3GPP is the abbreviation of The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , it is a collaboration of telecoms standard organizations with the primary goal of developing mobile communications protocols.

Technologies such as long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G fall under the umbrella of 3GPP work, covering everything from the air interface and radio access network to the core network and services.

3GPP standards are currently extensively used by cellular providers and equipment manufacturers worldwide. It is the most widely used cellular standard organization and plays a crucial role in shaping the future of mobile communications.

The 3GPP organization arranges new technical standards into releases, where each version contains new details and improvements over the previous one.

Release 17 is the most recent release of 3GPP, it offers new features and advancements for 5G mobile networks. It was completed in Q3 of 2022, and manufacturers have been incorporating its latest components into their commercial products since then.

Looking closely at Release 17, there are several highlighted features:

•  One of the primary characteristics that distinguish it from previous ones is the support for non-terrestrial networks (NTN) such as satellites, high-altitude platforms or unmanned aerial vehicles. NTN capabilities introduced in Rel-17 enable 3GPP protocols for broadband (NR protocol) and for massive IoT (NB-IoT and eMTC) to be used for satellite communications. NTN capabilities are considered pivotal to help meet the increasing demand for connectivity in remote and underserved areas where traditional terrestrial networks may not be available.

•  Release 17 also brings enhancements to the uplink control and data channel design (increased repetitions, joint channel estimation, frequency hopping).

•  Furthermore, the release introduces new radio technologies such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) to provide higher throughput, lower latency and more reliable communications.

The performance enhancements are expected to provide a more versatile and capable communication technology for NTN, enabling new use cases and applications in maritime and aerial transport, rural and remote regions and disaster and emergency response situations such as industrial automation or crucial communications assistance.

A particularly significant feature of Release 17 is the support for massive IoT, characterized by the large number of devices connected to the network and the need for low power consumption and reduced cost. In situations where the devices cannot be charged or are battery-reliant, the ability of machines to enter conserving mode when there is no data to be sent can be very beneficial.

It is made possible by the reduction of unnecessary device paging receptions and easing up on device measurement for radio links. The enhanced massive MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) allows the connection and communication of a vast array of devices, from industrial equipment to consumer products, due to the improvement of factors such as beam management and SRS triggering.

Additionally, this release includes enhancements to existing properties like data security to protect against cyber threats and provide end-to-end security for all services. It can increase mobile network speed and reliability while also minimizing environmental impact and guaranteeing the security of sensitive data, which is critical for use cases such as healthcare or industrial automation. Another characteristic of Rel-17 is spectrum expansion, supporting increased frequency ranges between 24.25 - 52.6GHz up to 71GHz global and 60GHz unlicensed band. This provides faster data speeds and more capacity, crucial components when addressing consumers' growing need for quicker and more reliable internet access.

The 3GPP Release 17 standard enables a more robust and diversified 5G network capable of serving a broader range of use cases and applications, which is a huge step forward for the mobile sector. With its extended frequency ranges, new radio technologies and support for massive IoT and critical communications, it is expected to bring significant benefits to consumers and industries.

Sateliot has made the most contributions to Release 17 within the 3GPP from a satellite operator perspective, contributions that were unanimously accepted by all the members.

The Store&Forward and the Regenerative Payload were among the most supported items during the last 3GPP’s Rel-19 scope definition workshop.

The latest discussions on the Rel-19 set the standard of Satellite Telecommunications for 2025, and the Store&Forward and Regenerative Payload guarantee the best possible uplink and downlink connectivity. Especially in low-density constellations and even when visibility to a ground station is discontinuous. With this groundbreaking service, IoT delay-tolerant applications can connect from the first day and avoid the huge cost of mega-constellations for broadband.

With the support from 50 top-notch companies, including Samsung, SK Telecom, Google, and Apple, and under the ongoing implementation of the Rel-17, we believe that those features that are of paramount importance and that Sateliot has been promoting will be included in the next release of the NTN standard.