DECT NR+ moves towards practical standardization

MERCI has validated in the field the potential of DECT NR+ for private 5G networks with low latency, high reliability and low costs. Its demonstrators cover automation, IoT and immersive audio, consolidating this technology as a strategic alternative to 3GPP.

When listening to DECT, many immediately think of their home wireless phones. However, DECT technologies have always been much more than telephony: allow a wide range of communication solutions implemented by the user. DECT has developed enormous potential over several iterations, especially in its last evolutionary stage, DECT NR+, which is based on a completely new radio technology. This is where the Franco-German innovation project MERCI comes into play.: created in 2023 with the aim of developing innovative professional solutions for 5G private local networks based on DECT-2020 NR (DECT NR+) or supplemented with DECT NR+.

Since then, The initiative has generated a series of technological demonstrators that demonstrate the extensive capabilities of DECT NR+. As the first non-cellular 5G research project that involved professional audio and entertainment from the beginning, MERCI had the collaboration of these companies with the industrial IoT sector. And although the MERCI project concluded at the end of July 2025, your results (presented at a final workshop at the headquarters of Sennheiser earlier this year) continue to fascinate DECT enthusiasts beyond Europe.

Reviewing the successful research initiative, he Andreas Wilzeck, leader of the MERCI consortium and German head of the same, considers early availability of partner partner's first chipsets and development boards, Nordic Semiconductor, “as a breakthrough for MERCI in October 2023”. less than two years later, the final workshop of the project demonstrated the wide range of technological opportunities offered by DECT NR+: whether they are automatically guided vehicles, the world's first live audio stream of MPEG-H objects or even a concert at full volume, The new technology not only meets all the requirements for use in the industry, but also in professional audio applications, where consistent low latency and reliability are key.

Wilzeck comments that “to realize the 5G vision for professional audio, Sennheiser has been involved in numerous research projects over the last decade. Unfortunately, None of them were economically or technically viable., and sometimes not even both. However, with the MERCI project, that uses DECT NR+ technology, the situation is totally different: MERCI has demonstrated the viability of DECT NR+ for numerous use cases; This technology is intended to greatly enrich and enhance existing DECT product portfolios.”.

The key to the potential of DECT NR+ is that “DECT NR+ is a completely new standard”, states Jens Mushroom, MERCI project manager. “All previous DECT iterations, including DECT evolution, They have tried to optimize it for certain applications, but they have never touched the basic technology to maintain compatibility. However, the new DECT NR+ standard swept, stating that it does not need to be backward compatible with older equipment, but simply respects coexistence and starts from scratch. And the reason why this new DECT NR+ technology was ready so quickly is that it has had access to the DECT band of 1,9 GHz, quite exclusive, where highly sensitive applications such as robot control systems can operate”.

Private 5G networks with amazing capabilities

The demonstrations gave an idea of the superiority of the new generation DECT. While typical 5G networks based on existing 3GPP technology pose several challenges in terms of cost, network performance and ownership, 5G transmission based on DECT NR+ will not only offer better performance, but will also resolve the conflict between IT and OT (operational technology) of a company and will give them full control of their own networks. Private 5G networks will be accessible to everyone, even in dense deployments, without commercial difficulties or financial burdens.

In industrial communication, Life cycles are much longer than in consumer technology due to, For example, at the cost of manufacturing lines. For this reason, Wireless and networking technologies have recently begun to reach manufacturing sectors, so DECT NR+ arrives at an opportune time.

“Advantages of DECT NR+-based 5G for manufacturers include significant cost and complexity reduction, since it allows you to build small and modular networks”, explains Mathias Bohge, CEO of R3 Solutions. “For 3GPP networks, expensive hardware needed to get started, which could cost several thousand euros. But these DECT NR+ panels will only cost a few hundred euros. At the moment, It's like a kind of duel between David and Goliath: there are the large telecommunications companies with their 3GPP standard, and then DECT NR+, which is still small, but extremely powerful and driven by Europe. I am passionate about this great technology!”.

R3 Solutions and Götting integrated the DECT NR+ standard protocol into an application where a scanner communicates with a camera cart, that automatically rotates around a performer moving around the stage. In an industrial automation environment, the scanner could, For example, stop a machine when a person leaves a predefined area, o reliably control several small cars within a defined area, something for which nowadays scanners are needed in every car.

Pilz emphasized: “None of the large telecommunications companies participated in the project. The participants were small and medium-sized companies that used European technology and had a capacity for innovation that I have not seen in any other project to date.”.

Atem, along with Jan Outters, introduced an immersive audio solution with MPEG-H object audio, implementing the world's first object audio transmission using DECT NR+. Audio signals were captured from the band “Sonic Crusaders” performing on a Sennheiser stage and transmitted wirelessly to a mixing console using DECT NR+, and from there to a virtual end device, where the user can organize the individual audio objects (For example, the lead singer's voice or the keys) to your liking, modifying the prominence, the azimuth, elevation and much more.

Pilz pointed out: “It should be noted that this is the first iteration of DECT NR+ and, thanks to the research carried out, you can do much more. The next step will be additional iterations and miniaturizations of the demo boards into system modules that can be integrated into products.. Besides, industrial applications require the establishment of a second source of chips, so as not to depend on a single manufacturer”.

New models for spectrum services

The Ostphalia University of Applied Sciences demonstrated how an interface between a regulatory authority's allocation services and wireless users could be automated and digitized, like DECT NR+ users. When planning an event, users would simply click on their location on a map and enter the date and time, and the regulatory authority would provide them with a quick response, which would greatly simplify frequency assignment for professional radio frequency managers.

Wirepas, IoT application specialist, demonstrated wireless mesh technology based on DECT NR+, which will be of great help in any smart metering application, especially in countries with large populations.

In addition to developing its own small DECT NR+ panels, The Technical University of Cartagena also worked on mesh functionality and smart metering applications, demonstrating a vibration sensor that allowed remote site monitoring.

The Institute of Communication Technology at Leibniz University from Hannover (LUH) demonstrated software-defined radio, capable of transmitting between 3,8 y 4,2 GHz (that is to say, within a frequency band that is being discussed for allocation to private 5G networks in Europe), which also shows that DECT NR+ can operate outside the classical band of 1,9 GHz.

As for the security, all data can be encrypted at multiple levels, revealing only the sender and destination. Pilz adds: “In the future, any DECT NR+ compatible device could facilitate the transmission of data packets; For example, a lighting system could retransmit audio data. In this way, many small networks could cooperate, while protecting encrypted data”.

LUH also investigated the cooperation of local DECT NR+ networks with large classic 5G networks via 3GPP mobile networks.. Since DECT NR+ is an alternative or complementary technology for the radio access network, 3GPP mobile networks could be used to extend DECT NR+ coverage beyond the defined local network.

The workshop, which was held in an industrial setting, demonstrated conclusively that coexistence with older DECT equipment is not a problem. The DECT standard requires all DECT units to scan their frequencies for other users and use features such as frequency hopping to transmit on a free frequency.

Music and multimedia production

RFmondial and Sennheiser used RFmondial's MERCI evaluation board to create a DECT NR+ wireless microphone. Although the DECT NR+ transmitter/receiver set functioned very similarly to a standard UHF wireless microphone, just in a different frequency range, a mobile modem had been connected to the DECT NR+ receiver, creating a gateway to the internet through the public mobile network. This made it possible to store the local audio signal in the cloud effortlessly and, now that it was accessible through the internet, The audio file could now be edited from anywhere in the world.

Another possible application would be remote sound engineering, where the engineer can tune a band remotely using a laptop or mobile phone and make audio adjustments via a cloud feedback path. This setup would also be ideal for DSP as a Service, where files could be processed, add audio enhancements and adapt levels.

Pilz comments that “We use both wireless technologies in this field, where they are especially powerful today, like DECT NR+ due to its low latency, and the mobile phone network for internet access”.

After the demonstrations, It was time for Sonic Crusaders to take the stage and delight their enthusiastic guests with a mini concert of their hits. Los “Sonic Crusaders” from EE. UU. not only participated in the demonstration of DECT NR+ transmission and object audio, but they also closed the workshop with an exciting mini-concert.