For a technology intended to transform industrial connectivity, DECT NR+ can sometimes be presented in remarkably technical terms.
Channel access procedures, deterministic scheduling, spectrum allocation and standards development are important. They are not necessarily the subjects that persuade someone to watch a 24-minute roundtable discussion but that’s what I did (Link at the bottom of the article).
Look beyond the terminology, though, and the conversation reveals something much more exciting.
Companies with deep experience in industrial automation, embedded systems, building controls and wireless product development are investigating NR+ because their customers have real connectivity problems that existing technologies do not always solve.
The discussion also shows that NR+ is moving beyond its early advocates. A broader ecosystem is forming around products, software, gateways, application development, interoperability and real-world deployment.
Three companies, three routes to the same conclusion
In the DECT Forum roundtable, representatives from DSR Corporation, R3 Solutions and STRATUM 9 explain how they became involved with NR+.
Their backgrounds are different:
DSR Corporation brings extensive experience in embedded wireless software, smart home systems and building automation, including its work with the ZBOSS Zigbee stack.
R3 Solutions specialises in industrial wireless communications, including safety and control traffic for industrial automation, autonomous mobile robots and other applications where communications must arrive at the right time.
STRATUM 9 GmbH develops industrial IoT products and gateways and, like many companies entering the NR+ ecosystem, began exploring the technology after recognising its potential for demanding industrial applications.
None of these companies appears to have adopted NR+ simply because it was “new”. Instead, each began by trying to solve a specific application problem.
Industrial systems needed communications that could be relied upon within defined timing constraints. Customers wanted operational data to remain within their own premises. Building automation companies were searching for connectivity that could provide better range and scale. Product developers wanted an open standard rather than another proprietary wireless solution.
Wireless reliability is about more than whether a message eventually arrives
Scheduled channel access featured repeatedly throughout the discussion because it addresses one of the biggest differences between NR+ and many familiar wireless technologies.
Many familiar wireless technologies rely on devices competing for access to the radio channel. That approach works well when traffic is light or intermittent, but as more devices attempt to communicate at the same time, delays become increasingly difficult to predict.
A temperature sensor reporting every few minutes may tolerate the occasional delay. A robot, moving machine or safety system may not, because its control loop can depend on information arriving within a defined time window, every time.
NR+ supports scheduled communications, allowing network resources to be coordinated instead of leaving every device to compete for airtime whenever it has something to send. Rather than simply reducing latency, scheduled communications allow developers to build networks whose behaviour remains consistent and predictable as application demands increase. For developers, that distinction can determine whether wireless is suitable only for monitoring or whether it can become part of the operational control system itself.
The DECT Forum describes NR+ as supporting low-latency communication for critical IoT and professional applications, while ETSI identifies support for ultra-reliable point-to-point, point-to-multipoint and mesh-based wireless networks. (DECT Forum)
Private wireless without handing control to a public network
STRATUM 9 describes an industrial telemetry application in which customers wanted their data to remain inside the company. That requirement is becoming increasingly common as industrial and infrastructure operators seek greater control over their systems, their security policies and the movement of operational data. Sending every message through an external network or cloud service may add complexity that the application simply does not need.
NR+ allows organisations to deploy and manage private networks without depending on a mobile operator, SIM cards or recurring cellular subscriptions. The customer can own the devices, the network and the data path, while applications can continue to connect with cloud platforms or enterprise systems wherever that adds value. External connectivity becomes a design decision rather than a requirement imposed by the underlying radio technology.
ETSI’s description of DECT-2020 NR reflects this approach, highlighting the absence of mandatory operator infrastructure and subscription fees together with access to dedicated international spectrum. (ETSI)
A valuable position in the wireless spectrum
The participants of the roundtable repeatedly return to the importance of the spectrum used by NR+.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread and many proprietary systems often share the crowded 2.4 GHz band. These technologies can coexist successfully, but performance can become harder to predict in buildings and industrial sites containing hundreds or thousands of devices.
NR+ operates in the DECT spectrum around 1.9 GHz. This internationally available spectrum has historically been associated with cordless telephony but can now support a new generation of professional and industrial wireless applications.
This creates an interesting opportunity.
As older office telephone installations move towards Wi-Fi or cellular services, the DECT spectrum does not become irrelevant. It becomes available for a much broader set of applications.
The frequency also offers a useful engineering compromise. It provides more bandwidth than many sub-GHz technologies while typically offering better propagation characteristics than higher-frequency systems.
Combined with dynamic channel selection and managed access to the radio channel, this gives NR+ an unusually strong foundation for reliable private networks. ETSI identifies a dedicated global frequency allocation at approximately 1.9 GHz as one of the standard’s core characteristics. (ETSI)
Standardised technology can replace proprietary islands
R3 Solutions also makes an important observation about the value of open standards.
Proprietary wireless technologies can perform exceptionally well and, in some specialist applications, they may be the only way to achieve the required reliability or timing. The challenge is that the long-term success of the technology rests largely with a single supplier. That company has to continue developing the platform, supporting customers, building every integration and convincing the market that the technology will still be supported many years into the future.
NR+ takes a different approach. Rather than depending on one company, it is built on an ETSI standard that allows multiple semiconductor companies, stack providers, equipment manufacturers and software developers to build compatible products. As more companies participate, customers gain greater choice while developers benefit from a broader ecosystem of products, tools and expertise.
For organisations investing in infrastructure with operational lifetimes measured in decades, that matters because it reduces dependence on a single implementation. It also encourages interoperability and competition while giving developers a common technical foundation instead of creating another isolated wireless ecosystem.
NR+ can carry more than one application ecosystem
DSR Corporation also highlights another strength of NR+: its ability to act as the underlying transport for established application protocols used in building automation and industrial systems.
That is significant because NR+ does not need to replace existing application ecosystems. Instead, it provides the wireless foundation on which those ecosystems can operate, allowing organisations to retain their existing device models, management tools and years of software investment.
Modern commercial buildings and industrial facilities may contain lighting, HVAC, environmental monitoring, access control, energy management, life safety systems and thousands of other connected devices. While each system has different performance requirements, they all rely on dependable communications.
Rather than introducing another proprietary wireless technology, NR+ has the potential to provide a common communications foundation that supports multiple application ecosystems while delivering the range, scale and predictability expected from modern industrial networks.
The ecosystem is becoming as important as the radio
One theme kept appearing throughout the discussion: collaboration.
The participants spoke about working with silicon vendors, the DECT Forum, ETSI, open-source initiatives and industry partners to solve common problems rather than developing isolated solutions. They also encouraged more companies to become involved because a successful wireless standard depends on far more than an excellent radio specification.
Developers need access to silicon, software stacks, development tools, gateways, reference designs, test equipment and engineering support. Equipment from different manufacturers needs to interoperate, and customers need confidence that they are investing in a technology supported by a growing industry rather than a handful of companies.
NR+ has already reached an important milestone through its recognition as part of the IMT-2020 family of 5G technologies. Commercial products are entering the market, the ecosystem continues to expand and more companies are investing in the technology. (ITU)
The most important objective: products that solve real problems
At the end of the discussion, each participant was asked to identify the single most important objective for the NR+ community.
While their answers differed slightly, they all pointed in the same direction. Continue bringing products to market, solve real customer problems and keep expanding the ecosystem supporting the technology.
Those priorities reinforce one another. Every successful product demonstrates what the technology can achieve. Every deployment gives customers greater confidence to adopt it. Every company that joins the ecosystem increases choice, interoperability and long-term investment.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the discussion is that NR+ should not be judged simply by comparing specifications with other wireless technologies. The market already has plenty of wireless options. What ultimately matters is whether a technology solves problems that existing solutions struggle to address.
Its value lies in the problems it can solve:
- Private networks that remain under the customer’s control
- Predictable communications for operational and industrial systems
- Reliable connectivity for dense device deployments
- Higher throughput without the complexity of traditional cellular infrastructure
- Scalable star and mesh network architectures
- A globally recognised, standards-based platform supported by multiple vendors
- A practical foundation for intelligent edge devices and Physical AI applications
These capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant across commercial buildings, industrial automation, utilities, infrastructure and professional equipment. As more intelligence moves into machines, sensors and infrastructure, communications become an integral part of the overall system design. Reliability, predictability, security and long-term support are no longer desirable features.
They are becoming fundamental requirements.
NR+ is gaining momentum because the problem is real
The most persuasive aspect of the discussion was not any single technical feature. It was the consistency of the message coming from companies with very different backgrounds.
Each organisation described a different path into NR+, yet all arrived for similar reasons. They had encountered limitations with existing wireless technologies, identified practical customer requirements that were not being adequately addressed, and concluded that NR+ deserved serious investigation. Along the way they were developing products, forming partnerships and encouraging more companies to become involved.
Taken together, those conversations suggest that NR+ is progressing beyond an interesting technical standard and becoming a genuine commercial ecosystem. Products are reaching the market, collaboration between companies is increasing, the supporting ecosystem continues to expand, and companies are already designing products, forming partnerships and solving real customer problems with NR+.