DECT NR+ is a wireless standard from the DECT family, promoted as the first non-cellular 5G technology, that has had merchant silicon and development kits since 2023-24 and is now being trialled in private utility networks, smart buildings and professional audio, but the available sources show exploration rather than volume deployment.
Summary
DECT NR+ is a radio standard developed within ETSI’s technical committee for DECT, the standards family previously known for cordless telephony and its CAT-iq profiles ref. Its distinguishing pitch is that it was recognised as the first non-cellular 5G standard ref: a technology meeting 5G-class requirements that a user can deploy as a private network without a mobile operator, spectrum licence or core network.
How it reaches the market is visible in the silicon record. From mid-2023 single-chip parts combining cellular IoT and DECT NR+ with an integrated RF front end appeared ref, followed by Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9161 system-in-package and development kit supporting both LTE-M/NB-IoT and DECT NR+ ref ref and the smaller, more power-efficient nRF9151 ref. Third-party battery-powered development kits built on both parts followed in 2024 ref ref. That combination, a cellular modem and DECT NR+ in one package, is the practical route to adoption: designers get the private-network radio as a near-free option alongside the wide-area link they were already buying.
Evidence base
- DECT NR+ was reported as the first non-cellular 5G standard in August 2023 ref.
- A single IC combining cellular IoT and DECT NR+ with an integrated RF front end was reported in June 2023 ref.
- Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9161 system-in-package and development kit supporting cellular IoT and DECT NR+ were covered in January 2024 ref, followed by the smaller, lower-power nRF9151 in February 2024 ref.
- Nordic Semiconductor promoted DECT NR+ for private networks at DISTRIBUTECH in February 2024, a utility-sector venue ref.
- VITEC and RFmondial demonstrated ultra-low-latency video streaming over DECT NR+ in May 2024, with no performance figures given in the source ref.
- Sennheiser described its MERCI project as taking DECT NR+ from vision to reality in October 2025 and promoted the technology at DECT World 2025 in November 2025 ref ref.
- Professional AV trade press was still framing DECT NR+ as coming soon in December 2025 and as an open question for real-time audio in March 2026 ref ref.
Open questions
- Is there a second merchant silicon supplier for DECT NR+ beyond the Nordic parts named in these sources, and if not, does single-sourcing block industrial procurement?
- What are the measured latency, range, node-count and power figures, and how do they compare head-to-head with Wi-Fi, private licensed 5G and LPWAN in the same deployment?
- Has any utility, building operator or city moved from the demonstrations reported in 2024 to a production network with a disclosed node count?
- Do DECT NR+ shipments show up as a reported volume line from any chipset or module vendor, or does it remain an unquantified bundled feature?
Assessment drafted 2026-08-31 from up to 18 KB sources using the technology-scorecard framework; scores are a draft read pending review.