Release 17 also brought several LTE Advance Pro technologies to the 5G platform. To start connecting 5G massive IoT, both eMTC and NB-IoT can be deployed in-band with 5G NR services and are supported by the new 5G core network. For high power high tower terrestrial broadcasting, enTV is further improved in release 16 to support higher mobility and better coverage.

The first key feature of Release 17 is the expansion of radio frequency support. The maximum NR frequency has been increased from 52.6 GHz up to 71 GHz. This is a long-awaited and important improvement for 5G millimeter waves, as it frees up the global unlicensed 60 GHz band for 5G deployment, for both public and private networks. This expansion brings more network capacity and enables new ways of use and deployment, such as mmWave private networks for smart manufacturing, which supports both communication and positioning. Beyond the frequency expansion, Release 17 also brings other improvements for millimeter waves, including expanded support for cross-band uplink/downlink carrier aggregation and improved mobility. Release 17 continues to introduce new capabilities that optimize expansion into new devices, services and deployments. To effectively support less complex 5G devices, the 5G NR wideband design is reduced to 5G NR-Light, which supports 20 MHz and 100 MHz bandwidth for sub-7 GHz and millimeter waves. 5G NR-Light supports multiple complexity reduction features, such as single Rx and half-duplex, as well as energy reduction techniques. 5G NR-Light in 5G-Advanced (Release 18) will be able to further reduce complexity for wider IoT support.

Release 17 will enable more features and uses such as:

  • DSS – improved Cross-carrier scheduling
  • Multicast and Broadcast – primarily targeting V2X, public safety, IP multicast, software delivery and IoT applications
  • NTN (Non-terrestrial networks) – Support for satellites and high-altitude platforms as another way to provide coverage in rural areas. Release 17 introduced 2 parallel workflows that address low-complexity mobile broadband and IoT use cases. One project adapts the 5G NR framework for satellite communications, enabling fixed wireless access (FWA) backlinks from Earth to satellites, as well as providing direct low-speed data and voice services to smartphones. The second project focuses on supporting satellite access for low-complexity eMTC and NB-IoT devices with global asset tracking applications. Satellite communication will evolve further in 5G-Advanced.
  • SNPN (Standalone non-public networks) – access to SNPN using external credentials
  • RedCap (Reduced Capability) – a new level of consumer devices with longer battery life and a smaller appearance
  • Geo-positioning – more accurate positioning, 20-30 cm positioning accuracy indoors and portability below 5 meters outdoors
  • Supports up to 8 antennas with multiple layers for better throughput
  • Dynamic repeats and higher transmission power that can improve coverage for devices
  • Dual standby multi-SIM, which can support simultaneous operations of two or more users on one or two networks

    • As with the previous release, this one also improves existing 5G capabilities. These include, for example, URLLC and the functionality of private networks. Additional MIMO enhancements for NR that improve capacity, battery life and throughput. IIoT, NTN support for NR and IoT, improvements for RAN (Radio access network) slicing for NR, 5G network automation, etc. It expands the scope of NR Sidelink to V2X, public protection and commercial D2D. [L5] [L6]