Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions

Apr 27, 2006 | Business & Financial Press

Munich, Germany – April 27, 2006 - A good ten years have passed since the highly successful DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) standard for cordless telephony was first launched. In 1996, there were approximately 15 million DECT-compliant devices in Europe, and 12 million of them in Germany alone provided users with a new freedom of movement during telephone conversations. Ultramodern semiconductors provide interference-free digital transmission of telephone calls for distances of up to 300 meters (over 300 yards) from the base station. According to estimates, there are currently over 220 million of these cordless telephones in use today, and there is no slow-down in demand in sight. The American market research company Instat predicts that, this year alone, 40 million new DECT customers will realize the benefits of cordless, which have been constantly improved and now offer advantages such as long standby times and lower cost. The integration of Internet services such as the transmission of news and music programs or alphanumeric access to data bases as well as the exchanging of text messages (SMS) in DECT devices will also help to ensure further demand.
 
There are, therefore, good reasons for the Munich-based chip manufacturer Infineon, which has already sold over 180 million chipsets in this segment, to continue to drive the enhancement of this technology forward. At the world's most important conference on DECT Internet solutions, which concluded today in France, the company presented its eigth generation of DECT phone chips, which make it possible to build devices that cost less than today’s digital cordless phones and feature new functions such as polyphonic ring tones and control of color displays. Simultaneously, Infineon announced a technological revolution: Before the end of this year, all the DECT-relevant functions that are currently spread out over three special chips are to be innovatively integrated into a single component. For the first time, such different tasks as voice processing, wireless transmission, and signal amplification would be accomplished using one tiny piece of silicon. This will enable telephone manufacturers to reduce the production costs for a DECT telephone by approximately 40 percent.
 
"Responding to the opportunity in worldwide market growth, especially in the USA and Asia, requires inexpensive solutions with top quality and a great variety of functions," said Michael Neuhaeuser, who is responsible for Infineon's business with chips for cordless telephones, emphasizing the significance of this development. "And Infineon is ideally positioned to reach these goals by concentrating all functions on a few square millimeters of silicon that we produce millions of times over."
 
It appears certain that cordless phones will continue their successful advance, and in this process they will be driven by innovations from Europe, since the semiconductors are developed in Munich and in Kista / Sweden, produced in Dresden.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for automotive, industrial and multimarket sectors, for applications in communication, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2005 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.76 billion with about 36,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

Information Number

INFCOM200604.057

Press Photos

  • Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions<br><br>Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions

    Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    STEP8_COSIC_DECT_Phone.jpg

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  • Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions<br><br>Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions

    Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    STEP8_COSIC_Chips.jpg

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  • Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions<br><br>Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    Cordless Telephony: European Standard Continues Successful Track Record Low-Cost DECT Telephones Soon to Feature Internet Functions

    Schnurlostelefonie: Europäischer Standard setzt Erfolgsgeschichte fort Preiswerte DECT-Telefone bald mit Internet-Funktionen
    STEP8_COSIC_CHIPS_DECT.jpg

    JPG | 1.3 mb | 2126 x 1535 px