How NR+ builds on classic DECT without losing focus

Building on decades of DECT excellence

With the introduction of NR+ (DECT-2020 NR), the DECT ecosystem is entering a phase of evolution that promises higher capacity, IoT integration, mesh networking, updated radio technology, and 5G principles.

As interest in NR+ continues to grow, so does the need to understand how it builds on what already works, and perhaps most importantly where it can create real value.

RTX sees NR+ as an expansion of what the DECT ecosystem can achieve. This approach is key to making the right decisions when building professional communication systems and wireless infrastructure.

NR+ has the potential to protect and advance DECT

Classic DECT has delivered reliable performance for more than 30 years and has been widely adopted as a secure and reliable wireless communication technology. However, today’s radio spectrum environment is far more competitive, with growing demand from Wi-Fi, 5G, and IoT systems putting pressure on available spectrum resources.

Jens Christian Lindof, CTO at RTX, argues that to protect the spectrum, it is crucial to modernize the technology.

“NR+ was introduced because the DECT ecosystem needed to improve spectral efficiency, support new application domains, and rise to meet the expectations of a 5G-driven world. In that sense, NR+ is a natural evolution of DECT.”

 - Jens Christian Lindof, CTO at RTX

5G Without Cellular Complexity

NR+ is part of the IMT-2020 (5G) technology family, bringing many of the benefits associated with 5G; low latency, high data rates, and efficient spectrum usage, into the DECT ecosystem, all while operating as a non-cellular, private network technology.

Unlike traditional cellular solutions, NR+ enables fully private networks, with no dependency on SIM cards or operators, and lower complexity for both deployment and operation.

This positions NR+ as a compelling middle ground between high-cost private cellular networks and short-range, lower-capability technologies such as most Bluetooth-based solutions.

Ongoing Innovation

While NR+ represents a major step forward, innovation within DECT has been ongoing for years.

RTX continuously enhances DECT solutions to meet demanding real-world requirements, including:

• Higher modulation schemes for increased capacity (DECT Evolution)
• Audio Mesh (using flooding and multi-hop techniques)
• Advanced signal processing to improve robustness
• Optimization for complex environments

These improvements have enabled customers and end-users to benefit from more reliable communication in challenging environments where basic systems struggle.

In crowded stadiums and large venues, for example, DECT operates where spectrum congestion is intense. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) communication in professional football is a real-world case of the 1.9 GHz band being put to work under pressure. Thousands of audience devices using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, together with broadcast systems and production crews, compete for wireless capacity in environments where steel and concrete structures create signal reflections that can degrade quality and reliability. The same holds in industrial facilities like wind turbine manufacturing halls, where dense metal structures create significant multipath reflections that would degrade less robust systems.

NR+ adds to the DECT Ecosystem

NR+ extends DECT beyond voice-centric communication. Where classic DECT excels at reliable real-time audio, NR+ adds the capacity for IoT integration, mesh connectivity, and high-throughput data across large numbers of devices.

A practical example is building infrastructure, where NR+ allows you to build a high-capacity private network at low cost like using emergency lighting as a network backbone.

By embedding connectivity into foundational systems, organizations can scale across entire facilities without the cost of running parallel infrastructure.

Scheduled and Unscheduled Communication

Rather than viewing NR+ and classic DECT as competing technologies, it is more useful to think in terms of communication behavior. Unscheduled (aka Random Access in ETSI standards) and scheduled communication each serve different purposes, and understanding their strengths is key to determining how to apply the technology well.

Scheduled communication is deterministic and low latency. These same qualities make classic DECT reliable for voice and real-time audio. Unscheduled communication is designed for flexibility: efficient spectrum sharing across many devices, optimized for IoT and data traffic, with built-in retransmission and error correction.

As Lindof puts it, the choice between them is always application-driven: "You really have to think about the application before choosing how to use NR+." A voice system needs determinism and cannot tolerate dropped packets. An IoT sensor network needs scale and flexibility and can absorb retransmission. Using the wrong mode for the wrong application undermines the technology's strengths.

One misconception worth addressing directly: the mesh and IP features frequently discussed in the context of NR+ are not intended for audio applications. NR+ does not replace deterministic communication. Rather, it extends what the DECT ecosystem can do overall.

Where NR+ Creates Real Value

NR+ becomes particularly valuable in scenarios where data plays a central role, especially in cases where existing IoT technologies fall short on reliability, scale, or latency requirements.

Building automation, energy management, industrial machine monitoring, robotics, wireless video transmission, and large-scale sensor networks are all areas where NR+ technology has clear applications.

Cellular might be the presumptive choice, but the scale involved is where the real question arises. Supporting up to one million connected devices within a single square kilometer is a realistic NR+ target¹. At that density, cellular quickly becomes impractical. Subscription costs and SIM requirements for deployments of that size make it a poor fit for most private networks.

NR+ aims to cover the same ground without that overhead.

Why NR+ Is Not Mainstream, Yet

Despite strong potential, NR+ is still in an early phase.

This is primarily due to a still-maturing ecosystem, regional regulatory differences, and the limited availability of commercial chipsets. 2028 promises to be a big year for DECT NR+, when technology maturity and market readiness align.

Looking forward, the most compelling opportunity lies in combining capabilities rather than replacing them. Future systems are likely to use both scheduled (voice) and unscheduled (data) communications that share the same infrastructure. The efficiency gain is straightforward: organizations that already have DECT infrastructure for voice can extend the capabilities without starting from scratch.

As Lindof puts it, "If you already have infrastructure for voice, why not also use it for building automation, alarms, and control?" That convergence also shapes how people will interact with those systems. "We will see people talking more to machines, especially as the technology matures," Lindof adds.

Final Perspective: Applying NR+ where it really matters

NR+ delivers on many of the promises associated with 5G, but in a form built for private, professional systems rather than cellular infrastructure. The application logic is straightforward: scheduled communication where determinism and reliability are critical, unscheduled communication where flexibility and scale are required, and wherever possible, a single infrastructure serving both.

Actively engaging in the early stages of NR+ means we help shape how this technology evolves. RTX is contributing to ETSI standardization, collaborating with semiconductor partners, and developing NR+ capabilities for real-world deployment. Our approach is clear: Build on proven strengths, actively explore new capabilities, and apply innovation where it creates real value.

DECT has proven its relevance across three decades and multiple waves of technological change. NR+ is the next chapter of that story, and RTX intends to be part of writing it.

Source:

¹ ETSI TS 103 636-1 V1.5.1 (2024-03), DECT-2020 New Radio (NR); Part 1: Overview, European Telecommunications Standard Institute.