Norik Dongle Brings DECT NR+ 5G to a USB Port

Norik's Tiny Dongle Puts "Carrier-Free 5G" in Reach

Norik Systems has introduced what it says is the first USB dongle built around Nordic Semiconductor's nRF9151, aimed squarely at developers who want to experiment with DECT NR+ — a low-power wireless standard often described as "non-cellular 5G." Announced on July 9, 2026, it is a small, thoughtful piece of hardware that lowers the barrier to a genuinely forward-looking connectivity technology.

• The core: Nordic nRF9151 SiP — an Arm Cortex-M33 at 64 MHz with 256KB RAM and 1MB flash
• The radios: multimode LTE-M, NB-IoT, NB-NTN satellite, GNSS, and DECT NR+ across 1.9 GHz and 915 MHz bands
• The convenience: an onboard RP2040 acts as a CMSIS-DAP debugger, so no external debug probe is needed
• The size: a compact 53.35 x 21.59 mm board that ships with Zephyr SDK examples

What Is DECT NR+ and Why Should Makers Care?

DECT NR+ is a non-cellular 5G standard designed for long-range, low-power networks that can scale to roughly a million nodes in a mesh or star layout — all without a mobile carrier or SIM card. That makes it a compelling option for industrial sensing, smart agriculture, building automation, and any deployment where you want private, resilient connectivity you fully control. It is exactly the kind of infrastructure-level idea the IoT and single-board computer community has been waiting to get its hands on affordably.

Because the nRF9151 folds cellular IoT, satellite NB-NTN, GNSS positioning, and DECT NR+ into one system-in-package, a single dongle can prototype an impressively wide range of connected designs. And with the RP2040 handling debugging on-board, you can go from unboxing to flashing Zephyr firmware without hunting for extra tools.

A Developer-First On-Ramp to Private Networks

The best part is how removing friction opens the door. By packaging a novel radio into a plug-and-play USB stick with ready-made Zephyr samples, Norik lets engineers and hobbyists evaluate DECT NR+ on a laptop this afternoon rather than after a procurement cycle. It pairs naturally with the location-aware maker projects we have covered, like the Makerfabs UWB indoor tracking board.

Pricing is by quote, which points at professional and small-batch users first, but the significance is broader: private, carrier-free wireless is becoming something an individual developer can simply try. For the maker project scene, that is a quietly exciting step.

Sources: CNX Software — July 9, 2026; Nordic Semiconductor — 2026.