On June 18,2024, 3GPP Release 18 was officially frozen during the 3GPP SA#104 meeting in Shanghai. 3GPP Release 18, the inaugural version of 5G-Advanced, represents a groundbreaking milestone in 5G technology. Building upon this release, the mobile communications industry is gearing up to explore new business values, venture into uncharted fields, and progress to the next generation.
Calling services have always constituted the most crucial and fundamental offerings of operators, providing advantages such as global connectivity, support across all devices, carrier-class service quality, guaranteed security, and transparent billing. 5G technology has led to substantial improvements in network bandwidth and computing power, paving the way for the modernization of conventional calling services.
3GPP Release18 underscores the transformation of conventional calling services. SA Working Group 2 (SA2) initiated the Next Generation Real-Time Communication (NG-RTC) project with the goal of defining new communication requirements and standardizing IMS Data Channel to support New Calling services. SA2 enhanced the IMS network architecture, interfaces, and service procedures, including the introduction of the Data Channel Signaling Function (DCSF) for signaling control and Media Function (MF) for media processing for IMS Data Channel. Plus, SA2 defined new Service-Based Interfaces (SBIs) Nmf and Nimsas and a new Diameter interface Sc.
Figure 1 Architecture of IMS Data Channel (3GPP TS 23.228)
To better support service innovation, SA2 also delineated the Augmented Reality (AR) communication process on top of the IMS Data Channel architecture.
Building upon the accomplishments of SA2, other working groups also finalized the formulation of complementary standards in Release 18, which include:
-CT Working Group 1 (CT1) and CT Working Group 3 (CT3) stipulated related specifications for the Nmf, Nimsas, and Sc interfaces and IMS Data Channel.
-SA Working Group 3 (SA3) standardized the security mechanism for New Calling.
-SA Working Group 5 (SA5) standardized the charging scheme for New Calling.
Jiang Yi, the reporter of the3GPP R18 SA2 NG_RTC project and the principal researcher of China Mobile, stated that 5G real-time communication is a necessary stage for the evolution from traditional voice to future immersive communication, and the freezing of 3GPP Release 18 marks the completion of 5G real-time communication standards. It will help the industry maturity and commercial deployment of 5G real-time communication represented by New Calling service, and lay a technical foundation for the evolution of real-time communication services to immersive. In this process, China's operators, represented by China Mobile, and industry partners are at the forefront of technology research and commercial deployment, further expanding the technical voice of Chinese enterprises.
