3GPP Freezes Release 19 Specifications and Advances 6G Standardisation Efforts

(FirstNet Authority) represented public safety interests at the Baltimore plenary meetings, participating across all three TSGs — Radio Access Networks (RAN), Service and System Aspects (SA), and Core Network and Terminals (CT).

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has officially frozen its Release 19 (R19) specifications following the quarterly Technical Specification Group (TSG) plenary meetings held in Baltimore, Maryland, from 8 to 12 December 2025. With R19 now closed to further development beyond corrections and implementation-related fixes, the global standards body has turned its full attention to Release 20 (R20), which encompasses both 5G-Advanced (5G-A) enhancements and the initial study phase for 6G.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) represented public safety interests at the Baltimore plenary meetings, participating across all three TSGs — Radio Access Networks (RAN), Service and System Aspects (SA), and Core Network and Terminals (CT).

Release 20 and the Path to 6G

R20 marks the sixth release of 5G and the third release of 5G-Advanced. During the RAN Plenary, industry representatives broadly expressed expectations that 6G will be AI-ready, built upon 5G network foundations and service-based architecture. Discussions emphasised a value-driven approach, with features introduced only where they address verified operator and societal needs.

Key topics examined in relation to 6G architecture included device types, spectrum considerations, peak throughput targets, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) integration, non-terrestrial network (NTN) operation, and testing and certification requirements.

Public Safety Milestones in Release 19

The RAN2 working group confirmed completion of all R19 work items relevant to public safety, including the FirstNet Authority-championed NR sidelink multi-hop UE-to-Network (U2N) relay feature. Additional completed features included NTN for NR, IoT NTN, and inter-RAT mobility enhancements supporting transitions between LTE terrestrial networks and NR non-terrestrial networks.

On the CT side, CT1 reported 100% completion of all public-safety high-priority features, including protocol work supporting Mission Critical Services (MCS), enhanced location for MCS, and 5G Proximity Services (ProSe) Phase 3.

Release 20 Public Safety Priorities

The SA6 working group, responsible for mission-critical architecture, is now focused on R20 enhancements including discrete listening and monitoring of MCS, logging and recording capabilities, and MCS over multi-hop relay — supporting both UE-to-UE and UE-to-Network configurations. The FirstNet Authority anticipates that MCS over 6G study work will commence in the second quarter of 2026.

The SA3 security working group is advancing work on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) to ensure 3GPP systems can adopt quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms as the technology matures, representing a critical step in future-proofing public safety communications infrastructure.

SA1 reported that the 6G use-case study is approximately 80% complete, encompassing more than 200 distinct use cases. SA2 reported 100% completion of the ProSe specifications to support UE-to-UE multi-hop and greater than 75% completion of 5G-A architecture technical reports for other public-safety high-priority features.

6G Timeline

Release 21 (R21) is expected to contain the first normative technical specifications for 6G, with the final R21 timeline to be agreed upon at the June 2026 plenary meeting. R20 will generate only technical reports as outcomes of 6G studies. The timeline for R21 is expected to be discussed at the March 2026 plenary before formal agreement is reached in June 2026.