From standard to proof of concept: Wirepas and Nordic Semiconductor demonstrate the world’s first non-cellular 5G connection

Massive IoT is becoming a reality with the non-cellular 5G Mesh. A test network acts as the product proof of concept demonstration. It visually shows data connection in the DECT-2020 network – the technology standard behind the 5G Mesh. The 5G Mesh demonstration was jointly presented in the ETSI TC DECT#94 plenary meeting by Wirepas and Nordic Semiconductor on June 29th at Tampere.  

With DECT-2020, it will be possible for anyone to deploy and connect devices in license-exempt, private 5G networks for the first time. This represents a massive opportunity for connecting billions of devices easily and reliably.  

 While the IoT market and connectivity issues have existed for quite some time, there hasn’t been a standardized solution. Previous solutions have not solved the problems cost-efficient and reliably on the required scale. For this reason, the prevalence of connected devices has been delayed. 

DECT-2020 NR is the first standard designed specifically to solve the IoT connectivity problem.  Wirepas hosted the ETSI TC DECT#94 meeting at the end of June in Tampere, Finland. It’s an open event to all ETSI members from industries developing DECT-2020 NR and DECT technology. The 5G Mesh demonstration network shown at the meeting is a significant step in turning the DECT-2020 standard into a product. 

• Based on our technical demo built on Nordic Semiconductor’s commercial hardware & DECT-2020 L1 modem software, and Wirepas Connectivity Suite software, we can confirm that specification is implementable, says Kristian Saether, Product Manager for cellular IoT and DECT NR+ in Nordic Semiconductor  

• We were at the first time able to integrate DECT-2020 radio by Nordic Semiconductor, and Wirepas developed a DECT-2020 connectivity suite and visually demonstrate data connection. This is, in essence, the equivalent of the first GSM call during the mobile phone development programs, says Jouni Mikkonen, SVP Product and R&D of Wirepas.   

A wireless connection in a network is the steppingstone for the final stages of product development. The DECT-2020 demonstration, which is the first running non-cellular 5G network in the world, received well-earned attention and interest among the participants.   

“Today we achieved a great milestone in the development of DECT-2020, with the first public product demonstration. The standard has been developed in a very short time. We have shown already to ITU-R the properties via simulations. Now we could prove that a real implementation is available and working properly. I expect that DECT-2020 is ready to support a big field of applications.” Dr. Guenter Kleindl, Chairman ETSI TC DECT