Standard
ABSTRACT
After the initial delivery in late 2017 of ‘Non-Stand-Alone’ (NSA) NR (new radio) specifications for 5G, much effort focused in 2018 on timely completion of 3GPP Release 15 – the first full set of 5G standards – and on work to pass the first milestones for the 3GPP submission towards IMT-2020.
While initial specifications enabled non-standalone 5G radio systems integrated in previous-generation LTE networks, the scope of Release 15 expands to cover ‘standalone’ 5G, with a new radio system complemented by a next-generation core network. It also embraces enhancements to LTE and, implicitly, the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). This crucial way-point enables vendors to progress rapidly with chip design and initial network implementation during 2019.
As the Release 15 work has matured and drawn close to completion, the focus has shifted to Release 16 and Release 17, often referred to informally as ‘5G Phase 2’.
3GPP uses a system of parallel "Releases" which provide developers with a stable platform ("Freeze") for the implementation of features at a given point and then allow for the addition of new functionality in subsequent Releases. Hence futher developments continue for Rel-16 and Rel-17.
General information
- Status: Published
- Publication date :
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- Category: 5G communications
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SDO:
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Latest published version :