CAT-iq - Key Voice and Networking Technology in Home Gateways

DECT Forum Announces Opening of CAT-iq 2.0 Certification Program

BERNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The DECT Forum, the international association of the wireless home and enterprise communication industry, is pleased to announce the opening of the CAT-iq 2.0 Certification Program. With the Certification Program in place CAT-iq is a key voice and networking technology in home gateways.

“CAT-iq enables carriers to offer new value add services, create more loyalty with their customers and generate new revenue streams”

2011 promises to be an exciting year in the DECT industry. The first official CAT-iq carrier gateways and handsets will hit the shelves in the early part of the year. CAT-iq – the next generation of DECT – integrates the base station into the home gateway, giving it native IP connectivity.

"CAT-iq enables carriers to offer new value add services, create more loyalty with their customers and generate new revenue streams", says Daniel Hartnett, Chairman of the CAT-iq Working Group within the DECT Forum. "The Certification Program establishes CAT-iq as one of the key networking technologies in the home gateway and benefits from the real-life interoperability testing which has been established in the IOP test events held prior to its opening. The program tests devices on protocol, audio and RF (radio frequency) level. All testers have been validated with multiple product implementations."

CAT-iq 2.0 (ETSI TS 102-527-3 v1.3.1) enables customers to make end to end VoIP calls with all the extras that come with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) telephony: wideband voice quality, multiple lines and synchronized phone books. Certified CAT-iq 2.0 handsets from different system vendors can be used on the same certified base station. They are interoperable with other CAT-iq handsets and gateways as well as being backward compatible to DECT GAP products. CAT-iq handset will be initially available through operators services, later CAT-iq devices will be also be available through the retail channel.

System vendors who are full members of the DECT Forum can certify CAT-iq 2.0 equipment at one of two qualified certification labs: Cetecom (Germany) and Nemko (Norway). For more information about the CAT-iq 2.0 Certification Program and the complete documentation (“CAT-iq Certification Handbook”) please visit the DECT Forum websites at www.dect.org and www.cat-iq.org.