Multiple modulation and coding scheme (MCS) tables for new radio (NR) networks is disclosed. Multiple MCS tables are defined with different sets of MCS values selected for improved performance in various transmission conditions. The multiple MCS tables may be known to base stations and user equipments (UEs) in the network. A serving base station may determine a set of transmission characteristics related to a transmission environment of a UE. The base station selects one of the MCS tables of the multiple MCS tables based on the set of transmission characteristics. The selected MCS table includes MCS values that may provide improved performance for the UE considering one or more of the characteristics of the set of transmission characteristics. The base station will then transmit an indication of the selected MCS table to the served UE.