First non-cellular 5G standard for IIoT announced

Ideal for use cases requiring reliability A new non-cellular radio technology aimed at meeting the demands of Internet of Things (IoT) applications for industrial automation, measurement and logistics will be presented in April during the traditional Hannover Messe trade fair, held for decades in Germany. DECT NR+ was recently recognised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the world’s first non-cellular 5G technology standard and is set to revolutionise the Industrial IoT (IIoT) landscape, making private 5G solutions more robust and economically accessible.

Tailor-made for use cases that demand high levels of reliability and ultra-low latency, NR+ boasts an end-to-end packet delivery rate of over 99.99 per cent and a latency of one millisecond for interactions between devices over the radio interface. As well as having a range of kilometres and being able to work with dense network topologies, NR+ is also exceptionally scalable, according to the group that will be presenting it at Hannover Messe, and can be expanded to accommodate millions of devices without compromising communication integrity.

“NR+ will democratise 5G and revolutionise the industrial IoT landscape by enabling any company or organisation to build a robust and cost-effective private solution capable of meeting the rigorous demands of the modern digital age,” says Roel Ottink, director of business development at DECT Forum.

NR+ technology can form inherently self-healing and self-organising mesh networks, thus guaranteeing uninterrupted services and adaptability. Network nodes are able to dynamically adjust their functions to optimise the networks. This flexibility helps avoid points of failure and manage complex traffic patterns common in dense IoT environments.

NR+ operates in the 1.9 GHz DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) band, which is available globally and is licence-free, thus helping to reduce deployment costs and eliminate the need for frequency planning and operator certification. With these features, it simplifies the implementation process and speeds up adoption in various sectors of activity seeking the benefits of 5G connectivity.

During the Smart Building Conference, part of the  ISE 2024 (Integrated Systems Europe) event held in February, the benefits of DECT NR+ were demonstrated as the best non-cellular technology for connecting “wireless everything” in smart buildings and cities.

The presentation at the Hannover Messe trade fair in April will be made by the DECT Forum, Last Mile Semiconductor, Nordic Semiconductor and Wirepas. The DECT Forum is a worldwide association dedicated to promoting the advancement of DECT and other related wireless standards through innovation, interoperability and the development of wireless communication solutions.

History and features

DECT NR+ is a derivation of the DECT lineage, a standard that appeared almost 30 years ago. However, DECT NR+ is completely new and based on OFDM to directly meet the needs of professional non-cellular autonomous wireless networks.

Although it is new, NR+ shares regulations associated with DECT and uses the 1.9 GHz band. It also benefits from the proven advantages of DECT that have made it attractive to developers of voice and data systems in networks with high reliability and excellent quality of service. NR+ brings features for ultra-reliable, low-latency communication and can be applied in cases of IoT and mass communication between machines.

Furthermore, its implementation shares fundamental similarities with cellular networks, even though it is not a cellular technology, such as a robust physical radio layer with modulation and coding techniques.

With these characteristics, it is possible to adopt DECT NR+ to create private 5G networks, without relying on base stations or SIM cards and service subscriptions. These networks can cover 100 to 1 million nodes in a square kilometre, with high reliability and based on cellular technology standards.

Although not considered a 5G wireless technology in the traditional sense, DECT NR+ has been included in the 5G standards defined by ITU-R due to the compatibility of requirements.