DECT-2020 NR+: An IoT wonder, or a 5G tease?

Article By : Dan Jones

A new ETSI spec, DECT–2020 NR+, promises non–cellular 5G and easy, cheap IoT deployments. When can we expect to go commercial?

You might think that there are already enough Internet of Things (IoT) specifications available — from multiple cellular types and low power wide area (LPWA) variants that utilize unlicensed spectrum to dedicated versions for industrial IoT use — but get ready for one more.

With the advent of 5G and the growth of IoT technology, there are more specifications coming down the pipe, including one that builds on the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard that allowed wireless operation of landline handsets: DECT–2020 NR+.

The new DECT specification, however, is solely aimed at enabling license–free wireless 5G IoT, without requiring a network for cellular links or a heavy spend on base stations or gateways to make the spec viable.

DECT–2020 NR+

As of Feb. 24, 2022, DECT–2020 has been adopted as “the first global non–cellular 5G technology” and will be included in the 5G standards by the International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU–R). DECT Forum, a non–profit industry organization, is promoting the standard under the name New Radio plus (NR+).

DECT–2020 was standardized by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in October 2020. The technology updates the original 2.4 GHz specification that was once widely used for cordless telephones and various data applications from 1988 onwards.

The new 2020 spec will take on cellular IoT and other IoT technologies by providing a 5G radio foundation that will enable point–to–point and point–to–multipoint radio links to be deployed quickly and broadly. The specification supports mesh communication, which industry observers expect will reduce the need for infrastructure investments.

The new DECT–2020 will use the global 1.9 GHz unlicensed spectrum band to operate. This puts the technology squarely up against LPWA specifications, such as LoRaWAN and Sigfox, as well as cellular IoT.

After a rocky start, cellular IoT has grown significantly. Market research firm Berg Insight says that cellular IoT subscribers increased by 22% in 2021, hitting 2.1 billion connections.

The technology’s supporters, including Nordic Semiconductor and Wirepas, laud the use of the license–free 1.9 GHz frequency for the radio. They cite the benefits of over–the–air updates the technology will offer compared to the clunky, non–wireless updates for Sigfox and older versions of LoRaWAN.

Supporters also cite the global use of the 1.9 GHz frequency for the DECT–2020 as superior to using crowded and noisy local ISM bands to deploy LPWA standards. Cellular IoT technologies such as LTE–M and NB–IoT, meanwhile, tie a customer to the particular mobile operator that has deployed the IoT network.

In fact, the DECT–2020 NR+ specification is intended to help fully achieve one of 5G’s long–term goals; the technology is intended to deliver massive machine–type communication capable of supporting up to 1 million IoT devices in a square kilometer, according to 3GPP specs. This far exceeds the maximum of 2,000 devices that can be supported in a square kilometer over a 4G LTE network.

Wirepas says that performance simulations of DECT–2020 by the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland in 2021 exceeded the 5G requirements laid down by the ITU. “The simulations provided undisputable data on the DECT–2020 NR performance, confirming the technology met all the 5G requirements for massive machine–type communications,” the enterprise IoT company reports.

Nordic Semiconductor and Wirepas demonstrated the first DECT–2020 mesh test network at the end of June 2022. Despite Nordic describing its DECT–2020 modem as “commercial”, the technology is still in its early days.

An infrastructure-less wonder?

Wirepas is lauding DECT–2020 as an “infrastructure–less” technology that the ETSI reports requires only “light radio planning” and offers a quick setup. Nordic notes “with DECT–2020 NR, you simply build your own private wireless network in which every node can be an access point with a direct backhaul connection to the Internet.”

This is great benefit, however you cannot yet buy the DECT–2020 modems that would be required to get the mesh network up and running. In fact, even before the supply chain issues that have bedeviled semiconductor suppliers since the advent of Covid, it often took modem and module makers at least a year to 18 months to move from announcing a new product to full production and availability.

The DECT–2020 spec is still in 5G working group limbo at the moment. Nordic Semiconductor hasn’t even issued a press release about a commercial DECT–2020 modem yet.

So, despite the fact that DECT–2020 NR+ appears to offer some interesting prospects for low–cost IoT deployment, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for this infrastructure–less wonder!

This article was originally published on EE Times.

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