The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a group of standards organizations that develops technical specifications for cellular (mobile) telecommunications technologies. The 3GPP technologies addressed by 3GPP working groups are constantly evolving with successive generations of commercial cellular/mobile systems. With its work on LTE and 5G, 3GPP has become the main force driving the evolution of the vast majority of mobile systems beyond 3G. For more information on 3GPP, see the “About 3GPP” subtopic.
Although referring to these generations has become an adequate way of describing a discussed network type, real progress in 3GPP standards is measured by the milestones achieved in specific releases. New features are “functionality-frozen” and ready for implementation when work on a new release is completed (for release dates, see the 3GPP portal). At that point, 3GPP partner organizations may publish the specifications as standards. 3GPP concurrently works on multiple releases, starting work on the next one well before the current release is completed. Although this approach adds complexity to the groups’ work, it ensures steady, continual progress.
Each release specifies an agreed set of features that have been introduced on the basis of technical contributions by individual 3GPP members and their discussions in corresponding groups. The completion of a release doesn’t automatically lead to its features becoming available in mobile communication equipment such as UEs, the access network, the core network, and operation and maintenance. Whether or not and to what extent a given set of features becomes available for a 3GPP release depends on how interested the market is in them. Usually, telecommunications suppliers need to see a certain demand for a particular feature in order to start introducing it to their products. Potential customers such as mobile operators, system integrators, service providers, and end users play an important role in lobbying for suppliers to meet their functional needs. 5G-ACIA, as one of 3GPP’s market-facing partners, plays an important role in communicating user needs for services, features and functionality to it. An additional effort by all players is required in order to implement available 3GPP features in telecommunications equipment.
The process for implementing releases in telecommunications equipment usually takes a certain amount of time after a release is ready at 3GPP. It is published by 3GPP’s organizational partners in the form of standards:
