The thought of speaking on a cord phone at home, tethered to an end table or wall, seems like and antiquated and unnecessary inconvenience to most people today. Why bother with a cord phone when you can walk all around your house speaking into a cordless, wireless handset? They allow people a much greater range of freedom while on a call—to multitask or change locations throughout the conversation.

While wireless phones seem like a no-brainer in households today, it has taken the business world much longer to catch on. But finally, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT (News - Alert)) technology is leaving its nest and entering into the workplace, as DECT phones expand to support businesses transitioning to IP telephony for mobile communications. IP telephony and VoIP services are rapidly gaining favor in business around the world, as it offers high quality sound through a simple Internet connection. This can cut phone costs dramatically, particularly for businesses that place and receive many long distance and foreign calls.

Essentially, IP DECT handsets work using wireless DECT technology to connect to a base station, which is connected to the main IP network. With DECT handsets linked to a base station, users can make and receive calls while moving around, and even move between base stations in a workplace. Compared to other technologies, such as Wi-Fi phones that are connected through unprotected Internet connections, IP DECT phones are the smartest option for businesses. And, as Tom Ostrander recently pointed out in a blog for Channel Partners Online, “IP DECT phones outshine both cell phones and Wi-Fi calling in a critical area of mobile communications — battery life. Typical DECT talk times are a full eight hours with even greater standby times, meaning users can get a full work day (often much longer) on a single charge.”

But beyond secure connections and battery life, the most obvious benefit of DECT phones is still the mobility they offer onsite workers. The concept of workplace mobility has, in recent years, focused largely on work outside of the office, but there are many industries in which mobility within the workplace is just as useful—or even necessary, such as in manufacturing. These businesses can implement VoIP services to gain great features, such as conference and video calling, while also investing in cost effective DECT phones to stay connected through VoIP onsite. Workers then have the freedom to leave their desks without having to worry about missing a call.

While the technology is still catching on, many forward-thinking IP phone providers have already introduced DECT series phones onto the market, such as Yealink (News - Alert).