In essence, the CAT-iq 2.0 USB dongle brings wireless high-quality telephony to hosts – simple and easy. With the dongle RTX wanted to create a generic USB interface that made integration of the dongle a simple task on both new and existing host products, hence enabling these devices to take advantage of the features provided by DECT and CAT-iq. The result was a generic DECT/CAT-iq 2.0 dongle based on the SiTel SC14450 and LMX4180 chipsets.

The dongle is basically a DECT/CAT-iq base station with a USB interface instead of a PSTN interface and it can add wireless capabilities to a wide range of applications that can benefit from the broad CAT-iq 2.0 feature set. The CAT-iq technology supports new and exciting products for wireless home applications such as voice communication, infotainment and home control. The technology is able to access next generation net­works and provides intelligent stand-alone solutions for end-customers. Although the primary target appli­cations are VoIP-enabled Gateways, Wired IP phones, IP PBX’s for SMB applications and Set-top boxes the application area is much broader, and in general all devices with a USB interface and a need for a wireless interface can benefit from the dongle.

Adding a generic CAT-iq USB dongle to a device is beneficial since it moves the DECT/CAT-iq radio outside of the host, hence reducing interference issues and enhances the overall range. Furthermore, adding a dongle allows for upgrading legacy devices with a standard USB host interface, hence reducing deployment costs and technical risk while maintaining a high level of flexibility.  

The dongle is part of RTX’s CAT-iq platform portfolio and it also includes a Software Development Kit (SDK), which in essence is an easy-to-use package that includes all the tools needed for developing applications for the dongle. The SDK contains a set of ready-to-use C++ classes for controlling the dongle as well as demo applications for Linux and Windows platforms including source code for host integration. In addition, you also get a HTML based documentation package. The SDK is available for evaluation free of charge and the dongle is available both as reference design that can be licensed and as ODM delivery. You can either do the host integration through the SDK, or RTX can assist in the integration phase – either way the dongle can add considerable value since it is a flexible and easy solution for adding a wireless interface to your new or existing products. Get ahead of your competitors by taking advantage of the dongle and CAT-iq SDK today.