5G Evolution: 3 Advancements of 3GPP Releases 16, 17 and 18

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) first laid the foundation for commercial 5G deployments worldwide with Release (Rel) 15. Since then, 3GPP has continued to evolve 5G technology through subsequent releases (i.e., 16, 17 and 18).

Each new set of standards improves performance and supports Internet of Things (IoT) use cases across verticals, including:

• Smart cities
• Connected health care wearables
• Various sensors and actuators

In addition, they also support new services, such as:

• Extended reality
• Cloud gaming
• Multicast and broadcast services

These latest technology advancements in 5G’s evolution empower companies from diverse industries to accelerate digital transformation and meet evolving needs. This article will discuss three topics pertinent to Rels 16, 17 and 18:

• Time-sensitive networking (TSN) features enabled by 5G for bounded latency
• The role of 5G New Radio (NR) reduced capability (RedCap) devices in filling connectivity gaps
• The benefits of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) for seamless mobility coverage

5G-Enabled TSN Features for Industry 4.0

The enhancements of 3GPP Rel 16 are considered the first steps in the 5G evolution. It addressed new industrial IoT (IIoT) and mission-critical use cases. This release also introduced several key technologies to support these verticals, such as:

• Ultrareliable low-latency communications (URLLC)
• Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications
• TSN

3GPP’s Rel 16 enabled 5G networks to deliver crucial features for TSN. These include new network standards (802.1Qxx, 802.1AS) for time-critical services, SIB9 time synchronization and Ethernet PDU support.

These ensure precise, reliable communication and lower latency in 5G networks within complex industrial environments. TSN features in 5G will revolutionize wireless networking capabilities for different industries, including:

• Industrial automation
• Manufacturing and robotics
• Automotive
• Transportation
• Health care
• Utilities

TSN can link information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) networks to create one unified network based on standard Ethernet (i.e., combining wired and wireless Ethernet). This network facilitates many unique benefits for Industry 4.0 and IIoT applications.

The convergence of these networks will improve network connectivity and reduce the cost needed to deploy systems. TSN will allow businesses with Industry 4.0 and IIoT applications to increase production efficiency and reduce cabling and maintenance costs.

TSN will also help Industry 4.0 and IIoT by allowing accurate and time-sensitive data to be integrated easily into mission-critical industrial processes. In addition, it provides organizations with a comprehensive view of operations. This ability empowers them to identify and act quickly in response to changing market demands.

Companies can use TSN to prioritize network traffic for fast and accurate real-time communications and time-critical data delivery. In addition to low latency, TSN supports:

• Bounded delay
• Network stability (low jitter)
• Multiservice bearer
• Meticulous motion control and emergency stop
• Transmission of large volumes of data

How 5G’s Evolution Fills the Connectivity Gap with RedCap and eRedCap

Introduced in 3GPP’s Rel 17 part of 5G NR, RedCap is the 5G NR replacement of 4G LTE Category (Cat) 4. As the name implies, RedCap supports reduced capability devices with looser data-rate requirements than enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB).

5G RedCap devices have simpler radio and modem designs, have fewer antennas and operate on narrower bandwidths. Therefore, they are less complex and costly than regular 5G devices and consume less power. Telit Cinterion is developing initial modules targeting 220-Mbps downlink and 100-Mbps uplink speeds.

Rel 18 (still under development) has defined a new class of devices called enhanced RedCap (eRedCap). eRedCap is a version of 5G NR that will further simplify complexity with even more reduced performance equivalent to Cat 1 and Cat 1 bis (10 Mbps downlink, 5 Mbps uplink). eRedCap will drive costs down and scale up volume.

Note that RedCap and eRedCap are two different device types. eRedCap is not an evolution of RedCap but rather a new device type created by throughput reduction.

Dynamic Spectrum Sharing: Enabling the Shift to 5G

Dynamic spectrum sharing is a helpful tech component in the standard. It allows the same network to communicate with 4G or 5G devices. It will permit all end devices to shift to 5G economically (i.e., at the end of their natural life cycles) versus abruptly.

Still, 4G will be sunset in about seven to 10 years, just as 3G was last year. Next-generation IoT devices on 4G that require lifespans of 15 years or more must transition to 5G.

That said, every class of connectivity in 4G needs a successor in 5G. NB-IoT and LTE-M in 4G are 5G-ready technologies. They may also transition to native 5G in future releases.

5G already supports high speed. The missing class (or connectivity gap) is the center of the speed and power scale, where LTE Cat 1, Cat 1 bis, Cat 4 and Cat 6 are today. The well-established applications in these categories will transition to RedCap. While speed won’t change much, Rel 18 RedCap will result in better latency and power-consumption performance.

NTNs Support Seamless Mobility

When the NTN became part of the 3GPP standard in Rel 17, it enabled seamless connectivity in remote or challenging environments. It opened the door for potential solutions to overcome longstanding mobility coverage challenges between NTNs and terrestrial networks (TNs).

Historically, due to economic and feasibility challenges, TNs have been unable to provide communication and internet access to remote areas, such as:

• Mountains
• Oceans
• Ships
• Airplanes
• Vehicles

Military and government agencies, airline companies and the maritime industry leveraged NTNs (e.g., satellites, balloons and other NTN infrastructure). NTNs enabled them to provide communication and internet access in these places where building TNs would not be practical. However, thanks to Rel 17, experts theorize that NTN infrastructure can augment TN capabilities to reach otherwise unreachable areas.

Combining the TN with NTN infrastructure like satellites or HAPS can help emergency responders or disaster relief personnel. Even in remote areas without cellular coverage, they would still have the connectivity service required to perform their jobs efficiently.

In addition, pairing an NTN with a mobile network operator that leases spectrum and infrastructure from a satellite service provider could bolster urban connectivity in underserved areas. 5G can complement NTNs to offer high-speed and low-latency connectivity to users in similar urban or suburban settings.

Lastly, NTNs can help improve network mobility, ensuring continuous service coverage and capacity in case of TN infrastructure failure. Nevertheless, despite the excitement of NTNs augmenting TNs to provide seamless mobility, it will be a long time before we see a smooth integration. In the meantime, companies can still prepare by deploying NTN modules and connectivity solutions.

Watch Our On-Demand Webinar: 5G’s Evolution: TSN, RedCap and Non-Terrestrial Networks

How Businesses Can Prepare for 5G’s Evolution

3GPP’s latest releases mark further key advancements in 5G’s evolution. Although many of these new features and changes are not here, their arrival is imminent. It is paramount that organizations prepare accordingly.

To that end, it is advantageous for businesses to seek the assistance of a technical partner like Telit Cinterion that offers:

• Enterprise-grade solutions
• Broad 5G competencies
• Experience assisting brands in transitioning from one standard to another

Moreover, companies looking to connect critical infrastructure within IIoT settings must prioritize vendors that provide routers, gateways and rugged applications. These offerings must be capable of resilient, high-performing connectivity.