Home phones – Cordless or Corded?

When it comes to choosing a land line or fixed line phone – that is, a phone which requires a physical connection, via copper wire or fibre optic cable – one of the main determining factors is whether you need a corded, or a cordless, phone.

The main distinguishing features of the two types of phone, of course, are that corded phones feature a handset that is physically connected to a base by a cord, and require a separate telephone extension socket, per handset, whereas cordless phones are not physically connected to anything, and additional handsets can be added by plugging them into a power socket, without the need for extra phone sockets.

Corded vs Cordless Phones

The traditional corded phone has been a good servant over the years, and can typically be mounted on a wall, or placed on a desk, or other surface, in a kitchen, bedroom or home office. The main disadvantages of this type of phone are that it requires a telephone extension socket – telephone extension leads can help, to some extent, but are still far from ideal – and the user is tied to the location of phone when making or receiving calls. This can, however, also be a slight advantage, insofar as you always know where the phone is, and never need to search for it, beneath piles of paperwork, or down the back of the sofa, for example. In addition, corded phones do not rely on batteries – or, indeed, any power supply at all – and so offer the peace of mind that they are always available, even in the event of mains power failure.

The base station of a cordless phone system, on the other hand, requires mains power and a telephone socket, but additional handsets only require a mains power socket – usually within 6′, or so, for the sake of convenience – for recharging. Cordless phone handsets operate on integral batteries, which typically last for between 4 and 8 hours on a single charge and allow the user to roam freely about his, or her, home or garden whilst using the phone. The range of cordless phones is typically up to 150′ approximately indoors and anything up to 1000′ outdoors.

Cordless phone handsets work by transmitting and receiving RF (Radio Frequency) signals to and from a base station, and the quality of reception and the range of the phone depend upon the number of cycles per second, or frequency, of the transmissions. Modern cordless phones typically operate in the 900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequency bands, with the latest DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication) phones operating in the 1.9GHz band. The 900MHz band is crowded with transmissions from electronic devices, such as baby monitors and microwave ovens – and, of course, cordless phones – and has been largely discarded by cordless phone manufacturers. The 2.4GHz frequency band, too, is subject to interference from “WiFi” wireless networking devices, so best results are achieved in the dedicated 5.8GHz and 1.9GHz, DECT, frequency bands.

More Reviews:

• Buying Guide for Corded and Cordless Phones
• Cordless Phones or Corded Phones
• Cordless Phones Buying Guide
• Corded Headsets
• Wireless Headsets For Use In The Home