Older wireless tech could rival Bluetooth

The ETSI standards group is working to increase Dect's 2Mbit/s bandwidth to 20Mbit/s, above the 11Mbit/s of 802.11b and 721kbit/s of Bluetooth. This, combined with a much longer range, a clearer radio frequency spectrum and low-cost components, could make broadband Dect a powerful, reliable and low-cost technology for local and wide area wireless networks.

Bill Pechey of consultancy firm Computancy said Dect is superior to 802.11b and Bluetooth in many respects, but its success will depend on hardware manufacturers adopting it. "If it were just down to standards it would be a one-horse race. Dect is a complete solution that does everything that 802.11b and Bluetooth do," he said.

It costs around $30 to put Bluetooth or 802.11b chips into WLAN equipment; equivalent Dect components cost $15. Dect also uses less power than 802.11b equipment and has better power management than Bluetooth.

But 802.11b has a head start in WLANs. Michael Wall of analyst firm Frost & Sullivan said, "802.11b has everything in place that Dect doesn't, namely a significant installed base in the US and Europe."