Interworking between Digital European Cordless Telecommunications and a distributed packet switch

The Digital European Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard specifies an air interface. DECT requires an external infrastructure to transfer information between wireless terminals, and to transfer information between a wireless terminal and a fixed network. The Public Switched Telephone Network, the GSM Cellular Network, Private Branch Exchanges and mobile data networks are all under investigation as DECT backbone networks.In this paper we look to the future and describe interworking between the DECT air interface and a wireless network infrastructure referred to as a Cellular Packet Switch. To achieve distributed network control, the Cellular Packet Switch uses an IEEE 802.6 Metropolitan Area Network to link base stations, databases and fixed networks. In this paper we specify details of DECT information transport on the Metropolitan Area Network. We also give examples of Network Layer message flows for location updating and handover. The messages for other key procedures including call origination and release appear in a more detailed technical report.This work was completed while the author was a visiting scholar from AT&T Bell Laboratories.