I would also think that for this kind of demo to be validated (and made all the more impressive), it would have to be configured in some way that removes any doubt that it could have been rigged in any way. Neutral, third-party testers and equipment have to be involved somehow...

When you think about it, just designing a fair and believable test of a game-changing technology is itself quite a task. 

The easiest and simplest route to believability would be, of course, to have the CTO of the unmasked Tier 1 customer (preferably from the likes of Nokia or Cisco) about to place a big order sitting in and commenting on the demo.