Dual mode GSM/DECT handset

As 2nd generation mobile radio systems such as GSM and PCN are now becoming standard, people are already looking to the future as to what new systems are on the horizon. The future shows a gradual convergence towards an omnibus digital technology. Even today proposals are being made for a single technology, commonly known in Europe as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System), and trials are being undertaken to investigate the feasibility of such a system. Although it is very probable that third generation systems will become the future standard, this solution is still some time away. For example UMTS is not scheduled to start until after the beginning of the next century. What is being suggested as the next step is dual mode operability, which would be based on existing standards but at the same time offer an interim solution to third generation systems such as UMTS. One possible dual mode solution is the combination of GSM and DECT. This would offer the roaming capabilities of GSM, while allowing DECT to offer a localised PCN solution. To this end Scientific Generics is working towards the development of a dual mode GSM/DECT system. This paper describes how the two standards might be combined efficiently to produce a common RF subsystem for a dual mode handset