When there are roughly 50 or more DECT (1.9 MHz) wireless office headsets deployed in a tight work area, there may be a point of saturation where the ability to roam is shortened. Wireless headsets operating in the DECT bandwidth include Plantronics Savi W700, CS500 series and legacy CS55.
Signs of Density Overload
Density overload is when instead of maybe the 125 feet you were able to wander from the charging base, might be shortened to 15 feet or less simply because of the number of wireless headsets on a call at once. It all depends on a number of factors including (but not limited to) total number of units, mix of DECT 1.9 GHz and 900 MHz frequencies, how many people are on a call at once, distance apart, other wireless devices in the area, Wi-Fi and of course the unique properties of your workspace.
Aside from reduced range, characteristics of density overload include audio pops, cutting in and out, crackling, garbled sound or a soft hold (call stays connected but no sound is heard). This kind of thing wreaks havoc to productivity and morale.
XD Series Wireless Headsets for High Density Work Environments
XD wireless headsets were designed specifically to alleviate this high density interference. As you may have guessed, XD stands for extra density. Plantronics CS500-XD series wireless headsets operate in the 902-928 MHz radio band. The voice transition method used is digitization, and XD series play well along side of DECT wireless headsets.
Mix XD with DECT for Maximum Density
If your team is experiencing any signs of density overload, perhaps your work area has too many DECT wireless headsets. Headset performance may be bumping up against density saturation. If you suspect any signs of density issues, please give BTP a call. We can help calculate how many XD headsets you may need. This doesn™t mean you™ll be removing the all the DECT headsets. Most often it is only a few that need to be re-deployed, and sometimes none at all.
