A cordless office phone lets staff take business calls while they walk the shop floor, check stock in the warehouse or move between clinic rooms. In Malaysia most businesses do this with DECT: a base station plugged into the network, and cordless handsets that ring on the company’s extensions. This guide explains how DECT works, how far it reaches, when you need more than one base, which current models Yealink, Fanvil, Poly and Grandstream offer, and how DECT compares with Wi-Fi phones and the mobile app.
It is written for owners and managers of shops, warehouses, clinics, restaurants and small factories. Desk phones are covered in our IP phone buyer’s guide, and the phone system behind them in our managed cloud PBX page.
How a DECT cordless system works
A DECT system has two parts:
- The base station. A small box on the wall or shelf, connected to your network by cable (often powered by PoE). It registers to the phone system with one SIP account per handset and talks to the handsets over DECT radio.
- The handsets. Cordless phones with a charging cradle. Each one can be its own extension, or several can ring together as a group.
DECT uses its own radio band, separate from Wi-Fi. That is why it was built for voice: your guests streaming video on the shop Wi-Fi do not affect calls, and handsets do not need to join your wireless network.
Most DECT bases also accept a few extra devices, such as repeaters to stretch coverage, rugged handsets for the warehouse, or a desk phone with a DECT dongle. Yealink’s T54W desk phone, for instance, can pair up to four DECT handsets through its DD10K dongle, which suits a small shop with one counter phone and a couple of cordless handsets.
Range: what to expect on a real site
Vendor range figures are measured in good conditions. For example, Fanvil quotes up to 50 metres indoors and 300 metres outdoors for its W710P, and Grandstream quotes up to 50 metres indoors and 350 to 400 metres outdoors for its DP752, depending on the handset.
On a real site, expect less:
- Concrete and brick walls in shoplots and terrace offices reduce coverage room by room.
- Metal racking and cold rooms in warehouses and restaurants block the signal.
- Floors. One base rarely covers a three-storey shophouse well.
The fix is a repeater (extends one base) or a multi-cell system (several bases working as one). Yealink’s W76P supports up to six repeaters, Grandstream has the DP760 repeater, and Poly has the Rove R8 repeater. Walk the site with a test handset before you decide.
Single-cell vs multi-cell
A single-cell system is one base, with or without repeaters. It covers a shop, a clinic floor or a small restaurant.
A multi-cell system links several bases on the network, and handsets roam from one base to the next during a call. It is the right choice for a large warehouse, a multi-floor clinic, a factory or a hotel. Two examples from the vendors:
- Yealink W90: a DECT manager (W90DM) with W90B bases, supporting up to 60 bases, 250 handsets and 250 simultaneous calls.
- Poly Rove B4: up to 254 bases per system, up to 30 handsets per base and up to 1,000 per system.
Multi-cell systems need planning: where each base goes, how they overlap, and PoE at each location. A site survey before installation is good practice whatever the brand.
Cordless office phone models from the four brands
Current DECT systems from the brands we supply, with figures as each vendor states them:
| Brand | System | Handsets per base | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yealink | W76P (W70B base + W56H handset) | Up to 10 | 10 SIP accounts, 20 simultaneous calls, up to 6 repeaters |
| Yealink | W90 multi-cell | Up to 250 per system | Up to 60 bases; works with W56H, W59R (rugged), W73H and other handsets |
| Fanvil | W710P (W710D base + W610D handset) | Up to 10 | 20 SIP accounts, 10 simultaneous calls, 2″ colour screen; Fanvil’s first DECT system, launched October 2024 |
| Poly (HP) | Rove B1 / B2 / B4 bases + Rove 20 / 30 / 40 handsets | B1 up to 10; B2 up to 20 (dual cell); B4 up to 30 per base | Rove 30 and 40 are IP65 and drop-proof to 2 m with push-to-talk; Rove 40 adds Bluetooth headset support and an emergency key |
| Grandstream | DP752 base + DP722 / DP730 handsets | Up to 5 | Push-to-talk; DP730 has a 2.4″ colour screen |
| Grandstream | DP755 base + DP725 / DP735 handsets | Up to 10 | Up to 20 SIP accounts per system; DP735 is IP67 |
Sources: Yealink W76P, Yealink W90, Fanvil W710P, Poly Rove, Grandstream DP series. Checked October 2026. For a brand-level comparison of desk phones, see Yealink vs Fanvil vs Poly vs Grandstream.
Which setup fits your business
Retail shop or showroom
One base and two to four handsets usually covers a single shoplot. Staff answer the store number from the floor instead of running to the counter. A desk phone with a DECT dongle at the cashier keeps it to one device.
Warehouse or factory
Choose rugged handsets (Yealink W59R, Poly Rove 30 or 40, Grandstream DP735) that survive drops and dust. Large sites need a multi-cell system; push-to-talk on Poly and Grandstream handsets helps teams call each other across the floor.
Clinic or dental practice
Front-desk staff stay on the desk phone; nurses or the practice manager carry a handset between rooms so calls from patients and labs are not missed. Our phone system for clinics guide covers the call flow.
Restaurant or café
A handset lets the manager take reservation calls anywhere in the dining room or kitchen. Keep a spare charged handset; kitchens are hard on phones.
DECT vs Wi-Fi phones vs the mobile app
| DECT cordless | Wi-Fi phone | Mobile app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network | Own radio band, separate from Wi-Fi | Your existing Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi or mobile data |
| Extra hardware | Base station, handsets | Handsets only | None (staff phone) |
| Call quality depends on | Base placement, repeaters | Wi-Fi coverage and load | Wi-Fi or 4G/5G signal |
| Best for | Shops, warehouses, clinics, restaurants | Sites with strong Wi-Fi everywhere | Staff who move between sites |
| Watch out for | Range through walls and racking | Busy guest Wi-Fi, dead spots | Personal phone battery and data |
You do not have to choose only one. On JomCloud the same extension can ring on a DECT handset, a desk phone, the softphone on a computer and the mobile app.
Checklist before you order cordless phones
- Count who needs a handset, and who can share a ring group instead.
- Walk the site and mark dead spots: back rooms, cold rooms, stairwells, upper floors.
- Check there is a network point (ideally PoE) where the base and any extra bases will sit.
- Decide if you need rugged handsets (dust, water, drops) or push-to-talk.
- Check headset needs: a 3.5 mm jack or Bluetooth on the handset.
- Plan charging: where cradles go, and a spare handset for busy shifts.
- Decide which calls ring the handsets: the main number, a department, or direct extensions only.
Cordless office phones on JomCloud
We supply DECT systems from Yealink, Fanvil, Poly and Grandstream, and they work on every package: cloud PBX, contact centre, dialer and JomConnect.
The system arrives ready to work. Each device fetches its settings from our provisioning server, so you plug in the base (network cable or PoE) and the handsets come up on their extensions. From our panel, our team assigns each device by its MAC address, reassigns a handset to another person or extension remotely, and sees when each device last checked in. Provisioning is not in the call path, so calls keep working even if provisioning is briefly unavailable. Our auto-provisioning guide explains how it works.
Already have a DECT system? Most standard SIP DECT bases work; tell us the model and we check it first. If you still run an old analogue cordless phone on a legacy PBX, see connecting a legacy PBX through a SIP gateway.