Release 18 is the first release for 5G-Advanced, which extends the scope of 5G technology by adding new features such as XRM, AIMLsys, etc. This release has been in development since 2021 and is still being worked on. The first release of the 5G-Advanced era is expected in 2024 and will be contained in Release 18, 19 and others, yet to be announced.

5G-Advanced

5G-Advanced is the next evolutionary step in 5g technology. In the coming decade, it will bring us the greatest capabilities of 5G technology, from immersive augmented reality to highly precise time and location technologies. During this period, 5G is expected to reach its ceiling. Major improvements also include radio access technologies,14 with 22 new and improved RAN features and capabilities. It will also bring AI and ML enhancements to the RAN and core for better performance, network optimization and energy efficiency. It will also be fully backwards compatible, so it will be able to coexist with today's 5G releases, i.e. 15 to 17. 5G-Advanced will change the user experience in various ways, allowing consumers and industry to benefit from a highly immersive experience and improved mobility. It will improve coverage and capacity and introduce support for hosting new devices. It will also bring more intelligence to the network by using AI and ML, increasing performance and reducing battery usage.

Operators see these capabilities as an opportunity to transform their networks. By considering the four points of experience, expansion and operational excellence, operators can support their customers with any deployment scenarios, use cases and network requirements.

  • Experience: 5G advanced will bring improved experiences for people and machines. These features improve uplink throughput, reduce outage times and enable superior digital experiences that will be possible with XR, VR and AR.
  • Expansion: 5G advanced brings services beyond traditional communication. It features improved positioning with sub-10cm accuracy both indoors and outdoors. For real-time financial transactions, industrial automation and other valuable functions, time synchronization services will help us. This will help in improving logistics systems and navigation.
  • Extension: Extending the range of connectivity will enable availability in multiple markets such as drones, low-cost massive IoT, greater support for non-terrestrial networks, etc. This will help extend connectivity to rural and less residential areas, allowing people to enjoy the benefits of the mobile network. It will also be important for driverless cars, automated robots and systems.
  • Excellence: 5G-Advanced will be driven by operational excellence, which will seek to optimize and improve the 5G platform through the incremental deployment of AI/ML, wireline, wireless convergence, improved resilience and improvements for energy utilization. These improvements will help ensure sufficient network surplus at affordable costs.

    • Key improvements in 5G-Advanced
  • GSM-R replacement: Extending 5G-Advanced to vertical applications such as railways requires spectrum bandwidth below 5 MHz. In Europe, it has been decided that GSM-R will be replaced with FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication System), which uses 5G NR.
  • Positioning: Will offer improvements in cellular-based positioning with centimeter accuracy and line-of-sight path identification. Internally, it will function as a complement to the external Global Navigation System (GNSS). Thanks to precise positioning and RedCap, asset tracking can be implemented.
  • Sidelink: Continues to improve direct communication between users, or users and machines. Sidelink enhancements will include mechanisms to support UE-to-UE, which allows users to obtain information from the network using other users.
  • Mobility: Aims for zero service interruption during transmission while conserving power. This is important with XR, IIoT or URLLC.
  • XR, AR, VR, gaming: It will offer users a better XR experience while moving. It needs high data rates with a very strict response limit. This improved application helps to transfer the XR load from the device to the network, reducing the cost and size of the user device. Old bulky devices will be replaced by pocket-sized devices that will have access to XR everywhere.
  • Improved coverage and MIMO: 20% higher data rates are expected. A requirement for a good end-user experience in the XR world is a small response in both uplink and downlink, because its applications require two-way communication. Improvements for uplink coverage are also part of 5G-Advanced.
  • Devices: We'll see a lot of new types of devices outside of smartphones, but also devices that don't need every aspect of their performance and flexibility. These devices are called RedCap devices and are ideal for cases such as a camera system for quality control, process monitoring, or asset tracking. This is how you can create small smart devices that also have a long battery life. The use of devices such as UAVs or drones will also grow. Their applications will be, for example, search and rescue, delivery service, or aerial monitoring. Not only drones, but also automated vehicles and robots will thrive in 5G-Advanced networks.
  • Timing: 5G is becoming a capable alternative to GNSS/GPS for providing time synchronization to UTC or another time domain. It supports everything from industrial automation to real-time financial transactions and smart grids. In today's smart grid, electricity flows in multiple directions. In other words, very precise, simultaneous and continuous monitoring is necessary to avoid imbalance. This requires extremely accurate micro and millisecond information.
  • Operational efficiency: 5G-Advanced introduces new AI and ML technologies across RAN, core and network management domains. These technologies improve performance, automation and energy efficiency. This includes solutions for more efficient data collection, training of AI/ML models and exchange between AI/ML, or for the first time it presents AI/ML in the air interface, where it continues to strengthen the performance for 5G-Advanced radio. With the increasing use of cells, energy efficiency must continue to be addressed in 5G-Advanced by implementing new energy-saving features