Cordless SIP phones offer the convenience of being able to step away from your desk. They are a good choice for people who prefer talking into a handset over using wireless headsets.
Cordless phones are also know as DECT phones. DECT stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology. The DECT technology allows a wireless connection between the handset and base station. The base station provides the connectivity to the SIP network and can handle multiple accounts and handsets (extra handsets need to be bought separately).
The talk range between handsets and the base station can be extended with a repeater or with an multi-cell configuration. The later requires a DECT manager station that additional base stations connect to. Repeaters and additional base stations can also circumvent thick walls and other obstructions to help with indoor reception issues.
When setting up cordless phones, in most cases you would want a separate phone number for each handset, but there is also an option to share numbers among several workers.
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| -- | W56P | W59R Ruggedized* |
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| Range indoor / outdoor | 165 / 985 feet | 165 / 985 feet |
| Max handset registrations | 5 | 100 system wide with W80 250 system wide with W90 |
| Simultaneous calls per base | 5 | 8 |
| Headset / Headphones | 3.5mm connection | Bluetooth |
| Talk time per charge | 30 hours | 28 hours / 18 hours with Bluetooth |
| Standby time per charge | 400 hours (when the backlight is disabled) | 360 hours / 200 hours with Bluetooth |
| Battery type / Charge time | Lithium 1460mAh / 3.5-4 hours** | Lithium 1460mAh / 3.5-4 hours** |
| Base Station | Included Also compatible with Yealink W60B, W70B, W80B, or W90 | Sold separately Compatible with Yealink W60B, W70B, W80B, or W90 |
| SIP accounts per base/system | 5 on included base station 8 if using with W60B 10 if using W70B 100 if using W80DM (multi-cell) 250 if using W90DM (multi-cell) | 8 if using with W60B 10 if using W70B 100 if using W80DM (multi-cell) 250 if using W90DM (multi-cell) |
| Additional handset model | W56H | Same model – W59R |
| Range extension | DECT Repeater RT30 165 feet indoors/ 985 feet outdoors Up to 6 repeaters per base station  | Yealink W80B/W90B*** 165 feet indoors/ 985 feet outdoors W80DM – up to 30 Base stations
W90DM – up to 60 Base stations |
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*The W59R phone is dust, water (3.3 feet for 30 minutes), and shock (fall from 8.2 feet) resistant.
** A quick charge feature provides 2 hours talk-time in ten minutes.
***The W80/W90 can be bought or configured as either a DECT manager or a base station. For range extension the system need to be set up in a multi-cell configuration with one W80DM or W90DM (DECT manager) supporting up to thirty W80B or sixty W90B base stations.
If you use the W59R in with W60 or W70 base stations you can use the RT30 repeater for range extension.