June 2025 marks a milestone in the evolution of wireless standards as industry stakeholders gather to define the scope and technologies that will shape 6G. This month, the 3GPP community convened in Prague for a plenary session to create the blueprint for the study and specifications work of Release 20 (Rel-20), an important event for the continued evolution of 5G-Advanced and a key step on the journey to 6G.
This blog provides a high-level overview of the key technical priorities discussed at the plenary and the essential role Rel-20 will play in charting the course towards the next step in mobile connectivity.
Maintaining Momentum for 5G
One of the key tasks from the Prague meeting was to continue the important development of the 5G system, with a focus on commercial deployment needs. Towards this end, the meeting addressed key enhancements to 5G-Advanced radio access, including continued work to support higher capability for Ambient IoT devices for outdoors deployments, MIMO-related enhancements to improve both coverage and capacity for Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), improve latency for downlink Channel State Information (CSI) acquisition, and reduce CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) overhead for larger antenna arrays. Rel-20 will also explore improvements to the transfer of multi-modal traffic, with a specific focus on uploading dynamic “bursty” data from XR devices to enable real-time interactive mobile AI applications and services. Rel-20 will also include normative work on AI/ML for the air interface to support two-sided model deployments for CSI compression as well as AI-driven mobility improvements.
3GPP will also study how to improve non terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity by determining terminal location to make them more resilient and helping to establish satellite connectivity without having to rely on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a non-3GPP technology. Working groups are also studying network-based sensing for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) with a focus on unmanned aerial vehicles to inform additional work considerations for supporting sensing in 3GPP systems.
From the perspective of the core network and system architecture, Rel-20 will study how to enhance the 5G core network (5GC) for a smooth transition to 6G. For example, the group aims to pave the way for 6G data collection by enhancing the core network to better support UE data collection and supporting UE-side model training for AI/ML functionality in the air interface. Sensing will continue to be an important topic, as Rel-20 will establish a framework to expose sensing data to network functions and applications and enhance support for Ambient IoT devices to contact and connect to the network.
Designing for High Performance at Scale: Priorities for the 6G Transition
The meeting also marked the formal kickoff of the critical working groups that establish the study items that will shape the architecture, procedures, protocols and key enabling technologies for 6G.
A recurring theme of this year’s 6G discussions is the industry’s shared desire to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) for operators to balance capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX) while introducing new opportunities to monetize operator managed services and ensuring economies of scale for 6G devices and deployments alike.
To achieve this, the drive to develop a single, scalable air interface emerged as a top priority for 6G radio (6GR). Whereas 4G focused on a single air interface for mobile broadband and conversational services, the design of 5G NR focused on creating highly flexible and configurable air interfaces. The design of 6GR aims to create a single, scalable air interface to simplify deployments while creating economies of scale and enabling a common, modular design applicable to 6G radio-supported devices. A unified air interface is expected to accelerate standalone deployments for 6G from day one, while enabling a more straightforward integration into diverse network and service deployment scenarios.
This streamlined air interface will also support multi-RAT spectrum sharing (MRSS) and allow 6G devices to operate within existing 5G spectrum allocations. 6G is expected to be deployed with MRSS in existing 5G spectrums FR1 (below 7GHz) and FR2 (24-71GHz), while supporting broader spectrums and introducing FR3, or upper mid-band (7-24GHz). This approach will give operators more operational flexibility during the transition to 6G, without degrading existing 5G services. This expanded range opens new opportunities for capacity and performance in 6G, while maintaining compatibility with legacy spectrum in 5G.
Unlocking Efficiency: Energy, Spectrum, and AI-Aware Design
As the 6G vision sharpens, energy efficiency stands as a central tenet, both from a sustainability perspective and as a clear driver towards lowering OPEX. Reducing energy consumption at the air interface, device, and network levels is expected to yield direct operational savings for network operators, while 6GR delivers improved performance.
Paired with this, improved spectrum efficiency holds both technical and business potential. By designing a radio interface that carries more bits per Hertz, operators can reduce their dependence on new spectrum acquisitions and mitigate the need to deploy more antennas, resulting in significant CAPEX savings.
Rel-20 will also explore enhancements to the physical layer, encouraging continuity with 5G’s infrastructure in the form of OFDM-based waveforms, numerology, frame structure, and channel coding while driving improvements to capabilities like MIMO, duplexing, control channels, spectrum utilization, and beam management. Enhanced scheduling, reliability, and HARQ methodologies are also being considered to support increasingly demanding application needs in 6G.
In the design of 6G, radio protocols will also be revisited to streamline and enhance layer 2 (L2) protocols used to transfer data and layer 3 (L3) protocols that manage connectivity. The L2 design will ensure that data transfer functions and procedures required to enable quality of experience (QoE)-aware scheduling can meet the stringent quality of service (QoS) requirements of new services, like those offered by mobile AI and XR applications. Encouraging service awareness in the 6G radio access network (RAN) may also enable a more dynamic adaptation to changing traffic patterns and mitigate the potential impact of the wireless link on the end user’s perceived QoE. The design of radio protocols and functions will also integrate support for new types of data, like those related to AI/ML-driven operations or sensing-related services. Improvements to security-related aspects such as for L2 control signaling will also be explored. The L3 protocol design will be revamped to improve energy consumption for terminals connected to the network as a function their respective traffic activity levels, which lowers overhead related to connectivity management signaling and provides improved measurement granularity for mobility optimizations.
The role of AI/ML in 6G is getting considerable attention and is an integral part of many discussions focusing on a grounded and pragmatic approach. 3GPP will explore how data-driven techniques can be used to improve key system KPIs beyond its baseline performance requirements, which baseline will be met without relying on AI/ML-driven techniques. Through study items, 3GPP will help define a generic framework that enables system-wide management of the life cycle of AI/ML models, data collection, data and model management practices, and support system-level integration to enable intelligent optimization and service delivery that will enable further evolution of the next generation wireless beyond initial deployments of 6G.
New Capabilities for New Services
Beyond improved connectivity, 6G is expected to enable new revenue-generating services. While 5G’s deployment model is more focused on vertical applications, 6G envisions a more ubiquitous framework that can be referred to as a “beyond connected” approach.
Technologies like Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) will empower the network to offer environment-aware services through applications like smart mobility, agentic AI services, and immersive experiences. Rel-20 will explore how to best operationalize sensing in the 6G system, and InterDigital’s leadership in early ISAC research and innovation will offer foundational expertise to inform work and study items and help shape key use cases and deployment frameworks.
Immersive and mobile AI applications represent another exciting area for 6G, and for the innovation that InterDigital leads. 6G’s design will support more immersive communication through higher data rates and lower latency while improving downlink speeds to efficiently accommodate the massive number of devices consuming immersive content in real time. Mobile AI applications, on the other hand, require significantly more data communicated from the end user to the network, placing new demands on uplink capabilities, and revealing exciting potential for video compression and network innovation to preserve quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for these dynamic new modes of communication.
Core Network Evolution for 6G
Within the study phase for 6G, the system architecture working group will explore how to develop a framework to support device and terminal interactions with the core network to enable access to new 6G services. It will further investigate how advances in AI/ML and data-driven solutions can support the performance of 6G and explore how services like data collection, computing, and sensing can be leveraged by operators.
Guiding the Next Steps
2025 is a pivotal year for the wireless industry and for 6G, as Rel-20 formally launches study items that will help define the next generation of connectivity. The next steps will be to start the study work in the respective technical working groups along the scope agreed during the Prague meeting. Based on the outcomes from these studies, 3GPP member companies will later define the scope for the normative work to be performed during Rel-21 to develop the actual specifications that will drive the development of new terminal devices and deployment of 6G.
Guiding this work is a talented group of leaders across the 3GPP ecosystem, and InterDigital is proud to hold two leadership positions in 3GPP standards. InterDigital’s Diana Pani, Chair of the RAN2 Working Group, and Atle Monrad, Chair of the SA6 Working Group, will be instrumental in fostering cross-stakeholder collaboration and consensus building to help the working groups to maintain focus, manage complexity, and maintain momentum on the road to 6G standardization.
Diana and Atle will explore several significant and important topics within their working groups that will shape the future of 6G. For example, RAN2 is currently leading exciting and detailed discussions around non-terrestrial networks, AI/ML mobility, Ambient IoT and support for Mobile AI and XR communications, while the SA6 working group is addressing topics related to user consent for applications, considering regional regulations like the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and enhanced capabilities for API exposure to reveal new opportunities for services and monetization.
In a standards landscape filled with diverse members and priorities, their hard work and leadership ensures that Rel-20 delivers on its promise: a standards foundation that is technically robust, economically sound, and positioned to unlock the potential of 6G for all.
As we look to the future of wireless networks, Release 20 marks the start of the work towards defining the future of wireless connectivity. With clear design priorities, practical lessons learned from 5G, and a shared vision of simplicity, efficiency, and new service potential, the 6G era is beginning to take shape.
At InterDigital, we’re proud to contribute to this next chapter of connectivity with our deep research and innovations in wireless, video, and AI that will empower us to connect and experience the world in more immersive, efficient, and informed ways. We look forward to continuing the research, innovation, and standardization that will underpin tomorrow’s connected experiences, services, and potential.