DCS1800
A digital cellular system operating in the 1800MHz band.
Another name for PCN or GSM1800 networks.
DECT
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication. Digital standard
for cordless phones. Using 120 channels over 10 frequencies,
these cordless phones offer speech quality which is vastly
superior to that offered by traditional (CT0) analogue cordless
phones.
Desktop
charger
Cradle for holding a phone upright while it is charging.
Digital
A method of decoding information for transmission. Information,
or in this case, a voice conversation is turned into a series
of digital bits - the 0s and 1s of computer binary language.
At the receiving end, the information is reconverted. One
of the main advantages of digital cellphones is that they
allow several cellphones in the same area to use the same
frequency simultaneously.
DTMF
Facility for sending multi-frequency tones across the network
from a phone. Each number, when pressed, transmits its own
individual sound. Necessary for accessing some network features
(such as voicemail) or for some information services.
DTX
Discontinuous transmission. Battery-saving feature on some
phones. When switched on, it conserves power by turning
off transmission during pauses in speech. However, it impairs
sound quality.
Dual-band
Phones that can switch between two different bands of frequencies.
All new phones in the UK are now dual-band, capable of switching
between GSM1800 and GSM900 frequencies. Useful for travellers
(particularly those on One 2 One and Orange), allowing roaming
on a greater number of networks across the world. Vodafone
and BT Cellnet also utilise dual-band capabilities in the
UK by using 1800MHz bandwidth to solve capacity problems
on their 900MHz networks. Phones that can switch between
GSM900 and GSM1900 operation, for use by travellers to America
(the Bosch World 718, Ericsson I888 and Ericsson T28 World),
are also now available.
Dual-mode
Phone that can operate using two different standards. Dual-mode
digital/analogue cellphones are currently available in the
USA. Dual-mode GSM/DECT handsets, that can switch between
cordless and cellphone communication, have been introduced
by BT Cellnet and Sagem.
