The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as Organizational Partners. These Organizational Partners are
- Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB)
- Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS)
- China Communications Standards Association (CCSA)
- The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
- Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI)
- Telecommunications Technology Association, Korea (TTA)
- Telecommunication Technology Committee, Japan (TTC)
3GPP produces Technical Specifications, to be transposed by relevant Standardization Bodies (Organizational Partners) into appropriate deliverable (e.g., standards).
3GPP Standards Releases
3GPP Release |
Released Date |
Feature’s Information |
Phase 1 |
1992 |
|
Phase 2 |
1995 |
|
3GPP Rel 96 |
Q1 1997 |
- GSM Features, 14.4 kbit/s User Data Rate
|
3GPP Rel 97 |
Q1 1998 |
|
3GPP Rel 98 |
Q1 1999 |
- GSM Features, AMR, EDGE, GPRS for PCS1900
|
3GPP Rel 99 |
Q1 2000 |
- First UMTS 3G networks,CDMA air interface
|
3GPP Rel 4 |
Q2 2001 |
- 3G UMTS features including an all-IP Core Network
|
3GPP Rel 5 |
Q1 2002 |
|
3GPP Rel 6 |
Q4 2004 |
- HSUPA, MBMS, IMS enhancements
- PTT over Cellular, operation with WLAN
|
3GPP Rel 7 |
Q4 2007 |
- Improvements in QoS & latency, VoIP, HSPA+
- NFC integration, EDGE Evolution
|
3GPP Rel 8 |
Q4 2008 |
- Introduction of LTE, SAE, OFDMA, MIMO
- Dual Cell HSDPA
|
3GPP Rel 9 |
Q4 2009 |
- WiMAX / LTE / UMTS interoperability
- Dual Cell HSDPA with MIMO,
- Dual Cell HSUPA, LTE HeNB
|
3GPP Rel 10 |
Q1 2011 |
- LTE-A,Backwards compatibility with Release 8 (LTE)
- Multi-Cell HSDPA (4 Carrier)
|
3GPP Rel 11 |
Q3 2012 |
- Heterogeneous networks (HetNet)
- Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP)
- In device Coexistence (IDC),
- Advanced IP interconnection of Services
|
3GPP Rel 12 |
Q1 2015 |
- Enhanced Small Cells operation
- Carrier Aggregation FDD/TDD carrier aggregation)
- 3D channel modelling, Elevation Beamforming, massive MIMO
- MTC – UE Cat 0 introduced, D2D communication
- eMBMS enhancements.
|
3GPP Rel 13 |
Q1 2016 |
- LTE-U / LTE-LAA, LTE-M
- Elevation beamforming / Full Dimension MIMO
- Indoor positioning
- LTE-M Cat 1.4 MHz and Cat 200 KHz introduced
|
3GPP Rel 14 |
Schedule for 2017 |
- Energy Efficiency, Location Services (LCS)
- Mission Critical Data and Video over LTE
- Flexible Mobile Service Steering (FMSS)
- Multimedia Broadcast Supplement for Public Warning System
- enhancement for TV service,Massive Internet of Things
- Cell Broadcast Service (CBS)
|
3GPP Rel 15 |
Schedule for 2018 |
- Support for 5G Vehicle-to-x service,
- IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS),
- Future Railway Mobile Communication System
- 5G Phase 1, New Radio (NR) Non standalone Deployment Specs
|
3GPP Rel 16 |
Schedule for 2020 |
- 5G Phase 2 Specifications
|



