There’s a new wireless transmission standard coming to the audio market: DECT NR+. Short for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications New Radio+, DECT NR+ is poised to deliver more reliable wireless performance in challenging audio environments.
When DECT NR+ starts to be implemented in pro audio gear, AV technicians and producers will see significant performance improvements in wireless microphones, in-ear monitoring systems, intercom solutions, and professional headsets, among others. In other words, DECT NR+ is set to redefine wireless audio.
The DECT NR+ project has been spearheaded by Sennheiser and the MERCI Project. Dr. Andreas Wilzeck is Sennheiser’s head of spectrum policy and standards, as well as head of the MERCI Consortium that is driving DECT NR+.
“I have been deeply involved in the field of DECT standardization for over a decade, beginning my journey in 2014,” he told SCN. “The MERCI [Media and Event Production via Resilient Communication on IoT Infrastructure] Project is a Franco-German, government co-funded project focused on developing cutting-edge solutions for private 5G networks, particularly those powered by or building upon DECT-2020 NR [marketed by the DECT Forum as DECT NR+] technology.”
Telephone Roots
If the acronym DECT seems familiar, that’s because it is—at least to people who used home cordless telephones a few decades ago. "DECT was initially developed and introduced for cordless telephones,” said Wilzeck. “The first ETSI [European Telecommunications Standards Institute] standard was published in 1992 to enable digital cordless telephony, delivering much higher voice quality and security compared to older analog systems.”
DECT was always envisioned as a flexible digital wireless telecommunication standard that could be used for much more than cordless telephones. In fact, while cordless phones became the most recognizable application, Wilzeck said the original DECT standard was drafted to also support enterprise systems, wireless microphones, baby monitors, industrial sensors, and even public access networks. “In practice, the overwhelming early market success was in home and office phones," he noted, "but DECT’s design always allowed for, and increasingly delivers, many more applications in digital communications.”
Operating in the license-free 1880-1900 MHz range in most countries, the original DECT wireless standard still offers several advantages to audio professionals. They include interference-free operation, good range and building penetration, stable and acceptable latency (for many applications), and secure communications.
Dr. Andreas Wilzeck, Sennheiser
Because of its technical strengths and suitability for professional use, DECT has gained a "strong foothold in the digital audio transmission market," Wilzeck said. “Its success is attributed to a unique combination of ease of use, audio quality, low and fixed latency, reliability, and security, making it the ideal choice for demanding audio scenarios.”
Case in point: Cordless headsets in call centers benefit from DECT’s ability to support high device densities, ensuring clear and interference-free conversations in crowded environments. “For audio-for-video applications, solutions like Sennheiser AVX deliver reliable, high-quality audio essential for professional video productions,” Wilzeck added. “Meanwhile, Sennheiser SpeechLine provides a user-friendly and dependable option for corporate and educational settings, simplifying wireless microphone deployment and operation.
"Additionally, DECT technology is widely deployed in intercom systems for live events and broadcast productions, where reliable, low-latency audio transmission and straightforward setup are critical for seamless communication. These advantages have made DECT the preferred wireless solution for mission-critical, professional audio and communication needs across industries.”
What's Different?
DECT is clearly good for wireless audio communications. But DECT NR+ is better.
The reason: DECT NR+ has been specifically designed to meet the ITU’s IMT-2020 (5G) requirements for Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) and massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC).
“DECT NR+ is a complete reimagining of DECT, offering a highly flexible wireless technology foundation that can be easily adopted across diverse industry ecosystems,” Wilzeck explained. “It operates below 6 GHz, including the globally available 1.9 GHz bands, and supports reliable, scalable deployments.”
When compared to the original DECT standard, DECT NR+ provides better multipath operation, improved radio sensitivity, enhanced resistance to interference, more efficient bandwidth utilization, low latency, high reliability, scalability, and automatic interference handling. DECT NR+ also supports various network configurations, including tar topology, mesh networking, and point-to-point cable replacement.
“At its core, DECT NR+ delivers a state-of-the-art PHY and MAC layer engine built on OFDM modulation, combined with Time Division Duplex [TDD] and both Time and Frequency Division Multiple Access [TDMA/FDMA],” said Wilzeck. “These technical advances provide enhanced interference resilience, robust multipath operation, and facilitate a broad range of deployment topologies—from simple cable replacements and star networks to advanced, self-organizing mesh networks. With support for both unscheduled and scheduled services, automatic frequency management, and high security, DECT NR+ is engineered to address a wide spectrum of industrial and professional communication needs, well beyond the capabilities of classic DECT.”
Next-Level Benefits
As previously explained, the common benefits of DECT technologies include user-friendly operation, true mobility, automatic frequency and interference management, and support for high connection densities. Thanks to its advanced foundation, DECT NR+ elevates these benefits to an entirely new level.
“By introducing modern radio technologies such as OFDM, adaptive modulation, turbo coding, and self-organizing network architectures, DECT NR+ dramatically improves latency, reliability, and data throughput compared to previous generations,” Wilzeck explained. “Ultimately, DECT NR+ combines the trusted ease, mobility, and flexibility of classic DECT with the performance, scalability, and resilience demanded by next-generation digital wireless communication. What makes it truly remarkable is that DECT NR+ is an independent, openly standardized, and user-deployed 5G technology.”
Currently, DECT NR+ is making its way out of the lab and into the design of future audio products, so there's no point asking Google for DECT NR+ audio products that you can buy today. (We know; we checked.) So, how will it be deployed? Wilzeck has some ideas.
“DECT NR+ is expected to be adopted by a wide range of industries and user groups that require reliable, scalable, and user-controlled wireless connectivity, especially where low latency, high density, and autonomy are critical,” he said. “With its advanced features and flexible architecture, DECT NR+ will not only reimagine classic DECT solutions, but also expand into applications far beyond the reach of previous generations. From industrial automation and smart buildings to healthcare, live event production, and smart cities, DECT NR+ delivers the flexibility and future-readiness needed for the next wave of digital transformation."
According to Wilzeck, DECT NR+ emerged in market-ready solutions between late 2024 and 2025, initially targeting professional and industrial technology sectors. As for audio applications, especially in professional wireless and event technology, Wilzeck said these are just beginning to accelerate. Successful trial demonstrations have resulted in fresh industry interest. "This phased market rollout highlights both the versatility of DECT NR+ and the varying readiness levels across industries," he concluded, "shaping a staggered adoption curve that responds to the unique needs and innovation cycles of each sector."
