Nordic Semiconductor becomes full member of DECT Forum
DECT Forum is responsible for driving adoption of DECT NR+, a new standard that will allow enterprise IoT customers to build their own low-cost massive IoT networks
Nordic Semiconductor has announced its full membership of the DECT Forum, the organization responsible for fostering the development of the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) industry standard, and the adoption of the latest standard DECT New Radio (NR)+.
Massive IoT at scale
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) DECT NR+ is the world's first non-cellular 5G wireless standard designed to support massive IoT at densities of a million devices per square kilometer. DECT NR+ enables large scalable private networks for massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) and Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) applications. It can support very large point-to-point, star and mesh topologies, and can also connect many separate networks together for decentralized applications such as asset tracking, smart city and smart energy projects.
Nordic has been a key contributor to the development of the DECT NR+ standard since the initial specification was published in July 2020. The standard promises 99.99 percent reliability due to features built into the lower layers of its RF protocol (‘stack’). Nordic became the main contributor for the stack’s physical (PHY) layer and a key contributor for the Media Access (MAC) layer at the launch of the specification. The company continues to serve as the editor for the PHY layer.
As part of its membership, Kristian Sæther, Product Director of Cellular IoT and NR+ at Nordic Semiconductor will join the DECT Forum Board. Nordic has also joined the DECT Forum Marketing Working Group, the DECT NR+ Working Group, and plans to also join other key working groups for NR+.
Bringing the IoT to the masses
“Nordic Semiconductor is a believer in bringing the IoT to the widest audience,” says Sæther. “Our strategy is to support the IoT technologies that cater for the widest range of applications while being based on open standards and built to exacting technical specifications. DECT NR+ fits the bill perfectly.
“We joined the DECT Forum due to its proven track record establishing DECT in the market, and we are now joining forces to establish and realize the same success for DECT NR+.”
Earlier this year Nordic and massive IoT solution software specialist Wirepas demonstrated DECT NR+ and a Wirepas ‘5G Mesh’ stack running on Nordic’s nRF91 SiP. The demonstration confirmed the protocol is ready-to-use with existing hardware, and commercialized solutions are expected as early as the first half of 2023, according to the DECT Forum. Wirepas has also joined DECT Forum as a full member.