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3GPP Explorer

What mobile standards decided — and what those decisions mean.

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Rel-20 · Architecture9 October 2026

Sleeping base stations, 5G voice and AI in the core: 6G's October choices

Proposals on the table for 12-16 October 2026 weigh three trade-offs. One is base-station energy against how fast phones find a 6G cell. Another is whether calls may stay on 5G while data moves to 6G. The third is whether AI becomes part of the core network or sits beside it. The radio groups meet in Jeju and the core-network groups in Prague. Nothing has been decided yet.

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Based on 3GPP meeting documents and agreed contributions. Study agreements are not yet normative specifications.

Current standards status

One generation in service. One still being negotiated.

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5G‑Advanced

Normative work

Standardized and evolving

Release track: Rel-15 → Rel-20
Current edge: AI/ML, Ambient IoT, NTN and energy efficiency
Evidence: 107 tracked decisions
Verified: 30 June 2026

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Study phase

Study agreements, not yet a normative standard

Release track: Rel-20 studies → Rel-21 normative work
Current edge: Requirements, waveform, architecture and migration choices
Evidence: 30 tracked decisions
Verified: 30 June 2026

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3GPP Quarterly · September 2026

The decisions behind the next network release.

13 meetings70 decisionsEvery claim linked to source material

Radio: Bands, RF & NR Evolution

5G phones will get channel feedback within milliseconds of connecting

A 3 ms clock and a dedicated MAC-CE slot field for early channel reports are agreed; Huawei, ZTE, NTT DOCOMO and Sony lost on retransmissions.

24 decisionsRead topic →

Satellites, NTN & HAPS

Satellite phones without GPS: per-beam reference points agreed, two-root PRACH narrowed

Per-beam reference points are agreed and the two-sequence PRACH design is narrowed over lone objections from ZTE and OPPO; other variants and signaling details stay open.

10 decisionsRead topic →

AI/ML & Analytics

Physical-layer rules for network-side AI/ML beam data collection added to the specification

The physical-layer specification now describes the constraints for CSI-RS measurements that the network configures for logged (L3) data collection, closing a gap between the new RRC configuration and TS 38.214.

7 decisionsRead topic →

Read the complete September 2026 issue

Past issues: June 2026 · March 2026 · December 2025 · September 2025 · June 2025 · March 2025

Technology Briefings

Technologies that made it through.

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Rel-20

3GPP closes its post-quantum study and starts rewriting 5G security profiles

3GPP's security group has finished its study of how 5G moves to post-quantum cryptography. The first normative work on the core network's security profiles is under way, and the study text is already being updated as IETF standards land.

33.703 · 33.210 · 33.310Read briefing →

Rel-19

5G femtocells finally get a real specification

3GPP's TSG SA plenary #105 approved a Release 19 work item, led by NTT DOCOMO, to write normative specifications for 5G NR Femto access points in homes and small businesses.

23.501 · 23.502 · 29.503Read briefing →

Rel-20

Mobile networks are getting an energy label — and a knob to act on it

Operators from AT&T to Orange and Telefónica backed Release 20 requirements, led by Nokia, that turn energy use, energy sources and CO2 emissions into criteria a customer can see and steer services by

22.883 · 22.261 · 23.700-44Read briefing →

Explore the source material

Move from the interpretation to the specification.

The quarterly brief

Follow what 3GPP actually decided.

Decisions, rejected proposals and changes to 5G‑Advanced and 6G — with links to the source documents. Sent around the 3GPP plenaries and major events.

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