5G Second Phase Explained

The 3GPP Release 16 Enhancements

Jyrki T. J. Penttinen

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781119645504
• eBook ISBN: 9781119645535
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Mobile & Wireless Communications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

5G SECOND PHASE EXPLAINED

A one-stop reference that offers an accessible guide to an understanding of the enhanced core technologies of 5G

5G Second Phase Explained – The 3GPP Release 16 Enhancements offers an authoritative and essential guide to the new functionalities of the Release 16 that complement the first phase of the 5G. From the author of 5G Explained comes the next step resource that includes detailed descriptions that provide a clear understanding to the full version of the 5G technologies and their impacts on the Phase 1 networks.

The author—an industry expert—not only reviews the most up-to-date functionalities of the Release 16 but includes information on the forthcoming Release17 as well as material on future developments. The book explores the highly unique aspects of the Release 16, which can help technical personnel's efforts to deliver essential information in a practical way. The two books, 5G Explained and 5G Second Phase Explained, offer a comprehensive understanding of 5G. This important guide:

• Offers a summary of the newest and key features of 5G
• Presents a one-stop reference for an understanding of the core technologies of 5G
• Contains a new book that expands on the author's 5G Explained
• Puts the focus on security and deployment aspects of 5G enhancements

Written for technical personnel of network operators, network element and user device manufacturers, 5G Second Phase Explained offers a guide to an understanding of network deployment and device designing of 5G technologies.

1
Introduction

1.1 General

1.1.1 Focus of This Book

The fifth generation of mobile communication became a reality during 2019 as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) released the first set of Release 15 Technical Specifications (TS) and respective equipment, both network elements and mobile devices, to be available for commercial deployments.

Nevertheless, 3GPP Release 15 refers to the very first phase of 5G, which provides an initial, “light” version of the renewed system. In terms of 3GPP, the second phase, as defined by the Release 16 set of specifications, adds the remaining functionalities, increasing performance and becoming compliant with the strict requirements of International Mobile Telecommunications 2020 (IMT-2020) defined by the ITU-R (the radio section of the International Telecommunications Union). This is an essential step as IMT-2020 sets the reference for the interoperable, full version of the 5G, which all the parties involved with the 5G ecosystem can agree refers to the global and uniform 5G.

While the first phase of 5G is designed to augment the data rates by enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) mode, Release 16 adds needed functionality to support the other base pillars of 5G as defined by the ITU, i.e., massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) and Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC). The benefit of mMTC is the possibility of tackling a vast number of simultaneously communicating Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which form the very basis for the new connected society concept. URLLC, in turn, provides extremely low latency together with high availability of services for the special needs of critical communications. In addition, Release 16 brings with it more advanced means for highly efficient network management thanks to evolved self-optimizing networks and machine learning platforms.

There is a variety of novelty technologies available for adaptation into system architectures such as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN). Virtualization will also change the traditional business models, and open doors for completely new stakeholders such as data center operators and applications supporting Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

The second phase of 5G is already sufficiently capable of providing a functional and performant platform for highly advanced service types in a dynamic manner by using of a variety of use cases. This happens via Network Slicing (NS), which is available for deployment along with Release 16.

One of the important aspects in this evolution is to guarantee a sufficient level of interoperability between 5G networks for fluent user experiences. 3GPP standards as such are insufficient in this area as we have seen already with previous generations. Thus, there is a need to set guidelines for a feasible, minimum set of features and methods that would work among all operators within the ecosystem. As an example, the GSM Association (GSMA) is in a key position to define such recommendations for, e.g., roaming scenarios for voice and text services as well as for the interworking of packet data connections and subscription management over all the involved networks.

This book presents new key functionalities of Release 16 that complement the first phase of 5G. The book is thus an addition to the contents of the already published 5G Explained book, providing further descriptions to understand the complete picture of the full version of 5G. Whereas the first book presented the basics, this second book complements it by presenting up-to-date functionalities of Release 16, and some of the indications of the technological topics under development for the forthcoming Release 17 and beyond. This new book adds relevant descriptions in a modular way so that the reader can reference both books.

1.1.2 Generations

A number of countries launched their initial 5G networks by the end of 2019. The year 2019 was in fact of utmost importance for 5G smartphone launches, and the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) added and aligned 5G frequency bands for the further optimization of radio.

End-users have been able to use commercial mobile communication networks since the 1980s. The systems at that time were first generation, and offered mainly voice service via analogue channels [1].

1G refers to analogue, automatic mobile networks that handled only voice calls, although data transfer was possible via a data modem adapted to the terminal, or via a handful of devices embedding such functionality into the device itself. The initial systems used vehicle-mounted and portable devices for voice communications. The weight of such devices was typically several kilograms. Some examples of this first phase of 1G were Nordic NMT-450, French Radiocom 2000, Spanish TMA, German Netz-C, the UK’s TACS, Japanese JTACS, and American AMPS. As 1G matured, hand-held devices also became popular. The first ones were big and heavy compared to modern devices. An example of this latter phase was the NMT-900 system, which was launched in Nordic countries in 1986–1987.

2G represents digital systems that integrate data services and messaging. Examples of this generation are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Interim Standard-95 (IS-95). GSM was launched commercially in 1991, and unlike other 2G variants at that time, it was based on a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) that housed subscription-related data.

SIM has evolved ever since. It is still a useful platform for storing a user’s unique key, which is the basis for authentication and authorization of the user, and serves also for radio interface encryption. It is a hardware-based Secure Element (SE). 5G will rely on SIM, too, in one or another form.

2G data speeds were originally as low as 9.6 kb/s, and the service used circuit-switched connectivity. The ETSI/3GPP designed General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) that operators started to deploy in commercial markets as early as 2000, based on the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) Release 97. It opened up the era of mobile packet-switched IP data over cellular networks. The data speed has increased along with the further evolution of GSM. Using multislot and multicarrier technologies, speed can nowadays be over 1 Mb/s depending on the service support on the network and device, e.g., by applying dual carrier and multislot techniques such as Downlink Dual Carrier (DLDC). Also, the voice capacity of GSM can be enhanced by offering the same number of voice calls within a reduced spectrum by applying Orthogonal Sub-Channel (OSC) and VAMOS (Voice services over Adaptive Multi-user channels on One Slot (VAMOS) [2].

Due to low spectral efficiency and security, the importance of 2G is decreasing and operators are refarming it for use with other systems. Nevertheless, 2G is still used in many markets for consumer and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications such as wireless alarm systems; therefore, only time will tell when 2G will no longer be relevant.

3G was a result of further development of multimedia-capable systems that provided much faster data speeds. 3G is thus a mobile multimedia platform. ITU’s IMT-2000 sets the performance requirements for 3G systems. There are various commercial 3G systems such as US-originated cdma2000 and 3GPP...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• About the Author
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Requirements
• 3 Phase 2 System Architecture and Functionality
• 4 Phase 2 Radio Network and User Equipment
• 5 Core and Transport Network
• 6 Release 16 Features and Use Cases
• 7 Security
• 8 5G Network Planning and Optimization
• Appendix
• Index