Ericsson White Paper
BNEW-22:024836 Uen
June 2022
5G Advanced:
Evolution towards
6G
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 2
Executive summary
June 2022
Executive
summary
The 5G evolution starting with Release 18 is called 5G Advanced. This paper provides
an overview of 5G Advanced to show the advantages of its technology components with
regard to network performance and capabilities. Guidance is provided on which features to
expect in 5G Advanced and how those features enhance and enrich the already deployed
5G networks.
5G New radio (NR) and 5G core (5GC) evolution is continuing in 3GPP toward 5G Advanced,
to ensure the success of 5G systems globally and to expand the usage of the 3GPP
technology by supporting different use cases and verticals. AI/ML will play an important
role in 5G Advanced systems in addition to other technology components providing support
for extended reality (XR), reduced capability (RedCap) devices, and network energy
efficiency. While Ericsson 5G networks already support AI/ML and XR use cases and
requirements in an energy efficient manner, it is essential to enhance the 5G standards to
improve multi-vendor support and provide better device and network cooperation. The 5G
Advanced standardization is an important step in the evolution of cellular wireless access
toward 6G.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 3
Content
June 2022
Content
Executive summary 2
Introduction 4
3GPP technology evolution 5
5G Advanced features in detail 8
Stepping stone toward 6G 13
Conclusion 14
Authors 15
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 4
Introduction
June 2022
Introduction
3GPP Release 18 marks the start of 5G Advanced. 5G Advanced builds on the 5G baseline
defined by 3GPP in Releases 15, 16, and 17.
5G networks have been deployed in large parts of the world. Thus, initial learnings have
been derived from these commercial networks. In addition, the need for the continuous
evolution of 5G networks by supporting new verticals and use cases has prompted 3GPP to
begin standardization related to 5G Advanced systems. 5G Advanced also provides stepping
stones in areas that will influence the future 6G system and thus bridge 5G with 6G.
This white paper provides an overview of 5G Advanced with a special focus on its most
vital parts. The main technology components and their use cases are discussed with the
goal of providing an overview of 5G Advanced and 3GPP’s future direction toward 6G. 6G
standardization may officially start from Release 21. Figure 1 provides Ericsson’s view of
the 5G Advanced and 6G timeline of 3GPP indicating completion of the first 5G Advanced
drop in 2024 and completion of the first 6G drop in 2028, followed by 6G evolution.
6G study 6G 6G evo
6G
requirements
5G 5G evo 5G evo 5G Adv 5G Adv
eMBB URLLC V2X, NR-U, eMBB, URLLC, AI/ML, XR, 5G Adv
IIoT/TSN, mMTC NW power 5G Adv
positioning (RedCap) efficiency
5G Adv
Rel-14 Rel-15 Rel-16 Rel-17 Rel-18 Rel-19 Rel-20 Rel-21 Rel-22
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Figure 1: Ericsson’s view of the 5G Advanced and 6G timeline of 3GPP (dates beyond 2023 are indicative)
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 5
3GPP technology evolution
June 2022
3GPP
technology
evolution
Since its introduction in Release 15, 5G has targeted several main use case families, such
as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), critical Internet of Things (IoT), and massive IoT.
The 5G system (5GS) provides superior network performance in terms of capacity and
coverage; enables many new use cases and support for new verticals compared to previous
generations of 3GPP systems. In recent years, there are highly prioritized industry trends
that calls for reduced carbon footprints, and that demands support for new use cases and
vertical requirements such as immersive communication and private networks that all need
to be addressed.
In addition, the already available commercial 5G deployments provide excellent learning
on network performance. Many of the above-mentioned new trends and learnings from
commercial 5G deployments demand further optimization of 5G systems, thus there is a
need to define 5G Advanced systems in the coming releases. Release 18 will include both
5GS architecture enhancements and additional capabilities for new market segments.
eMBB refers mainly to smartphone devices and corresponding applications like web,
app, email and video which rely on internet access. Some of these use cases require large
amounts of data and are demanding on capacity. 5G NR addresses this by supporting
different duplex schemes, frequency ranges, and multi-carrier operations. Ubiquitous
coverage and seamless mobility have been essential components as have been the support
for multi-antenna systems. These functionalities were already introduced in Release 15 and
enhanced in subsequent releases. More functionalities were added in Releases 16 and 17 by
standardizing solutions, for example, Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB), NR-U, broadcast
and multicast, and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 6
3GPP technology evolution
June 2022
With 5G Advanced, eMBB features will also be further enhanced. UL data rate, capacity
and coverage are for example expected to be improved. A novel duplexing scheme will be
studied that allows simultaneously transmitting and receiving on the same TDD carrier.
NR multi-hop solutions will be enhanced by mobile IAB nodes and network controlled
repeaters. Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) enhancements that come with Release 18 will
increase the NR performance, especially when fewer LTE devices share the DSS carrier in
the future. Finally, mobility will be enhanced in Release 18 with a special focus on enabling
faster handovers by leveraging lower layer functionality.
The 5GS architecture enhancements include, for example, enhancements for location
services, edge computing, UE policy, and network slicing. In addition, extending the service-
based architecture to the IMS multimedia telephony services will be studied in Release 18.
For new market segments, further enhancements for non-public networks, aerial
systems and vehicles, and multicast-broadcast services will be addressed. Deterministic
communication transmission delays are required for the industrial internet and will also be
addressed by 5G Advanced.
Critical IoT (cIoT) refers to use cases with stringent requirements on latency and reliability.
Some of the most prominent applications relate to factory automation and automotive use
cases. 5G addressed these use cases from the very beginning by introducing support for
fast scheduling, robust transmission schemes, and low latency feedback/retransmission
protocols. They have been further enhanced in Releases 16/17, for example, through
standardized support for Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), with further enhancements in
Release 18 to support Deterministic Networking (DetNet). In Release 16, the NR sidelink
was specified, which allowed 3GPP to embrace vehicle-to-vehicle and public safety use
cases.
In Release 18, better support for drones and railways will be provided. Drones will benefit
from enhanced measurements/reporting as well as from standardized aerial device
identification. Railways and some utility use cases will benefit from an NR system that is
able to operate in dedicated bands with less than 5-MHz bandwidth. Release 18 will also
introduce enhanced support for XR applications. 5G support for massive IoT (mIoT) use
cases was inherited from 4G in the form of LTE-MTC and NB-IoT, which already fulfilled
all 5G mIoT requirements. These tracks were created in Release 13 and have evolved ever
since. The latest addition was the support of mIoT for NTN in Release 17. The first NR-
based optimizations for mIoT were introduced in Release 17 by standardizing NR RedCap,
which is also considered one of 5G Advanced’s most important features.
Some NR functionality is beneficial across different domains and not connected to a specific
use only. For instance, NR got a lean design to make efficient use of energy, both on the
network and the device side. While the UE energy savings were already considered in
Release 17, in Release 18 further network energy saving is in focus.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 7
3GPP technology evolution
June 2022
NR has inbuilt management features, for example, to virtually partition the system into
different slices or to collect various types of measurements for self optimization that will
evolve in 5G Advanced. NR positioning, which is also beneficial in multiple use cases, was
added in Release 16 and is being enhanced in Releases 17 and 18. Another Release 18
noteworthy functionality is the AI/ML features which will be further discussed in the next
section.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 8
5G Advanced features in detail
June 2022
5G Advanced
features in detail
5G Advanced will enhance network performance and add support for new applications and
use cases. This report is focusing on the following five important feature areas, where 5G
Advanced is expected to bring significant enhancements:
• Intelligent network automation
• Extended reality (XR)
• Reduced capability (RedCap) NR devices
• Network energy savings
• Deterministic networking for IoT
Intelligent network automation
With increasing complexity in network design, for example, many different deployment and
usage options, conventional approaches will not be able to provide swift solutions in many
cases. It is well understood that manually reconfiguring cellular communications systems
could be inefficient and costly.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have the capability to solve complex
and unstructured network problems by using a large amount of data collected from wireless
networks. Thus, there has been a lot of attention lately on utilizing AI/ML-based solutions
to improve network performance and hence providing avenues for inserting intelligence in
network operations.
AI model design, optimization, and life-cycle management rely heavily on data. A wireless
network can collect a large amount of data as part of its normal operations. This provides
a good base for designing intelligent network solutions. 5G Advanced addresses how to
optimize the standardized interfaces for data collection while leaving the automation
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 9
5G Advanced features in detail
June 2022
functionality, for example, training and inference up to the proprietary implementation to
support full flexibility in the automation of the network.
AI/ML for RAN enhancements
Three use cases have been identified in the Release 17 study item related to RAN
performance enhancement by using AI/ML techniques. Selected use cases from the Release
17 technical report will be taken into the normative phase in the next releases. The selected
use cases are: 1) network energy saving; 2) load balancing; and 3) mobility optimization.
Device data sources
Capabilities:
Battery power, 1. RAN information
memory, processing or 1. UE needed to assist
computational capacity information the AI/ML
needed to assist processes,
Radio data:
the AI/ML e.g., KPIs on QoS
Signal quality RAN
processes fulfillment
measurement,
interference,
time-of-arrival, 2. Optimized UE 2. OAM intent, Intent
angle-of-arrival configuration e.g., slice policies based
Sensor: e.g. link management
Accelerometers, adaptation RAN generated
pressure sensors, light augmented
sensors etc. information,
e.g., load
Physical environment: prediction
Cameras, lidars, GNSS
RAN
Figure 2 shows a general example overview of AI/ML use-cases in wireless RAN.
The selected use cases can be supported by enhancements to current NR interfaces,
targeting performance improvements using AI/ML functionality in the RAN while
maintaining the 5G NR architecture. One of the goals is to ensure vendor incentives in
terms of innovation and competitiveness by keeping the AI model implementation specific.
As shown in Fig.2 an intent-based management approach can be adopted for use cases
involving RAN-OAM interactions. The intent will be received by the RAN. The RAN will need
to understand the intent and trigger certain functionalities as a result.
AI/ML for physical layer enhancements
It is generally expected that AI/ML functionality can be used to improve the radio
performance and/or reduced the complexity/overhead of the radio interface. 3GPP
TSG RAN has selected three use cases to study the potential air interface performance
improvements through AI/ML techniques, such as beam management, channel state
information feedback enhancement, and positioning accuracy enhancements for different
scenarios. The AI/ML-based methods may provide benefits compared to traditional
methods in the radio interface. The challenge will be to define a unified AI/ML framework
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 10
5G Advanced features in detail
June 2022
for the air interface by adequate AI/ML model characterization using various levels of
collaboration between gNB and UE.
AI/ML in 5G core
5G Advanced will provide further enhancements of the architecture for analytics and on
ML model life-cycle management, for example, to improve correctness of the models.
The advancements in the architecture for analytics and data collection serve as a good
foundation for AI/ML-based use cases within the different network functions (NFs).
Additional use cases will be studied where NFs make use of analytics with the target to
support in their decision making, for example, network data analytics functions (NWDAF)-
assisted generation of UE policy for network slicing.
Extended reality
The 5G bounded-latency communication capabilities will enable a wide range of new
applications including extended reality (XR) which refers to anything from virtual reality
(VR) and augmented reality (AR) to mixed reality (MR). In AR, digital elements are added to
a live view, usually with a camera on a smartphone or AR glasses. On the other hand, with
VR one leaves the physical world and experiences complete virtual immersion. The new MR
technology considers the interaction of both real-world and digital objects. In XR and Cloud
Gaming (CG), with the assistance of handheld and wearable devices, either human-to-
machine or human-to-human communications are performed.
There are many emerging new applications of XR in media, remote control and industrial
automation, which will benefit from the time-critical capabilities of 5G networks. Mobile
service providers can introduce XR to consumers, enterprises, and public institutions to
define and improve new practices in areas such as entertainment, training, education,
social interactions, and communications [ref: XR and 5G: Extended reality at scale with 5G
networks, Ericsson Technology Review, August 2021].
The XR and CG use cases mainly require high data rates, for example, in downlink and
uplink video streams. Also, the devices are usually expected to be mobile and with a small
form factor, which puts a limitation on their power resources. Moreover, low and bounded
end-to-end latency is another challenge in providing communication coverage for these
applications. In 3GPP RAN Release 17, the performance of XR services when operating
through 5G is extensively studied by looking through the vital parameters such as data
rate and latency in these services. XR services typically comprise multiple data flows, for
example, video, audio, and control. Flows are mainly periodic, but each has a different
periodicity and packet size. It is of significant importance for having a satisfactory XR
service experience to provide high data rate communication while maintaining low and
bounded latency. If in addition to low latency, the low loss is also of importance, then
Low Latency Low Loss for scalable throughput (L4S) can be used, allowing to prioritize
latency over data rates in congested situations. The energy saving consideration of the
device is also a challenge, which needs to be covered by the solution. In Release 18, the
XR awareness in RAN and XR-specific traffic handling, power savings, and capacity
improvements are all going to be studied. This is considered an important area, as there is a
lot of interest in the industry with the advent of new AR/VR devices.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 11
5G Advanced features in detail
June 2022
Reduced capability NR devices
The work on reduced capability (RedCap) UEs started in Release 17 and will continue
in Release 18 to take the 5G Advanced IoT support to the next level. RedCap addresses
Broadband IoT use cases [ref. Cellular IoT in the 5G era] and provides affordable
connectivity, for example, to applications in the entertainment and transportation
segments. Compared to earlier 4G based IoT technologies, RedCap brings the advantages
of 5G NR and a high deployment flexibility thanks to the support for an unprecedented
frequency range.
The Release 17 RedCap specifications provide a significant reduction in device modem cost.
The lower cost is achieved by reduced modem complexity: a RedCap UE in frequency range
1 (FR1) can be equipped with single receiver and transmitter branches and support half-
duplex operations in combination with 20-MHz operational bandwidth at most. This can
be compared with an ordinary FR1 NR UE which may support up to four receiver branches,
full-duplex operation, and 100-MHz bandwidth. For devices supporting frequency range
2, similar design relaxations are supported. Release 17 also specifies support for extended
discontinuous reception (eDRX) in RRC Idle and RRC Inactive states. eDRX prolongs the
configured paging periodicity and thus allows a RedCap device to power down for long
periods and save power.
5G Advanced is expected to introduce support for further reductions in modem complexity
and even leaner procedures for optimizing the device power consumption. By reducing
the supported peak data rates the requirements on the protocol stack buffer sizes will
be relaxed. Transport block size scaling is a straightforward and attractive approach for
achieving this which is expected to be explored in Release 18.
Longer eDRX cycles for the RRC Inactive state and the so-called wake-up signal (WUS)
are expected to be supported in 5G Advanced to optimize the time a device can spend in
its most energy-efficient state. WUS is a compact signal tailored to indicate an incoming
paging message and will reduce the amount of power a device spends on monitoring
paging occasions.
5G Advanced will also introduce RedCap support for new use cases such as positioning. To
keep the complexity low, RedCap positioning is expected to build on the already specified
5G positioning methods.
Network energy savings
From the start 5G was designed to meet increasing traffic demands while limiting the
power consumption of mobile networks. With 5G Advanced the focus on network energy
savings is further pronounced. The increasing energy consumption curve of mobile
networks is neither sustainable from a cost or an environmental perspective. Breaking the
energy curve is not only an option but an industry responsibility [ref: Breaking the energy
curve, Ericsson, 2020].
Energy efficiency has always been an important part of 3GPP considerations by allowing
smart sleep modes for mobile devices and exploiting lower bands to extend the coverage
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 12
5G Advanced features in detail
June 2022
while increasing capacity and speed with carrier aggregation. However, now in Release
18, a dedicated study on network energy savings will be carried out. Key performance
indicators, consumption models, and evaluation methodologies will be defined, and focus
areas, potential techniques, and features for enabling network energy savings will be
studied. Previously, similar work was performed in the area of user equipment (UE) power
savings in Release 16 and 17. In the case of system level network energy savings, traffic
load balancing and sleep mode for gNB are among the important factors to be studied in
urban micro and macro scenarios with massive MIMO.
Deterministic networking for IoT
Industrial and Critical IoT has been an important 5G topic from the start. One example of
an Industrial IoT use case is the media production and delivery which requires bounded
low-latency IP communication. A framework of functionalities has been specified for
5G time-sensitive communication (TSC) supporting both Ethernet and IP, covering
amongst others UE to UE communication through UPF, time synchronization, and 5G
TSN integration. The latter enables 5GS to act as a managed Ethernet switch or managed
Ethernet switches.
However, there is a demand to support deterministic networking (DetNet) for application
areas requiring not only bounded low latency for IP but also low delay variation and
extremely low loss. 5G Advanced will add support for DetNet IP flows in Release 18 based
on the TSC Framework defined in Release 17 (see also Figure 3, where the top part shows
the DetNet principle and the bottom part indicates the mapping to 5GS as a logical DetNet
node).
DetNet flow (IP)
IP DetNet Network
DetNet node End host
5GS logical DetNet Node
Access Core DetNet
Network Network controller
DetNet IP IP
system
DetNet
network
Figure 3: Deterministic Networking using IP for IoT (principles and mapping to 5GS)
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 13
Stepping stone toward 6G
June 2022
Stepping stone
toward 6G
5G systems are currently being deployed at a rapid pace, providing high-speed low-latency
connectivity for a wide range of services. There is no doubt that the ongoing transformation
will give rise to challenges beyond what 5G and 5G Advanced can meet. The increasing
expectations set a clear target for those in the industry and research community—6G
should contribute to an efficient, human-friendly, sustainable society through ever-
present intelligent communication [ref: 6G – Connecting a cyber-physical world, Ericsson].
Nevertheless, several of the above-discussed 5G advanced technology components can
be seen as precursors to some of the 6G building blocks. For example, XR will gradually
evolve into immersive communication for human-machine interaction which may pose
new requirements on 6G to provide an even better experience. In the area of machine-type
communication, RedCap can be complemented by zero-energy devices, a class of devices
harvesting energy from the surroundings and providing input to digital twins. AI/ML will
also play an important role in the fully data-driven architecture of 6G and the intelligent
network platform of the future.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 14
Conclusion
June 2022
Conclusion
The 5G evolution starting from Release 18 is branded 5G Advanced. As 5G Advanced
builds on a baseline defined by Releases 15, 16, and 17, this new marker indicates the
aggregated value of the 5G evolution from 2018 and onwards. In Release 18, there are both
architecture enhancements and additional capabilities for new market segments.
5G systems are currently being deployed at a rapid pace, providing high-speed, low-latency
connectivity for a wide range of services. New services will be introduced, for example,
advanced XR services, which will further increase the expectations on network performance.
Support for RedCap will widen the range of machine-type communication. Applications
requiring real-time networking using IP will benefit from Deterministic Networking
providing bounded low latency, low delay variation, and extremely low loss. To meet all
these demands efficiently, service providers will increase the use of AI/ML and network
automation while continuing the journey toward further reducing energy consumption. It
is therefore important for 3GPP to focus on these areas as part of the 5G Advanced work
while service providers prepare to leverage the benefits of 5G Advanced systems. These
technology components are also important precursors to several 6G building blocks.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 15
Authors
June 2022
Authors
Imadur Rahman joined Ericsson in 2008. Rahman is a master researcher in Research Area
Radio at Ericsson Research in Stockholm, Sweden and is currently co-manager of the 5G
Advanced standardization research project at Ericsson Research. Rahman holds a Ph.D. in
wireless communications from Aalborg University, Denmark.
Olof Liberg joined Ericsson in 2008 and currently leads the company’s 3GPP RAN
standardization team. Liberg has an M.Sc. in engineering physics from Uppsala University,
Sweden
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 16
Authors
June 2022
Sara Modarres Razavi joined Ericsson in 2014 and is currently a master researcher and co-
manager of the 5G Advanced standardization research project at Ericsson Research. Razavi
holds a Ph.D. in infra informatics from Linköping University, Sweden.
Christian Hoymann joined Ericsson Research in 2007 and currently leads a research group
at Ericsson Eurolab in Herzogenrath near Aachen, Germany. Hoymann holds a Ph.D. in
electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen University.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 17
Authors
June 2022
Stefan Parkvall joined Ericsson Research in 1999 and is currently a senior expert based in
Stockholm, Sweden. Parkvall holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Royal Institute
of Technology, Sweden, and is an IEEE Fellow.
Göran Rune joined Ericsson in 1989 and is currently a principal researcher in system and
network architectures. Rune holds a Lic. Eng. in solid state physics from the Institute of
Technology at Linköping University.
5G Advanced: Evolution towards 6G 18
Authors
June 2022
Ralf Keller joined Ericsson in 1996 and is an expert in core network migration. His current
focus is on packet core architecture and technology in his role as Chief Architect. Keller holds
a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Mannheim in Germany.
Patrik Persson joined Ericsson in 2007 and is currently a 6G program manager director.
Persson holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology,
Sweden.
