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Mobile network standards

Technologies

Follow mobile networks as technology families: what each generation established, how it evolved, and where active standardization stands now.

Live standards view

5G in service · 6G in study

Compare current status →

One lineage, three families

From deployed standards to the next study baseline

01

4G

Mature standard

The LTE standards family established an all-IP radio and core network, then expanded capacity, IoT support and service continuity through three stages.

Read the 4G overview →
Release track
Rel-8 → Rel-14
  1. 01

    LTE

    4G

    All-IP mobile broadband with OFDMA, SC-FDMA, MIMO and EPC.

    Rel-8 · Rel-9

    2008–2009

    OFDMA / SC-FDMAEPCMIMOVoLTE
  2. 02

    LTE-Advanced

    4G evolution

    Capacity and coverage evolution through carrier aggregation, CoMP and dual connectivity.

    Rel-10 · Rel-11 · Rel-12

    2010–2014

    Carrier aggregationEnhanced MIMOCoMPDual connectivity
  3. 03

    LTE-Advanced Pro

    Late 4G evolution

    The bridge to 5G, adding cellular IoT, unlicensed spectrum and vehicle connectivity.

    Rel-13 · Rel-14

    2016–2017

    NB-IoTLTE-MLAAV2X

02

5G

Deployed and evolving

5G combines the NR radio interface and 5G Core with an active evolution track. Its baseline is deployed while 5G-Advanced continues normative work.

Read the 5G overview →See current status →
Release track
Rel-15 → Rel-20
Current evidence
Updated 2026-06-30
107 tracked decisions
  1. 01

    5G

    5G baseline

    NR, 5G Core, network slicing, URLLC, RedCap and non-terrestrial access.

    Rel-15 · Rel-16 · Rel-17

    2018–2022

    NR5G CoreNetwork slicingURLLC
  2. 02

    5G-Advanced

    5G evolution

    Further radio, AI/ML, Ambient IoT, NTN, positioning and energy-efficiency work.

    Rel-18 · Rel-19 · Rel-20

    2024–present

    AI/MLAmbient IoTNTNEnergy efficiency

03

6G

In study

6G is being shaped through requirements and technical studies. Study agreements guide the design, but they are not yet a normative 6G specification.

See current status →
Release track
Rel-20 studies → Rel-21 normative work
Current evidence
Updated 2026-06-30
30 tracked decisions
  1. 01

    6G studies

    Requirements and technical direction

    Scenarios, performance requirements, radio studies and architecture principles.

    Rel-20

    Current study phase

    ScenariosRadio baselineArchitectureCapabilities
  2. 02

    6G normative specifications

    Planned standards phase

    Normative specifications will follow the study phase; the baseline is not frozen.

    Rel-21

    Planned

    Not yet normative

How this section works

Stable knowledge and current status stay separate

Overview

Architecture, radio principles, components and established capabilities.

Current status

Meeting decisions, open questions and maturity as of a stated evidence date.

Sources

Releases, specifications and TDocs behind each technical claim.