LTE Tutorial Long-Term Evolution

3GPP Standards Releases

The3rd 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 ReleaseReleased DateFeature’s Information
Phase 11992
  • Basic GSM Features
Phase 21995
  • GSM Features, EFR Codec
3GPP Rel 96Q1 1997
  • GSM Features, 14.4 kbit/s User Data Rate
3GPP Rel 97Q1 1998
  • GSM Features, GPRS
3GPP Rel 98Q1 1999
  • GSM Features, AMR, EDGE, GPRS for PCS1900
3GPP Rel 99Q1 2000
  • First UMTS 3G networks,CDMA air interface
3GPP Rel 4Q2 2001
  • 3G UMTS features including an all-IP Core Network
3GPP Rel 5Q1 2002
  • Introduced IMS and HSDPA
3GPP Rel 6Q4 2004
  • HSUPA, MBMS, IMS enhancements
  • PTT over Cellular, operation with WLAN
3GPP Rel 7Q4 2007
  • Improvements in QoS & latency, VoIP, HSPA+
  • NFC integration, EDGE Evolution
3GPP Rel 8Q4 2008
  • Introduction of LTE, SAE, OFDMA, MIMO
  • Dual Cell HSDPA
3GPP Rel 9Q4 2009
  • WiMAX / LTE / UMTS interoperability
  • Dual Cell HSDPA with MIMO,
  • Dual Cell HSUPA, LTE HeNB
3GPP Rel 10Q1 2011
  • LTE-A,Backwards compatibility with Release 8 (LTE)
  • Multi-Cell HSDPA (4 Carrier)
3GPP Rel 11Q3 2012
  • Heterogeneous networks (HetNet)
  • Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP)
  • In device Coexistence (IDC),
  • Advanced IP interconnection of Services
3GPP Rel 12Q1 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 13Q1 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 14Schedule 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 15Schedule 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 16Schedule for 2020
  • 5G Phase 2 Specifications