Summary Report from 3GPP plenaries #103

INTRODUCTION

3GPP’s most recent round of plenary gatherings were held in Maastricht, Netherlands, from 18^th to 22^nd March, 2024. The gathering witnessed a varied spectrum of stakeholders and close to 1700 technical documents (TDoc) were submitted for discussion. In view of 3GPP’s way forward development plans for 5G Advanced, extensive discussions took place on the scope and objectives of various Release-19 features/work items/study items led by different 3GPP working groups. Nearly 20% of the contributions  discussed technical aspects of Rel-19 work. 3GPP Rel-19 work started in the first quarter of 2024 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL SUBMISSIONS 

REL-19 ASPECTS

New work items/study items, including intra-band non-collocated carrier aggregation/dual connectivity, New Radio (NR) channels with less than 5 MHz bandwidth for terrestrial networks, radio frequency enhancements in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) for user devices, radio frequency requirements for base stations, and over-the-air testing enhancements were approved for Rel-19. Spatial channel modelling for MIMO and management of fragmented carriers in carrier aggregation were two additionally endorsed Rel-19 topics.

SUMMARY OF KEY TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS HELD IN THE PLENARY MEETINGS

Fragmented spectrum utilization: 

Several operators like Telus, Bell Mobility, T-Mobile USA, Nokia, Telstra, US Cellular, and Spark NZ stated that they are facing limitations in fully utilizing their fragmented spectrum holdings due to the consumption of multiple Rx (receiver) chains by fragmented carriers within the same band in carrier aggregation scenarios. As a result, they are unable to leverage their spectrum efficiently, leading to suboptimal network performance and potentially impacting the quality of service for users. They supported work on this area in Rel-19 to enable better usage of non-contiguous spectrum holdings.

Higher operating power classes for UEs:

Despite setting enhancements to operable power levels for UEs in NTN (non-terrestrial networks) systems, Apple, Ligado Networks, Inmarsat, and others proposed to have higher power classes for regular NR UEs and IoT (Internet of Things) UEs for NTN in NR FR1 bands in Rel-19 in order to cater to the link conditions for satellite FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) bands. Additionally, CHTTL proposed support for high power UE class for Dual Connectivity operation (EN-DC) in terrestrial networks in Rel-19. 

Spatial channel modelling for MIMO in Rel-19

Spatial channel modelling techniques for MIMO demodulation was discussed. Qualcomm suggested that existing channel models may be adequate however, it stressed on the importance of further study. Telecom Italia, Vodafone, Orange supported the need for a new channel modelling technique for Rel-19 MIMO.

Energy savings:

Discussions were held regarding estimation of per-UE RAN (Radio Access Network) energy consumption. Vodafone was interested to understand the energy consumption differences among different UEs when they are using the same amount of data volume within their network and stated that this information could be leveraged to reduce energy consumption. The discussion had mixed suggestions with KT stating this to be interesting while ZTE expressed that it would be difficult to make accurate estimates on this. 

No Transmit Zone (NTZ) for UAV communication:

CATT, CBN, NTT Docomo, and China Broadnet were among the others who discussed NTZ requirements for UAV systems. It was stated that in order to protect other services, per UE level or RAN node level NTZ information (on protected geographical area(s), and frequency bands) was required to be enforced. This information could be provided by 5GC (5G Core Network). It was confirmed that no base station coverage planning change is required for supporting NTZ. Orange, however, expressed that there is a still of uncertainties regarding the requirements and that further discussions might be required.

Inter RAT mobility enhancements from E-UTRAN to NR NTN: 

There was a debate over whether to focus solely on idle mode mobility or to also take into account connected mode mobility for mobility procedures from Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) terrestrial network to NR NTN. Thales, CATT, Deutsche Telekom, ETRI, and Telit expressed their support for considering both idle and connected mode mobility options. AT&T, however, was against this up-scoping. Deutsche Telekom further added that without considering connected mode, it will not be feasible to perform a voice call handover from LTE Terrestrial Network (TN) to New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN).

Complexity reduction for eRedCap devices: 

To further relax the hardware complexity of enhanced Reduced Capability (eRedCap) devices, Sony, Nordic Semiconductor ASA, Sequans Communications, Oppo and Vivo proposed to design eRedCap devices without a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filter. This was noted and it was decided to have further discussions on this. 

Using Dolcera’s in-house R&D driven ‘3GPP TDoc Explorer’ tool, we provide a high-level overview of the top Rel-19 features and their related work items count in the chart presented above.

The details of moderator summary TDocs for Rel-19 are presented below.