Elaboration of the DCS1800 standard for PCN service

Personal communication networks are currently the subject of much activity, especially in the UK. Following the DTI´s `Phones on the Move´ initiative and the ensuing call for licence applications to operate PCNs, the three UK PCN operators are now turning concept into reality. Whatever the service concept is, there are major incentives for a common technical framework to be agreed and understood internationally by operators and manufacturers alike. This will enable handsets to roam between countries and will lead to economies of scale, vital for a cost conscious market. To this end, ETSI GSM has been working to produce a standard for European PCN with the first phase to be completed in January 1991. The new standard, DCS1800, is based on the GSM900 pan-European digital cellular standard. The paper describes the elaboration of DCS1800 and considers some of the factors that have determined the detailed specifications