Digital Wireless Standards (Cordless)

Japan (PHS)
Personal Handyphone System is the Japanese version of the U.S.’s PCS (Personal Communications Services) with two key differences. It’s not as powerful as PCS. You can’t use a PHS phone in a rapidly moving vehicle, since there is no cell-handoff (i.e. it won’t move you from one cell to another) and thus, if you move outside your cell with PHS, you lose connection. PHS is a perfect mobile phone for pedestrians in high density cities like Tokyo, as long as they don’t move around a lot during the course of a call.

US (PACS)
Personal Communications Access System is a cellular system providing limited, regional mobility in a given area. It provides mobility between that of a cordless phone and a full-fledged cellular system. Originally developed by Bell Labs in the early 1980’s, PACS is a comprehensive framework for the deployment of PCS and applies to both licensed and unlicensed applications. Now it is approved by the TIA and Exchange Carriers Standards Associations. Today’s currently implemented versions of PCS are “up-banded” versions of the 900 MHz AMPS and GSM cellular standards.

Europe (DECT)
Digital European Cordless Telecommunication is the pan-European wireless standard based on Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) used for limited-range wireless services. Based on advanced TDMA technology, and used primarily for wireless PBX systems, telepoint and residential cordless telephony today, used for DECT include paging and cordless LANs. DECT frequency is 1800-1900 MHz. Stop press (the old meaning for DECT) was “Digital European Cordless Telephone” but since the DECT standard also has spread to China and South America, the correct definition is now “Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephones”