3GPP and ITU Tutorial

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3GPP Release15, 3GPP Release16, 3GPP Release17, 3GPP Release18

:arrow_forward: 3GPP meets four times a year at the end of each quarter to plan and develop new releases, which improve upon past releases and provide new standardized functionalities. The four releases already slated for 5G are Releases 15, 16, 17 and 18, although 3GPP may add more as technology and user needs evolve over time.

  • 3GPP Release 15 was to establish 5G NR technology foundation

  • 3GPP Release 16 with Enhancement of existing features and expanding to new use cases and industries

  • 3GPP Release 17 with Continued expansion and enhancements

  • 3GPP Release 18 New wave of 5G innovations

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Learn about 3GPP and the basic process of how 5G standards are defined:

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Do you refer 3GPP Release documents?

Do you know who prepares those documents?!

3GPP Technical Specification Groups (TSGs) prepare, approve and maintain the 3GPP Technical Specifications (TS) and Technical Reports (TR), under the chair-ship of an elected leadership.

The three 3GPP Technical Specification Groups are:

  1. Core Network & Terminals (CT)
  2. Radio Access Networks (RAN)
  3. Services & Systems Aspects (SA)

:point_right:CT TSG has 4 Working Groups:

  1. CT WG1 - User Network to Core Network Protocols
  2. CT WG3 - Interworking with external networks & Policy and Charging Control
  3. CT WG4 - Core Network Protocols
  4. CT WG6 - Smart Card Application Aspects

:point_right:RAN TSG has 6 Working Groups:

  1. RAN WG1 - Radio Layer 1
  2. RAN WG2 - Radio Layer 2 and Radio Layer 3
  3. RAN WG3 - UTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN architecture and related network interfaces
  4. RAN WG4 - Radio Performance and Protocol Aspects
  5. RAN WG5 - Mobile terminal conformance testing
  6. RAN AH1 - ITU Adhoc

:point_right:SA TSG has 6 Working Groups:

  1. SA WG1 - Services
  2. SA WG2 - System Architecture and Services
  3. SA WG3 - Security and Privacy
  4. SA WG4 - Multimedia Codecs, Systems and Services
  5. SA WG5 - Management, Orchestration and Charging
  6. SA WG6 - Application Enablement and Critical Communication Applications

TSG leadership is responsible for the allocation of resources within each group.

The responsibilities include:

  • Preparation of a detailed time frame and management of each Release.
  • Proposal and approval of work items within the agreed scope and terms of reference of the TSG.
  • Management of work items.
  • Technical Co-ordination.
  • Recommending, to PCG (Project Coordination Group), an appropriate approach to work outside the scope of the 3GPP, but where a common global solution is desired.
  • Maintenance of the TSG voting list of Individual Members.

Credits: :point_down:

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3GPP Technical Specification Groups (TSGs)

  1. :earth_africa: 3GPP Overview:

The 3GPP, or 3rd Generation Partnership Project, is an umbrella term for several standards organizations that develop protocols for mobile telecommunications. These organizations come together to establish unified, global specifications for mobile systems, particularly in the realm of cellular technologies like 3G, 4G, and now 5G.

2.:hammer_and_wrench: Technical Specification Groups (TSGs):

These are specialized groups within 3GPP responsible for different aspects of mobile technology standards.

:calendar: Meetings & Leadership: TSGs hold regular meetings to discuss and approve work. They are led by a chairperson and leadership elected from the member organizations.

:satellite: Technical Specification Groups (TSGs):

:technologist: TSG CT (Core Network & Terminals):CT WG1 focuses on the protocols between user equipment (like smartphones) and the core network. This includes how devices connect and communicate with the network.
CT WG3 deals with how the 3GPP network interfaces with external networks and manages policies and charging control mechanisms.
CT WG4 is dedicated to protocols within the core network, ensuring efficient and secure data transfer and management.
CT WG6 handles aspects related to smart card applications, which are crucial for mobile security and identity management.

:signal_strength: TSG RAN (Radio Access Network):RAN WG1 works on the physical layer of radio communication (Layer 1), which includes aspects like signal processing and modulation.
RAN WG2 handles the data link (Layer 2) and network (Layer 3) layers, focusing on resource control and allocation.
RAN WG3 is responsible for the overall architecture and interface specifications of the radio access network.
RAN WG4 addresses performance and protocol issues related to radio communication.
RAN WG5 ensures mobile terminals meet the conformance standards set by 3GPP.

:globe_with_meridians: TSG SA (Service & System Aspects):SA WG1 is focused on defining services provided over the 3GPP network.
SA WG2 develops the overall system architecture and services, essential for network operation and interoperability.
SA WG3 emphasizes security and privacy, crucial in today’s digital age.
SA WG4 works on multimedia codecs and systems, enabling various multimedia services over mobile networks.
SA WG5 manages aspects of network management, orchestration, and charging.
SA WG6 looks at applications enabling critical communication and other applications.

  1. :dart: Responsibilities of TSG Leadership:

Leaders in each TSG are responsible for setting detailed timeframes and managing each release of new or updated standards.
They oversee the proposal and approval of new work items, ensuring they align with the group’s scope and objectives.

4 :iphone: The 5G Standard:

A significant focus of 3GPP is developing and refining the global standards for 5G technology. This includes defining the technical specifications for infrastructure, devices, and services that will operate on 5G networks.

3GPP
3GPP800×800 152 KB

LinkedIn: :point_down:

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3G4G tutorial ‘A Quick Introduction to 3GPP’, explaining 3GPP, its working, structure and providing useful pointers to explore this topic

A Quick Introduction to 3GPP
A Quick Introduction to 3GPP800×450 44 KB

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Most 5G engineers know the technology.

Very few know the ROADMAP behind it. :world_map:

Here’s the complete 3GPP Release
timeline — explained simply :backhand_index_pointing_down:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

First, understand this formula:

5G Evolution =
eMBB + URLLC + mMTC

  • AI/ML + NTN + ISAC

Every 3GPP Release adds
a new ingredient to this formula.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-15 (2018) — “5G is Born”

The foundation release.
Everything started here.

:white_check_mark: NSA Mode (Non-Standalone)
:white_check_mark: SA Mode (Standalone)
:white_check_mark: eMBB — Enhanced broadband
:white_check_mark: gNodeB architecture defined
:white_check_mark: First 5G smartphones possible

Without Rel-15 —
there is NO 5G. Period.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-16 (2020) — “Industry 4.0”

5G gets serious about business.

:white_check_mark: URLLC enhancements
:white_check_mark: V2X — Vehicle communications
:white_check_mark: NR-U — Unlicensed spectrum
:white_check_mark: IAB — Integrated Access & Backhaul
:white_check_mark: Massive MIMO enhancements

This release said:
“5G is not just for phones.
It’s for factories and vehicles.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-17 (2022) — “Expansion”

5G goes beyond Earth. :satellite:

:white_check_mark: NTN — Non-Terrestrial Networks
:white_check_mark: RedCap — Reduced Capability IoT
:white_check_mark: NR Light — Ultra-low power IoT
:white_check_mark: Sidelink enhancements
:white_check_mark: Multi-SIM device support

Rel-17 asked:
“What if 5G could reach
EVERYWHERE on Earth?”

Satellites. HAPS. Drones.
Answer: It can.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-18 (2024) — “Intelligence”

The most important release
since Rel-15. :brain:

:white_check_mark: 5G-ADVANCED officially begins
:white_check_mark: AI/ML natively enters the RAN
:white_check_mark: XR — Extended Reality support
:white_check_mark: Network Energy Efficiency
:white_check_mark: Ambient IoT (zero-power devices)

Rel-18 changed everything because:
Networks stopped being dumb pipes.
They started THINKING.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-19 (2025) — “6G Groundwork”

The bridge between 5G and 6G. :bridge_at_night:

:white_check_mark: Enhanced AI-RAN capabilities
:white_check_mark: NTN major enhancements
:white_check_mark: ISAC foundations laid
:white_check_mark: Network slicing++
:white_check_mark: 6G architecture preparation

Rel-19 is quietly building
the foundation for 6G.
Most engineers are sleeping on this.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

:pushpin: REL-20 (2026) — “Future Networks”

5G-Advanced at full power. :rocket:

:white_check_mark: Full ISAC deployment
:white_check_mark: THz spectrum research
:white_check_mark: Complete 6G architecture prep
:white_check_mark: 5G-Advanced Phase 3
:white_check_mark: AI-native everything

After Rel-20:
3GPP starts writing
the 6G standard. (Rel-21+)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

THE BIG PICTURE:

Rel-15/16 → 5G Foundation
“Connect everything”

Rel-17 → 5G Expansion
“Reach everywhere”

Rel-18+ → 5G Intelligence
“Think and optimize”

Rel-21+ → 6G
“AI-native from day one”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

3GPP Release timeline
3GPP Release timeline480×602 102 KB

LinkedIn: :backhand_index_pointing_down: