based in compliance with CTR21 is based on a bit more than the above.
The scope of TBR21 specifies the technical characteristics (electrical and mechanical interface requirements and access control protocol) to be provided by a single terminal equipment which is:
- intended for pan-European approval; and
- capable of 2-wire access to an analogue PSTN line at the NTP; but
- excluding terminal equipment which is capable of supporting the voice telephony justified case as specified in Article 5(g) of Directive 98/13/EC.
The question of what equipment is actually capable of supporting the voice telephony justified case (point 3) can be answered by looking at CTR38 (or alternatively CTR8 in the case of ISDN).
The scope of TBR38 specifies the technical characteristics (electrical and acoustic requirements) under Article 5(g) of Directive 98/13/EC to be provided by a single, handset telephony, terminal equipment which is intended:
- for pan-European approval; and
- for connection by 2-wires to an analogue interface of a PSTN. This interface is characterised by a d.c. loop to indicate seizure and clearing, low frequency a.c ringing signals below the speech passband to indicate an incoming call and the transmission phase having an approximate bandwidth of 3 kHz at the NTP; and
- for supporting the voice telephony justified case service.
The application of TBR38 is not however mandatory for:
- a handset telephony function with speech transmission performance specially designed for the disabled(e.g. with amplification of received speech as an aid for the hard of hearing);
- a handset telephony function employing a radio link (e.g. cordless telephones);
- a handset telephony function with speech transmission performance specifically designed to cater for hostile environments;
- any handsfree or loudspeaking voice telephony function;
- a handset telephony function employing non-linear or time variant techniques for the processing of the signal.
It can therefore be deduced that the facilities covered by these five points do not fall under the voice telephony justified case and as such can be approved for connection to the PSTN using CTR21.
The second and fourth points are probably the most significant since they effectively enable all cordless telephones (including DECT) and loudspeaking telephones without corded handsets to be approved in the same way as any non-voice product such as a simple modem.
Additionally, the scope of CTR21 does not exclude products capable of supporting the DECT telephony justified case, or GSM telephony justified case, which are addressed in CTR10 and CTR20 (and previously CTR9).
Regards
------------------------------ Ben Wrigley Senior Approvals Specialist
KTL Saxon Way Priory Park West Hull HU13 9PB UK Phone: +44 (0)1482 801801 Fax: +44 (0)1482 801806 Mobile: +44 (0)802 280914 Web: http://www.ktl.com Email: mailto:[email protected]
