Preview of 3GPP Release 16 (5G Phase 2) – Standalone Millimeter-wave 5G

Third generation partnership project (3GPP) is a standards body that is responsible for the major cellular telecommunication standards used to fuel cellular communication around the world. The latest standards release from 3GPP (Release 15) unleashed 5G new radio (NR) non-standalone (NSA) with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) features that add additional sub-6 GHz frequency bands and introduced new NSA millimeter-wave frequency bands. While beneficial for the massive consumer market, industrial applications are also ripe for replacing physical cables with wireless links.

Release 15 focused on mobile broadband, while Release 16 is focused on vertical use cases, mainly the factory use cases. The goal is to enable the replacement of wired communication infrastructure in an industrial environment, but reliability is essential. This includes ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine-type communications (mMTC) features, with enhance mobile broadband (eMBB) features for stand-alone (SA) new radio (NR) being targeted for 3GPP Release 17. Other areas of focus for Release 16 is for NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, and other 5G efficiency enhancements.

5G Efficiency Enhancements

• Interference Mitigation
•5G Self-organizing Networks (SON)
•Enhanced Multi-input Multi-output (eMIMO)
•Location and Positioning
•Power Consumption
•Enhanced Dual Connectivity (eDual Connectivity)
•Device Capabilities Exchange
•Mobility Enhancements

In 2018 Release 16 studies were planned. The goal of these studies is to investigate and determine appropriate specifications and standards for cellular communication for the targeting applications.

Release 16 Studies *From 3GPP

•Study into discrete listening and logging for mission critical services
•Study of test methods for New Radio
•Study on 5G enhanced Mobile Broadband Media Distribution
•Study on 5G NR UE Application Layer Data Throughput Performance
•Study on 5G security enhancement against false base stations
•Study on 6 GHz for LTE and NR
•Study on 7 – 24 GHz frequency range for NR
•Study on ambient noise test methodology for evaluation of acoustic UE performance
•Study on Application Awareness Interworking between LTE and NR
•Study on authentication and key management for applications based on 3GPP credential in 5G
•Study on authentication enhancements in 5GS
•Study on autonomous network levels
•Study on Charging Aspects of Network Slicing
•Study on Communication for Automation in Vertical Domains
•Study on encrypted traffic detection
•Study on Enhanced IMS to 5GC Integration
•Study on enhancement for disaggregated gNB architecture
•Study on enhancements to IMS for new real time communication services
•Study on evaluation for 2 RX exception in Rel-15 vehicle mounted UE for NR
•Study on evolution of Cellular IoT security for the 5G System
•Study on EVS Float Conformance Non Bit-Exact
•Study on eXtended Reality (XR) in 5G
•Study on IETF QUIC Transport for Service Based Interfaces
•Study on Improvement of V2X Service Handling
•Study on integration of ONAP and 3GPP configuration management services for 5G networks
•Study on integration of ONAP DCAE and 3GPP management architecture
•Study on location enhancements for mission critical services
•Study on Long Term Key Update Procedures
•Study on Long Term Key Update Process (LTKUP) Detailed solutions
•Study on management and orchestration aspects with integrated satellite components in a 5G network
•Study on management aspects of communication services
•Study on management aspects of edge computing
•Study on MBMS User Services for IoT
•Study on MC services access aspects
•Study on Mission Critical services support over 5G System
•Study on non-file-based trace reporting
•Study on Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) for NR
•Study on non-public networks management
•Study on NR beyond 52.6 GHz
•Study on NR Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)
•Study on Nudsf Service Based Interface
•Study on protocol enhancement for real time communication
•Study on QoE metrics for VR
•Study on radiated metrics and test methodology for the verification of multi-antenna reception performance of NR UEs
•Study on RAN-centric data collection and utilization for LTE and NR
•Study on remote interference management for NR
•Study on SECAM and SCAS for 3GPP virtualized network products
•Study on Security Aspects of 3GPP support for Advanced V2X Services
•Study on security aspects of single radio voice continuity from 5G to UTRAN
•Study on Security Aspects of the 5G Service Based Architecture
•Study on Security Impacts of Virtualisation
•Study on self-evaluation towards IMT-2020 submission
•Study on Self-Organizing Networks (SON) for 5G
•Study on solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN)
•Study on storage and transport of 5GC security parameters for ARPF authentication
•Study on supporting 256-bit algorithms for 5G
•Study on system architecture for next generation real time communication services
•Study on tenancy concept in 5G networks and network slicing management
•Study on the security of the Wireless and Wireline Convergence for the 5G system architecture
•Study on the Wireless and Wireline Convergence for the 5G system architecture
•Study on Typical Traffic Characteristics of Media Services
•Study on UEs Supporting Handset Mode with Non-Traditional Earpieces
•Study on User Plane Integrity Protection
•Study on User Plane Protocol in 5GC
•Study on V2X Media Handling and Interaction

There are additional technical efforts in developing broadened applicability of 3GPP technology for non-terrestrial radio access. This will likely initially include satellites, but may later include airborne base stations. Mission critical applications are another service area that will likely see augmented service in Release 16.

 Release 16 Updates and Timeline of Relevant Sections

•Physical Layer  Functionality (December 2019)
•Protocol Functionality (March 2020)
•Architecture Functionality (June 2020)

The work program for Release 17 has been defined as well. Look forward to a future article that will detail this next enhancement of 5G.

Resources

1. https://www.3gpp.org/release-16
2. https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3493
3. https://www.3gpp.org/3gpp-calendar/44-specifications/releases
4. https://techblog.comsoc.org/2019/10/06/3gpp-release-16-update-5g-phase-2-including-urllc-to-be-completed-in-june-2020/
5. https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2018/9/5g-nr-release-16–start-of-the-5g-evolution
6. https://techblog.comsoc.org/category/3gpp-release-16/
7. https://www.5gamericas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/5G-Evolution-3GPP-R16-R17-FINAL.pdf
8. 5G Release 16 close to completion, as RAN work commences for the next 3GPP release
9. Lionel Morand Interview. CT Stage 3 of Release 16