3GPP


The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is an umbrella term for a number of standards organizations which develop protocols for mobile telecommunications. Its best known work is the development and maintenance of:
3GPP is a consortium with seven national or regional telecommunication standards organizations as primary members and a variety of other organizations as associate members. The 3GPP organizes its work into three different streams: Radio Access Networks, Services and Systems Aspects, and Core Network and Terminals.
The project was established in December 1998 with the goal of developing a specification for a 3G mobile phone system based on the 2G GSM system, within the scope of the International Telecommunication Union's International Mobile Telecommunications-2000, hence the name 3GPP. It should not be confused with 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2, which developed a competing 3G system, CDMA2000.
The 3GPP administrative support team is located at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute headquarters in the Sophia Antipolis technology park in France.
WWW Official Site

Organizational partners

The seven 3GPP organizational partners are from Asia, Europe and North America. Their aim is to determine the general policy and strategy of 3GPP and perform the following tasks:
  • The approval and maintenance of the 3GPP scope;
  • The maintenance of the partnership project description;
  • Take the decision to create or cease a Technical Specification Groups, and approve their scope and terms of reference;
  • The approval of organizational partner funding requirements;
  • The allocation of human and financial resources provided by the organizational partners to the Project Co-ordination Group;
  • Act as a body of appeal on procedural matters referred to them.
Together with the market representation partners perform the following tasks:
  • The maintenance of the partnership project agreement;
  • The approval of applications for 3GPP partnership;
  • Take the decision against a possible dissolution of 3GPP.
The organizational partners are:
OrganizationCountry/regionWebsite
Association of Radio Industries and Businesses Japan
Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions USA
China Communications Standards Association China
European Telecommunications Standards Institute Europe
Telecommunications Standards Development Society India
South Korea
Telecommunication Technology Committee Japan

Market representation partners

The 3GPP organizational partners can invite a market representation partner to take part in 3GPP, which:
  • Has the ability to offer market advice to 3GPP and to bring into 3GPP a consensus view of market requirements falling within the 3GPP scope;
  • Does not have the capability and authority to define, publish and set standards within the 3GPP scope, nationally or regionally;
  • Has committed itself to all or part of the 3GPP scope;
  • Has signed the partnership project agreement.
, the market representation partners are:
OrganizationWebsite
5G-ACIAhttp://www.5g-acia.org
5G Automotive Associationhttp://www.5gaa.org/
5G Americashttp://www.5gamericas.org
Deterministic Networking Alliance https://www.5gdna.org/
6G Smart Network and Services Industry Association https://6g-ia.eu/
5G Slicing Association https://www.5g-sa.org/
5G Media Action Group http://www.5g-mag.com/
Automotive Edge Computing Consortium https://aecc.org/
Broadband India Forumhttp://www.broadbandindiaforum.com/
Cellular Operators Association of India https://www.coai.com
http://www.sae-china.org/
CTIAhttp://ctia.org/
Global Satellite Operators Association https://gsoasatellite.com/
Global Certification Forum https://www.globalcertificationforum.org/
Global mobile Suppliers Association https://gsacom.com/
GSMAhttps://www.gsma.com/
IPV6 Forumhttps://www.ipv6forum.com/
Next Generation Mobile Networks https://www.ngmn.org/
Public Safety Communication Europe Forumhttp://www.psc-europe.eu/
Small Cell Forumhttps://www.smallcellforum.org/
TCCAhttps://tcca.info/
TD Industry Alliancehttp://www.tdia.cn/
Wireless Broadband Alliancehttp://www.wballiance.com/

Standards

3GPP standards are structured as Releases. Discussion of 3GPP thus frequently refers to the functionality in one release or another.
VersionReleasedInfo
Phase 11992GSM features
Phase 21995GSM features, EFR codec,
Release 961997 Q1GSM features, 14.4 kbit/s user data rate,
Release 971998 Q1GSM features, GPRS
Release 981999 Q1GSM features, AMR codec, EDGE, GPRS for PCS1900
Release 992000 Q1Specified the first UMTS 3G networks, incorporating a CDMA air interface
Release 42001-06-21Originally called the Release 2000 – added features including an all-IP core network
Release 52002-09-12Introduced IMS and HSDPA
Release 62005-09-28Integrated operation with Wireless LAN networks and adds HSUPA, MBMS, enhancements to IMS such as Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC), GAN
Release 72008-03-13Focuses on decreasing latency, improvements to QoS and real-time applications such as VoIP. This specification also focus on HSPA+, SIM high-speed protocol and contactless front-end interface, EDGE Evolution.
Release 82009-03-12First LTE release. All-IP network. New OFDMA, FDE and MIMO based radio interface, not backwards compatible with previous CDMA interfaces. Dual-cell HSDPA. UMTS HNB.
Release 92010-03-25SAES Enhancements, WiMAX and LTE/UMTS Interoperability. Dual-cell HSDPA with MIMO, Dual-cell HSUPA. LTE HeNB. Evolved multimedia broadcast and multicast service.
Release 102011-06-08LTE Advanced fulfilling IMT Advanced 4G requirements. Backwards compatible with release 8. Multi-cell HSDPA.
Release 112013-03-06Advanced IP interconnection of services. Service layer interconnection between national operators/carriers as well as third-party application providers. Heterogeneous networks improvements, coordinated multi-point operation. In-device co-existence.
Release 122015-03-13Enhanced small cells, Carrier aggregation, MIMO, New and enhanced services
Release 132016-03-11LTE-Advanced Pro. LTE in unlicensed, LTE enhancements for machine-type communication. Elevation beamforming / full-dimension MIMO, indoor positioning.
Release 142017-06-09Energy efficiency, location services, mission-critical data over LTE, mission-critical video over LTE, flexible mobile service steering, multimedia broadcast supplement for public warning system, enhancement for TV services over eMBMS, massive Internet of things, cell broadcast service
Release 152019-06-07First 5G NR release. Support for 5G vehicle-to-x service, IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem, future railway mobile communication system
Release 162020-07-03The 5G system – phase 2: 5G enhancements, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, satellite access
Release 172022-06-10TSG RAN: several features that continue to be important for overall efficiency and performance of 5G NR: MIMO, spectrum sharing enhancements, UE power saving and coverage enhancements. RAN1 will also undertake the necessary study and specification work to enhance the physical layer to support frequency bands up to 71 GHz.
TSG SA groups focused on further enhancements to the 5G system and enablers for new features and services:
Enhanced support of: non-public networks, industrial Internet of things, low complexity NR devices, edge computing in 5GC, access traffic steering, switch and splitting support, network automation for 5G, network slicing, advanced V2X service, multiple USIM support, proximity-based services in 5GS, 5G multicast broadcast services, unmanned aerial systems, satellite access in 5G, 5GC location services, multimedia priority service...
Release 182024-06-215G-Advanced. Introducing further machine-learning based techniques at different levels of the wireless network. Edge computing, evolution of IMS multimedia telephony service, smart energy and infrastructure, vehicle-mounted relays, low power high accuracy positioning for industrial IoT scenarios, enhanced access to and support of network slicing, satellite backhaul in 5G...
Release 19Target 2025 Q45G-Advanced. AI/ML Air Interface, Ambient IoT, AI/ML for NG-RAN, SON/MDT, Channel modeling. Enhancements to MIMO, duplex, mobility, NTN, XR, and network energy saving.
Release 20Target 2027 Q25G-Advanced and 6G studies.

Each release incorporates hundreds of individual technical specification and technical report documents, each of which may have been through many revisions. Current 3GPP standards incorporate the latest revision of the GSM standards.
The documents are made available without charge on 3GPP's web site. The technical specifications cover not only the radio part and core network, but also billing information and speech coding down to source code level. Cryptographic aspects are also specified.

Specification groups

The 3GPP specification work is done in Technical Specification Groups and Working Groups.
There are three Technical Specifications Groups, each of which consists of multiple WGs:RAN : RAN specifies the UTRAN and the E-UTRAN. It is composed of six working groups.
WGShorthandScopeSpecifications
RAN WG1Radio Layer 1
RAN WG2Radio Layer 2 and Radio Layer 3 Radio Resource Control
RAN WG3UTRAN, E-UTRAN, NG-RAN architecture and related network interfaces
RAN WG4Radio performance and protocol aspects
RAN WG5Mobile terminal conformance testing
SA : SA specifies the service requirements and the overall architecture of the 3GPP system. It is also responsible for the coordination of the project. SA is composed of six working groups.
WGShorthandScopeSpecifications
SA WG1Services
SA WG2Architecture
SA WG3Security
SA WG4Codec
SA WG5Management, Orchestration and Charging
SA WG6Application Enablement and Critical Communication Applications
CT : CT specifies the core network and terminal parts of 3GPP. It includes the core network – terminal layer 3 protocols. It is composed of five working groups.
WGShorthandScopeSpecifications
CT WG1User Equipment – Core Network protocols
CT WG2CT2closed
CT WG3Interworking with external networks
CT WG4Core Network Protocols
CT WG5 Open Services Access Succeeded by the Open Mobile Alliance
CT WG6Smart Card Application Aspects
GERAN :
The closure of GERAN was announced in January 2016. The specification work on legacy GSM/EDGE system was transferred to RAN WG, RAN6. RAN6 was closed in July 2020.
The 3GPP structure also includes a Project Coordination Group, which is the highest decision-making body. Its missions include the management of overall timeframe and work progress.

Standardization process

3GPP standardization work is contribution-driven. Companies participate through their membership to a 3GPP organizational partner. As of December 2020, 3GPP is composed of 719 individual members.
Specification work is done at WG and at TSG level:
  • the 3GPP WGs hold several meetings a year. They prepare and discuss change requests against 3GPP specifications. A change request accepted at WG level is called "agreed".
  • the 3GPP TSGs hold plenary meetings quarterly. The TSGs can "approve" the change requests that were agreed at WG level. Some specifications are under the direct responsibility of TSGs and therefore, change requests can also be handled at TSG level. The approved change requests are subsequently incorporated in 3GPP specifications.
3GPP follows a three-stage methodology as defined in ITU-T Recommendation I.130:stage 1 specifications define the service requirements from the user point of view.stage 2 specifications define an architecture to support the service requirements.stage 3 specifications define an implementation of the architecture by specifying protocols in details.
Test specifications are sometimes defined as stage 4, as they follow stage 3.
Specifications are grouped into releases. A release consists of a set of internally consistent set of features and specifications.
Timeframes are defined for each release by specifying freezing dates. Once a release is frozen, only essential corrections are allowed. Freezing dates are defined for each stage.
The 3GPP specifications are transposed into deliverables by the organizational partners.