23rd November 2004 - RTX, a leader in wireless product
development, announced an agreement to develop handsets
for cordless Internet telephony with Skype Technologies
S.A, the Global P2P Telephony Company™ that is
changing the telecommunications world by offering
consumers free, high-quality calls worldwide.
Easy-to-use handsets are a key driver in securing
a consumer mass market uptake of Voice over the Internet
(VoIP). By giving consumers convenient cordless handsets
that eliminate the need to sit in front of a PC to
use Internet telephony, the telephone will shorten
time-to-market and lower entry-barriers for a host
of manufacturers. This will accelerate the introduction
of a broad selection of handsets to consumers around
the world.
The handset allows the end user to decide whether
to make a free Skype call via the Internet or use
the analogue telephone line. As well as giving users
mobility away from the PC, the telephone also provides
a highly intuitive user interface and bridges the
gap between the switched telephone network and the
future world of VoIP.
The cordless aspect of the product is provided by
DECT – the well-established and familiar wire-free
technology used across the world for existing cordless
telephony applications. The telephone base station
itself is easily connected to the PC via a USB interface
and to the ordinary telephone line via the normal
telephone jack.
“Skype and RTX share the vision of harnessing
the power of the Internet to give consumers more flexible,
cost-effective, yet high-quality telephony. Internet
telephony is transforming the nature of the telecommunications
industry, and industry experts expect it to become
the de facto method for voice communications within
the near future. Our development and marketing agreement
with RTX is proof of our commitment to lead this development,”
says Niklas Zennström, CEO and Co-founder of
Skype.
“Until recently, only technophiles have benefited
from VoIP telephony. However, the technology is rapidly
maturing, driven by Skype and other innovative companies.
We see the greatest opportunity being the price-conscious
mass market, where ease-of-use is essential. This
is why we have developed a platform for low-cost cordless
telephony for both VoIP and standard PSTN, with the
added benefit of being able to use a cordless handset,
rather than a PC. The first product to be launched
is an Olympia branded Cordless DUALphone available
now in Scandinavia,” says Jorgen Elbaek, CEO
of RTX Telecom.
About RTX Telecom
RTX Telecom is a wireless product development company
with 200 engineering experts. The focus is on advanced
wireless communication standards that include GSM/GPRS,
DECT, Bluetooth, TD-SCDMA, 802.11a/b/g, VoIP and others.
RTX Telecom provides individually tailored turnkey
solutions where a customer's specification is turned
into a fully tested product, ready for the market
in the shortest possible time. The company is listed
on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange and the customer
list includes many of the world's leading manufacturers
of wireless communication devices.
