5G Release 16 close to completion, as RAN work commences for the next major 3GPP release

• The initial success of 5G launches and handset availability globally is helping shape the ongoing 3GPP standards process
• Release 16 (or 5G Phase 2) is close to completion
• Next on the agenda is Release 17

The initial success of 5G launches and handset availability globally is helping shape the ongoing 3GPP standards process, as we move from 5G non-standalone mode towards standalone mode. This early specification work was completed in half the time that it took to complete similar work for LTE a decade ago. Release 16 (or 5G Phase 2) is close to completion - in fact 3GPP completed the physical layer functionality work during the plenary meeting in Sitges. Protocol functionality will be completed in the next three months, then all the specifications will be frozen by June 2020, which will be a key step for the stability of the release. Next on the agenda is Release 17, and the initial RAN package has just been approved, paving the way for the individual working groups to start work from early 2020.

Filmed at: 3GPP Plenary, Sitges, Spain, December 2019