About CAT-iq
CAT-iq stands for Cordless Advanced Technology, Internet and Quality, and is the new global technology initiative from the DECT Forum, designed for IP-voice services in the next generation networks. CAT-iq is based on the regulatory framework of the mature and reliable DECT technology. It is fully backward compatible to DECT GAP and, as the new cordless phone standard, focuses on high quality Audio VoIP (wideband) as well as low bit-rate data applications as the next generation Cordless Phone standard.
CAT-iq Profile Overview:
The CAT-iq profiles are split between voice and data services, with CAT-iq 1.0 and CAT-iq 2.0 providing features to support key voice enhancements, and CAT-iq 3.0 and CAT-iq 4.0 providing features to support data.
Within the voice profiles, the revisions are sequential, starting with CAT-iq 1.0 which provides basic wideband voice, then CAT-iq 2.0, which supersedes and includes
CAT-iq 1.0 wideband voice service, providing additional voice related services. Similarly CAT-iq 2.1 will supersede and encompass CAT-iq 2.0. Should CAT-iq 2.2 or 2.3 profiles be created in the future the principle will be the same.
The data profiles can either be considered in isolation for data only devices or as a complimentary service to the voice enabled devices.
Each profile has a corresponding ETSI specification, the organization where the technical experts have realized the requirements as defined for each profile by the DECT Forum.
We expect that CAT-iq 2.0, due in the second half of 2010 will meet and even exceed those expectations. Most major European carriers are supporting its integration into their Home Gateways, making DECT the wireless technology of choice for voice in the home. Carrier intentions are reinforced by the DECT Forum’s CAT-iq 2.0 certification program, an initiative to ensure interoperability across different vendors and chipsets. Its reputation for voice quality, stability, reach, and excellent stand-by times mean that DECT is also a logical choice for other low bit rate applications complementing other wireless access technologies in this space.
CAT-iq: The Broadband Voice Technology
Since its introduction in the early days of the Internet, VoIP has become synonymous with cost reduction; resulting in the benefit of flat rate services, but often sacrificing service with poorer, less than carrier grade voice quality. The latter aspect has improved, but not until the arrival of CAT-iq 2.0 will users experience the real user added value of VoIP. CAT-iq 2.0 is the first cordless telephony standard that projects users into end-to-end broadband VoIP.
What’s so different to what I have today?
Broadband voice products have been in existence for a number of years now. Analog voice is digitized in a DECT phone and sent over the air interface to a base station, which is plugged into the FXS port of a Home Gateway. Here the signal gets packetized and sent through the IP network to its destination whereupon the signal gets converted back to analog at the FXS port. What’s different about CAT-iq 2.0 is that the voice path remains in the broadband network from end to end. Using what is known as long slot technology, a voice signal can now use the extra bandwidth over the air interface at its disposal to transmit voice packets double the size of those used in a typical PSTN network, making the way for wideband voice. Wideband voice as used in CAT-iq systems expands the spectrum at which we hear human speech in a telephone call from a range of 300 Hertz – 3400 Hertz for a narrowband call to 150 Hertz – 7000 Hertz for wideband. The quality is unmistakeable: a well implemented wideband call is like listening to FM after AM radio or watching HD after standard definition TV. Once you’ve experienced it, you won’t want to go back!
Interoperability:
CAT-iq 2.0 will allow carriers to introduce Gateways with integrated DECT base stations that will work with any certified CAT-iq 2.0 handset. This is a significant milestone, as it means feature richness can be guaranteed across different vendors irrespective of what silicon or Software protocol stack implementation is in the base station or handset, giving the carrier flexibility in sourcing from multiple different product vendors. For the first time, Carriers can realistically offer wideband voice services and achieve a critical mass of wideband phones in the market, allowing the technology to gain enough traction to change user’s habits. The work doesn’t stop with CAT-iq 2.0 though; the availability of interoperability for an extended feature set will be further enhanced through the CAT-iq 2.x specification iterations.
There’s more: CAT-iq 2.0 will bring more that just wideband voice. For carriers the ability to offer multiple lines to their customers is a must for creating loyalty and differentiating their product mix. CAT-iq can enable multiple handsets on a single base station. Features like “lists” which is a generic list access mechanism for the exchange of phone book entries as well as listing missed calls, calls made and CLIP are not new, the difference is the fact that CAT-iq 2.0 certification is based on the interoperability of base and handset, and the backward compatibility of CAT-iq to GAP. CAT-iq does not care what silicon vendor’s chip is on either side, meaning customers will no longer need to buy handset and base station pairs. This becomes more important as Home Gateways start to integrate DECT base stations. It represents one of the key goals of CAT-iq and will help to drive the competition between handset vendors to improve quality and feature richness. It also promises to open the door for more retail competition in typically carrier markets.
CAT-iq is commonly seen as a carrier driven technology (at least in the first instance). Indeed the Home Gateway Initiative (HGI), the forum of the operators, has been instrumental in working alongside the DECT Forum to ensure the CAT-iq specification meets the carrier requirements. With CAT-iq integrated into the Home Gateway, it is imperative that interoperability exists across different chip vendors. The DECT Forum’s CAT-iq 2.0 Certification program will ensure that this is the case with a specific focus on testing the over-the-air protocol, in addition to ensuring the devices will meet the RF and enhanced audio requirements as specified. Supplementary to the certification program is the vendor IOP events, which further enhance the testing of feature compatibility between devices from different vendors.
Raising the Bar
The market for Cordless Phones is around 150 Million units per year (handsets and base station sets). As DECT continues its crusade around the world, these numbers will continue to grow, most likely at the lower end of the PSTN market. At the higher end, DECT will face stiff competition from mobile phones, where a growing number of subscribers are terminating their PSTN lines and using only mobile phone services within the home. In order to counter this threat, it is imperative for DECT to migrate from a cost driven and generic service, to the broadband wireless voice technology capable of differentiation that complements GSM, WLAN and Bluetooth. Within the scope of the wireless spectrum available to DECT equipment vendors, there is much untapped potential in the marriage of DECT and broadband.
Learning from GSM: Potential Features for future 2.x profiles:
Fixed line SMS
SMS has already conquered the mobile world. A handheld phone without SMS is unthinkable in future. We have all developed certain behaviours with respect to SMS. Many use it for large parts of their daily communication, others only for important bites. Whatever the behaviour, it has become part of how we communicate. As mentioned before the mobile phone is the yardstick by which customers will gauge the value of a cordless phone. Fixed line SMS in the cordless phone will become standard.
Presence indication
Presence support goes hand in hand with IM and is a feature we are becoming more and more dependant on. Like SMS it will also become a way of staying connected and declaring our availability, making it easier to be contacted and making us more productive. Presence also makes it possible to forward ones availability to another phone or device.
Instant messaging support
Like SMS, instant messaging is becoming the norm rather than the exception in broadband devices. Of course there are other ways to practice instant messaging. The PC is the most common, but the Cordless Phone is a perfect complement to the PC when a PC is out of reach or just not appropriate.
If CAT-iq 2.0 was intended to optimise the voice feature sets of DECT phones by making them broadband capable and driving interoperability between different vendors, a successful implementation of CAT-iq 3.0 and CAT-iq 4.0 is critical to enable DECT cross the divide to be a credible vehicle for voice and/or data applications. This topic is fully examined in part 2 of this White Paper, which focuses on the data services.
Summary:
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg for what will be possible as CAT-iq starts to unfold and live up to its undoubted potential. Although there is still quite a way to go to cement this success, CAT-iq is now firmly positioned as a key broadband access technology. The Certification process for CAT-iq 2.0 will be a litmus test for future profiles. To ensure success, DECT’s big players must work together to chisel out the standards that will unleash new markets. Together they can counter the threat of other technologies entering this space. DECT needs to be aware of how the bar is being raised by mobile phones without trying to copy or emulate them. The fundamentals of DECT will continue to represent value to the current customer base and help to add new enthusiastic users. DECT and CAT-iq have a unique opportunity to continue cordless telephony’s conquest of huge segments of the world’s population, and introduce data services into homes complementing those offered by WLAN and Bluetooth. When reach, standby and talk time, cost and of course voice quality are paramount, CAT-iq is the technology of choice.
This Paper (Part 2) addresses the current specification and applications for CAT-iq 3.0 and considers the potential applications for CAT-iq 4.0.
CAT-iq Profile Overview:
The CAT-iq profiles are split between voice and data services, with CAT-iq 1.0 and CAT-iq 2.0 providing features to support key voice enhancements, and CAT-iq 3.0 and CAT-iq 4.0 providing features to support data.
Within the voice profiles, the revisions are sequential, starting with CAT-iq 1.0 which provides basic wideband voice, then CAT-iq 2.0, which supersedes and includes
CAT-iq 1.0 wideband voice service, providing additional voice related services. Similarly CAT-iq 2.1 will supersede and encompass CAT-iq 2.0. Should CAT-iq 2.2 or 2.3 profiles created in the future the principle will be the same.
The data profiles can either be considered in isolation for data only devices or as a complimentary service to the voice enabled devices.
If CAT-iq 2.0 was intended to optimise the voice feature sets of DECT phones by making them broadband capable and driving interoperability between different vendors, a successful implementation of CAT-iq 3.0 is critical to enable DECT cross the divide to be a credible vehicle for voice and/or data applications.
CAT-iq 3.0 is also termed “Internet Ready” by the DECT Forum and a taking a look at the features that CAT-iq 3.0 promises, the proposed standard gives us an idea of how this can start to pan out.
CAT-iq 3.0 – Salient Features:
SUOTA: Software Upgrade Over-the-Air is the most important feature in the 3.0 profile. It has a much wider implication than just Software update though. The pre-requisite for this is the so-called DECT data channel. The DECT data channel is created and reserved for Data transfer via a bandwidth of 51,2 kbp/s. In a world where bandwidth is typically measured in Mbps or indeed Gbps, it may appear difficult to understand where DECT/CAT-iq can easily find its niche. What makes DECT compelling is that it is a dedicated licensed frequency band that cannot be disturbed by other technologies (unless they are unlicensed), and one that sets the benchmark for range, power consumption and stability.
Why is SUOTA important in next generation DECT?
CAT-iq is commonly seen as a carrier driven technology (at least provisionally). With CAT-iq integrated into the Home Gateway, it is imperative that interoperability exists across different chip vendors. The DECT Forum’s CAT-iq 2.0 Certification program will ensure that this is the case.
As CAT-iq 2.0 handsets start to proliferate, carriers will be able to offer software and firmware upgrades over the air interface to customers while those devices are in the field, ensuring the installed base is backward compatible with the latest devices. This is in keeping with trends within the mobile phone space where users are offered upgrades on the go. This is not restricted to new features necessarily. New firmware updates will be possible to address software bugs, but most likely carriers will use the feature to offer new value added features to retain customer loyalty.
Some conceivable services:
Light Browsing: the implementation of a miniature browser does not set out to compete with a high end smart phone, yet has some distinct advantages and applications. Some of these applications will offer value to users and represent further revenue streams for carriers and the industry in general.
Localized Advertising: A type of yellow pages for your neighbourhood where local restaurants, plumbers or builders could advertise services. Carriers could also offer personalized local news or weather reports, or even a ticker indicating new emails received.
Indeed the first Android based Cordless Phones are due to arrive in the market in 2010. The nature of the smart phone market and the behaviours that users are adopting means the benchmark for high-end cordless phones is being raised accordingly. Audio quality, stability and reach are still highly valued by cordless phone users, but phone book, messaging and some light data features will become critical for the home phone to survive against its mobile pendant.
Ringtones: A huge market already exists in parts of the world and is driven by behaviours in the mobile phone market. Asian markets especially underscore this theory. This is a relatively lightweight data based feature and gives carriers another possible revenue stream.
Wallpaper and Gaming: also evidenced by the mobile phone market, the ability to add personalized wallpaper and simple gaming is another possible revenue stream for carriers.
The above and many other examples show how CAT-iq 3.0 can take DECT above a voice only wireless technology and carve out a unique niche for itself in a fiercely competitive market. The advent of Data based applications will also give way to new non-voice appliances operating in the same Wireless frequency band. Not only do carriers see the opportunities, but also equipment and system vendors alike are also keen to participate here. So we believe DECT is at a crossroads right now, consolidating its position as the most important cordless voice technology, winning new markets and users all over the globe, yet also entering a broadband market where wireless data services have already permeated a large customer base and set the standard for those to come.
CAT-iq 4.0: Taking DECT to the Next Level
While CAT-iq 3.0 will be crucial in bringing DECT from voice to voice plus much more,
CAT-iq 4.0 will be essential in consolidating this success and building upon it. CAT-iq 4.0 is termed “Intelligent Networking” by the DECT Forum. Here we are most likely to see CAT-iq break from voice and data services to data only services. It also implies that there will be more automatic recognition and synchronisation between CAT-iq devices. Much of the standard has yet to be written, but already the pressure is strong from the DECT community to introduce such products into the market. One of the principal reasons for this is the race for control of the home. This promises to be an exciting and lucrative market. For the DECT community it is imperative to leverage footprint and acceptability currently enjoyed by this technology to carve out a segment of this market for itself. There are many competing technologies, which will make this an interesting challenge, but DECT has the capability to win out here.
The salient features in CAT-iq 4.0 are the following:
MP3 Streaming
A standard MP3 recording requires 128kbps bandwidth to be streamed in real time. Some Internet radio players use 192kbps streams. Compared to WLAN, the available bandwidth for such a data application via DECT is limited. There are several alternatives however to get around this with none standardized so far. Using the G.722 codec to compress the MP3 stream to a bandwidth size capable of transport via the data channel is one option. Another possibility is to bundle the 6 duplex channels available, delivering symmetric data rates of up to 300kbps. Critically CAT-iq’s reach is undeniably better than other technologies. This could open up the market for streamed Internet radio over CAT-iq on a dedicated player or on a handset. Coupled with higher cost, most WLAN Internet radios have higher bandwidth requirements and poorer reach within the home, especially where concrete walls or floors exist. As an alternative to WLAN for further reach and mobility and the possibility of integrating the radio into the home phone, this is a realistic chance for DECT to gain traction in this market.
Telemedicine: Another valuable use of DECT/CAT-iq technology that helps to save lives and which possesses a large ready made market is Telemedicine. Indeed this market is already being addressed by DECT, but with the advent of the standardized Data Channel, this would open the door to new players, applications, techniques and trends. Currently there are several applications, but it is certainly not limited to these. Online Data Collection: a patient’s medical details can be relayed online to a remote Doctor or server.
Remote Monitoring: a patient or his particular illness (diabetes, blood pressure, etc.) can be monitored over time and appropriate measures taken when the patient’s values worsen, and lastly Interactive Telemedicine which is used to treat a patient whether physically present or remotely.
Home Control/Metering
Home Remote Control:
Most of us can relate to searching the living room to find a misplaced remote control. The number of remote devices around the home today can be simply ridiculous. Television, DVD, Hi Fi System, Lighting, Video Recorder, and Receiver – the list goes on. Some early adopters will have already turned to universal remotes, but they are often cost prohibitive and technically complex for the mass market. For the most part these devices are using a proprietary unlicensed wireless frequency spectrum to control their respective equipment.
This is subject to interference from microwaves, and other electrical devices. Using DECT for the same would solve two problems; one, a single device (handset) would replace all remotes (saving cost), and two, make use of a non-disturbing licensed wireless band. The same set could also be used to control the blinds, the garage door, the weather forecaster and various other devices in the home.
Metering via DECT/CAT-iq is a market with great potential. There are a number of products in existence today using different proprietary and in some cases unlicensed wireless frequency bands:
Automated Metering is basically monitoring electricity or gas consumption on an ongoing basis. There are several factors for the success of DECT in this space.
IP Connectivity: With climate change so high up on the political and our own personal agendas, metering can offer a valuable contribution to reduce electricity bills in the home. Even simple measures like changing to energy saving light bulbs are leading to vast savings in consumption and cost. Being able to monitor where a user consumes most electricity and when, will further reduce bills and reduce the carbon footprint each of us leave behind. With a DECT base station connected to an IP network, DECT devices are in an excellent position to play an important role in developing this market.
Cost: The base station has to communicate with client sensors all over the house so the product needs to be price competitive.
Range: The base needs to communicate with sensors on different floors and in parts of the house where other wireless technologies cannot reach.
Power consumption: The base station needs to poll the consumption regularly. The sensor should be battery driven to save cost. For example if a base station polls once every 15 minutes, it means the client should have a battery life of 2000 mA hours in order to compete with existing solutions. This is not yet standardized but definitely within the scope of DECT technology today where handsets already exist with excellent standby and talk times.
The above criteria make DECT the most competitive all rounder for this market. Unbeatable in many areas as well being licensed and ubiquitous.
Summary:
Part I of this White Paper concentrated on the undoubted potential of DECT and CAT-iq in its traditional voice centric market place. Realising this potential is already creating a lot of expectation and freeing up design resources developing products for this market. Moving along the time axis, it is no longer relevant to talk about DECT/CAT-iq as a possible networking technology beyond voice. The industry is already positioning itself to be a strong player here and recently has initiated the DECT Low Energy Working Group. With Zigbee, ISM, Bluetooth Low Energy, Z-Wave – all vying for pole position – DECT Forum will support its members to ensure that DECT/CAT-iq can become a major force in this market space. The integration of CAT-iq in to the Home Gateway has also triggered a wave of CAT-iq based voice and data devices. Applications like Internet Radio are already mass market. CAT-iq will be another complementary wireless transport technology underlying these applications. It will also change the way we look at our Cordless Phones and what we use them for. In this respect we also need to visualize DECT beyond the phone in Data only devices that make our lives easier, safer and more enjoyable. Here’s to an exciting future for DECT and CAT-iq!
