Тhere are a number of factors to take into account when determining how many wireless headsets
can be used in a given environment. The most critical are:
1. The number of concurrent headset users.
2. The building layout and design.
3. The wireless technology and product being used and whether it operates in a wideband or
narrowband mode.
4. The presence of other devices using the same technology or frequency of operation.

Bluetooth and DECT systems do operate in different frequency bands and neither will cause the other interference. Both technologies will therefore co-exist well within any site and deployment of either can be considered separately.

DECT Summary
A key advantage of DECT is that it operates in a protected frequency-band. This means that it is NOT affected by interference from other radio signals, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. In comparison to Bluetooth, DECT technology allows for the deployment of many more wireless systems within any single site, however, numerous inter-related factors do eventually limit the quantity of units that can be deployed.

Large Office Environment
Contact / Call Centre
Where users spend most of their time on calls:
70 units max
Administrative Offices
Where busy periods still result in <40% of users being on a call at any one time.
120 units max
Note
• There were successfully deployed in excess of 500 units in some very large sites. In
cases where large installations are desired, then a DECT site survey is required so specific
recommendations can be given that are unique to that site.

DECT Background
Some DECT products quote 120 channels. In fact, all DECT equipment has access to the same radio spectrum of 120 channels, but for a number of reasons deployments either much lower or higher than this figure occur. The following section provides some background to explain this:
1. Number of CONCURRENT users
A user on an active DECT call will occupy a larger part of the spectrum then a user not on a call.
An increasing amount of the DECT spectrum becomes available as the percentage of concurrent
users likely to occur at any one time reduces. This phenomenon allows for greater deployments in
areas with lower call utilisation. Unfortunately, there is still an upper limit as a DECT system when
not on an active call can still occupy a smaller part of the available spectrum.
2. The building layout and design
No office is alike. Some are open plan, some are split into sections. Some are broken up by
meetings rooms and walls, whilst others are spread across many floors. The layout and materials
used have a big impact on the extent to which wireless signals travel through a building. A concrete
wall for example reduces the path (or distance) of radio signals more than a window, whilst a big
central atrium will cause signals from one device to be seen by another much more effectively,
even when they exist on separate floors.
Such physical barriers limit the path of wireless signals, but don’t stop them. The density of
deployment will be impacted by the extent of these barriers between areas in a building.
3. The type of technology and product being used
The different technologies (DECT, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) follow different radio protocols as defined by
international radio standards and regulations. Some of these radio technologies (such as Bluetooth
and Wi-Fi) also share the same radio spectrum. These defined protocols limit the densities that can
be deployed.
In some cases, the same radio technology can also be implemented in a different manner whilst
still conforming to the relevant specifications. The Savi Office DECT based product can achieve a
greater density of deployment as it has a feature allowing it to adapt its radio power output to its
use case. Adaption of power in this manner can result in units on the same radio channel being
spaced closer to one another and hence achieve greater density. In contrast, wideband operation
if selected on Savi Office will reduce the density of units that can be deployed. This is due to
wideband audio requiring more channel space than standard telephony audio.
4. The presence of other devices using the same technology
In any site deployment, the presence of equipment in adjacent offices or buildings also has to
be considered. Companies may have presence on only one floor of a building, but it remains
important to identify the activities and presence of technology being used by other companies on
adjacent floors as the spectrum will be shared by all.

Bluetoot Summary
For Bluetooth wireless headset usage, a general guide is that there can typically be up to 8
concurrent users (active calls) in a 15m x 20m office. Each time the area doubles, the maximum
active calls can be multiplied by 1.5.
For example: 15m x 20m office = 8 active calls
Area doubles: 30m x 20m office = 12 active calls (= 8 x 1.5)
Area doubles again: 30m x 40m office = 18 active calls (= 12 x 1.5)
There can typically be many more users (as all headset users are unlikely to actually be on calls at
the same time).

Bluetoot Background
Bluetooth uses a RF spectrum covering 79 frequencies; this does not equate to having 79 users
in one area. In fact, a Bluetooth device will hop between all/most of these frequencies in a semi
random manner during any one call. This occurs many times a second using a technique called
Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH), which helps reduce interference from 802.11 Wi-Fi systems.

Bluetooth Power levels
Bluetooth devices can operate at different power class levels, class 1 for high power, high range
and class 2 for lower power, lower range. Products that have the capability to operate
at class 1, also have adaptive power control enabled that allows them to operate at class 2 levels
when users are close by their desks.

For more information ot test please contact us.

Model for portable media players, named Loud Enough, includes adjustable decibel hearing protection for kids.
With an obvious idea to arm parents in the care of adolescents, the company introduced a new model of Logitech headphones called Loud Enough (translated - "high enough"), specifically oriented to the child audience for much of that music players are almost vital necessity .

HD is a great acronym that describes an improvement in clarity, in intelligibility, in performance even. The television industry is doing a great job educating people that those two letters are really worth upgrading your old products to get the latest ones.
Now its the turn of telephony to get the same treatment – HD Voice is coming, for some of us its already here, but what does it mean both in terms of the technology and the benefits to us?
Lets start with some basics on the technology. What you hear when speaking with someone face to face is very different to what you hear over the phone. Speaking face to face gives you the full richness of someones voice, you hear every frequency as perfectly as they intended you to. Its easy to understand, especially when you add in complimentary body language.
Now lets place a telephone system between the two of you. The majority of nuances, the subtle intonations of the human voice, the tonal variations are lost, never to be found again. Is it any wonder anyone using the telephone intensively learns the phonetic alphabet very quickly (“no, it’s s for sugar – sailing, not f for foxtrot – failing that I’m planning this weekend”).
The full range of frequencies that a human voice covers stretches from 1 to 22,000Hz. By using standard telephony you cut this range down to 300 to 3400Hz.
A huge drop in the amount of information available. Yes you can generally make out what someone is saying, but the slightest bit of background noise, distraction or interference means you start to lose vital information because of the poor intelligibility.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been around for some time now, the main focus for this technology has been cost savings for enterprises. Companies are now turning to VoIP for an additional benefit – it enables telephone conversations in HD Voice. This is due to a technological advance that doubles the amount of frequencies available for a conversation compared to standard telephony – 150 to 6800Hz are now available.

The diagram below shows this expanded frequency range.

Narrowband - 300 Hz to 3.4 kH

Wideband - 150 Hz to 7 kHz

What this gives you is an improvement in intelligibility – you hear speech closer to how the person talking intended it to sound, you hear more ‘depth’ to their words.
With standard telephony, you are reliant on technology that was first standardised in the early 20th century. The aim then, was not how clear could they make the conversation, but simply how many conversations they could push down a single wire. Because of this, the human voice is squeezed, sometimes beyond recognition.
In every other aspect of our life, the technology we used has significantly moved on at an ever increasing pace. Imagine if televisions, cars, medicine all still used early 20th century standards? Telephone technology has given us more quantity, its about time it started giving us more quality. Why do we put up with it? We’re probably so grateful it works sometimes, that we just accept the poor quality as a price to pay.

What can you do to get HD Voice? Its not simple – but get yourself an end to end IP system that supports wideband audio. Critically, don’t forget the most important part – Headsets. These are often seen as a simple commodity, but are a vital link in ensuring the conversation is in HD voice end to end.

For more information regarding wideband headsets, test or integration please contact us.

The Importance of Intelligibility in Call Centres

 Why should voice quality matter in a call centre?  After all, aren’t the agents just trying to finish your call and get into the next one as quick as possible?  Well, no.  That’s what used to happen, but now things are more sophisticated.  Sure, all the simple interactions are done through IVR or on the web (or Twitter for those at the cutting edge!) but complex transactions need to be done through the phone.  People usually need to be guided through a lengthy interaction, and get the confidence from a human that they are doing the right thing.

 It’s for this reason that intelligibility matters A LOT in call centres. 

So what do I mean by intelligibility?  Simple, it’s the ability of the call centre agent to understand correctly what the end user is saying, and in return, the ability of the end user to understand what the call centre agent is saying.  So why should this be difficult?  Well, there are a number of trends within call centres and communication in general that contribute to poorer intelligibility.

 Deregulation of Telecommunications

The old model of a single national Postal, Telegraph and Telephone (PTT) service responsible for all voice communications with a country has been replaced with a generally privatised service with multiple networks.  The end result is that a call can go across multiple networks to reach its destination, and there is no single body responsible for managing end to end quality for calls.  Given that each of those networks can have different a set-up, its no wonder the quality of calls can be variable.

 Wide Increase in End User Devices

Customers have moved away from calling you on that reliable corded phone that they rented from the PTT.  Now they want to call you from their office phone, their mobile phone (and yes, whilst they’re standing in a busy street), their free PC based softphone (Skype or similar) or their cordless phone. Each of these devices has different levels of audio quality that present different challenges to the call centre agent.  From the office phone, the end-user may talk quietlty to ensure co-workers do not overhear them.  From the mobile, the end-user may shout, or be obscured in background noise.  The embedded microphone and speakers on many PCs will be poor quality giving rise to echo and interference on PC based softphones.  And that cordless phone?  Well they’re probably using it whilst cooking, when holding the kids. 

 Changes to Call Centre Working

Like most ‘jobs’, call centre work is moving away from a place where you work, to a role that you carry out.  This means the call centre agent can be located in an efficiently controlled headquarters, a remote office, or even at home.  This means, for an end user calling in, they may experience different level of background noise – very little in the headquarters, background chatter in the remote office, and through to radio, TV, or even street noise from a home agent.

 The end result of all the above points is varying volume levels, noise, and poor audio quality all contributing to a conversation that is difficult for both sides to understand.

 Now that we know why poor intelligibility can occur, why is it important?  The most compelling reason is customer trust.  A large percentage of your organisations contact with customers is through your call centre so getting that relationship right is critical.  If customers have to constantly repeat themselves because the agent can’t hear them, or if they can’t hear the agent over the background noise in the call centre they are likely to initially get frustrated at the delays, and then they will lose trust in your ability to deliver the right service or product – after all, if you can’t get the initial interaction right, then it doesn’t look good for an ongoing relationship.

 A second reason is your time as a call centre.  Start adding up all those times when your agents say “pardon?” or “Please can you repeat that?”.  Even if it ‘only’ averages out as one second per call per day, then think about how that adds up over the course of a year?  Think of what you could do by removing all those repetitions – reduce the number of agents and keep the same level of service?  How about keep the same number of agents and motivate them to up-sell or cross-sell with that additional time.   

 The final reason is your reputation as a call centre manager.  You are probably measured on statistics such as ‘First Call Resolution’ now, so if your agents aren’t able to hear basic details from end-users, such as postcode, street number or email address then these aren’t likely to be entered in your system correctly meaning that deliveries will go to the wrong address, services won’t get enabled etc.  All this leads to customers calling you back, or you calling them back to fix the problem – not good for your first call resolution statistics!

 So what can you do about it?  How do you go about increasing intelligibility in your call centre?  Let’s start with your headsets.  I’ll split headsets into two categories – voice tube and noise cancelling.  If you have the voice tube models, there are a couple of simple steps you can take to improve intelligibility – first, make sure the voice tube is there, second make sure its pointing to the agents mouth, and finally make sure its not blocked.  If you are using noise cancelling headsets, then the key thing s to make sure the microphone is close to the agent’s mouth.  These simple steps will make sure that your agents voice is clearly heard above the background noise. 

 Next step is to review the capabilities of an audio processor.  These devices serve multiple functions, but their main benefit is to improve audio quality.  They do this through three key functions.  One, maintain a constant volume level in the agents headset.  With all those networks and end-user devices, it’s no wonder that calls into your call centre come in at so many different volume levels.  Your agents probably spend a lot of time turning up the phone for one call and then down for the next.   With an audio processor, they just choose the level they want to hear at, and the audio processor does the rest – keeping a constant volume in their headset.  This has the great benefit of making sure that the first part of any call is always at the right level – the agent doesn’t miss any information due to the customer being too quiet or too loud.  This will provide you

 Two, change the frequency response to add more high frequency emphasis.  In traditional telephony, the further the phone from the switch, the greater the loss of high frequency signals, mobile phones and cordless phones also deteriorate high frequency signals. High frequency loss limits intelligibility, especially with fricatives (Fricatives are consonants in which most of the speech energy is at the higher frequencies. There are hard fricatives (plosives), e.g,. the sounds of T, P, B, and soft fricatives, e.g., the sounds of S, F, Z, V), and makes the audio sound muffled. The agent listening is prone to repetitions and data input errors, decreasing customer satisfaction and aggravating the agent. A good headset and audio processor will have a frequency response curve that compensates for the losses by boosting the signal.

 Three, reduce in background noise.  The final function of the audio processor is to act as an intelligent switch.  If the call centre agent is not speaking, the audio processor turns off all communication ‘out’ to the phone.  This lowers the noise level heard by the end user considerably ensuring both improved audio quality and increased privacy (the end user can not hear other conversations in the call centre).  This feature also works the other way – if the end-user is not speaking, the audio processor drops all the communications to the headset lowering the noise level heard by the call centre agent and reducing fatigue. If either side starts talking again, the audio processor switches on instantly and resumes normal operation.

When all of the features of an audio processor come together, the net effect is an improvement in audio quality than enables you to drive a significant reduction in call times due to reduction of repetitions and simple miss-heard mistakes.  This will also give you an improvement in customer service through improved trust and confidence that customers will have in your agents.

 For more information and to arrange a trial of an headset or audio processor to see what it can do for you, please contact us.