CT2¶

Warning: operating CT2 phones is forbidden in Germany. This page purely documents the history of these systems and does not encourage any actual usage within its jurisdiction. For other countries, the legal status varies and needs more research.

Cordless Telephony 2 (CT2) is a standard specified in I-ETS 300 131, an ETSI specification. It can be seen as a predecessor to DECT. Two versions of the specification exists, one from April 1992 and one from November 1994. The introduction of the '94 version states:

There are some mandatory requirements in the second edition which may not be met by equipment conforming to the first edition. Details of such amendmets ans transitional arrangements are recorded in annex E. These changes do not affect interworking.

CT2-based networks have been deployed under various names:

• The Netherlands: Greenpoint. As of March 2024, seems still legal to use without license: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0035791/2024-02-01, look for "862".
• UK: Ferranti Zonephone, article
• France: Bi-Bop
• Finland: Pointer
• Germany: Birdie (marketing name for both CT1 and CT2 networks, the latter was deployed in Munich and former in Munster)

More links:

• Wikipedia about CT2
• Comparison article from IEEE Communications Magazine