The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a group of standards organizations that developed the 5G telecommunications standards already commercialized worldwide, plans to develop 5G-Advanced (Rel-18*) from 2022 to enhance 5G performance including increased telecommunications coverage, and to expand new 5G services, such as Extended Reality (XR) media and integration with satellite communications.
* Rel-18 (5G-Advanced Standard; from March 2022): 5G evolution standards before moving into 6G

Jaeyeon Song, Principal Engineer at Samsung Research (the company’s advanced R&D hub that leads the development of future technologies for its Consumer Electronics division and IT & Mobile Communications division), and Narendranath Durga Tangudu, Staff Engineer at Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore, were elected as vice-chairs of 3GPP SA WG4 (Service and System Aspects Working Group 4) and 3GPP CT WG3 (Core Network and Terminals Working Group 3), respectively.

3GPP SA4 is a Working Group that develops technologies for 5G-based video streaming and delivery of immersive media, such as XR. Dr. Jaeyeon Song was elected as vice-chair in recognition of her activities and expertise associated with MPEG (which develops video codec and media systems standards) and ATSC (which develops digital broadcasting standards), both of which work closely with 3GPP SA4.

The 3GPP CT3 Working Group focuses on open interface standards that open up 5G networks to third parties, such as Internet service providers (ISPs). The Working Group recognized Narendranath Durga Tangudu’s achievements in edge computing standards, which enables low latency transmission when 5G networks are connected to ISPs.

“In order to enable 5G-based differentiated services, mobile communication systems should evolve in such a way that it can support new media such as XR, and also that it can closely interact with external services,” said Sunghyun Choi, SVP & Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center at Samsung Research. “Along with the reinforcement of our leadership within 3GPP this year, we will continue to strengthen our efforts in developing next-generation mobile communications technologies as well as technologies that will expand the 5G ecosystem’s horizon.”

In addition to the appointments of vice-chairs in the SA4 and CT3 Working Groups, Samsung had earlier secured the chair position in the RAN1 Working Group in May this year. Samsung is set to be at the forefront of technological innovations that will improve 5G performance as well as technological developments that will help expand the 5G ecosystem. Based on its leadership established in 3GPP, Samsung is planning to lead 5G-Advanced (i.e., next-generation 5G) standardization, while preparing to take the initiative in future 6G standards.

3GPP is a consortium of seven regional telecommunication standards organizations established in 1998 to develop a unified global standard for mobile telecommunications. RAN WG1, the largest working group within the project with more than 600 delegates, is responsible for the development of the physical layer specifications of the 3GPP radio access technology. The working group has been overseeing the development of wireless communications technologies such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), cellular IoT (Internet-of-Things), and V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for LTE and 5G specifications.

The working group is currently working on several technical areas to evolve 5G. Such technical work includes improvement of 5G coverage, reduction of power consumption in 5G devices, and enabling of new 5G-based services over satellite link and unlicensed spectrum.

Younsun Kim brings 20 years of experience in the field of wireless communications standards. Since 2017, he has been serving as the Vice-Chair of RAN WG1.

Samsung Electronics currently holds a total of five Chair and Vice-Chair positions in 3GPP (two Chairs, three Vice-Chairs). In addition to Younsun Kim, Suresh Chitturi, a Principal Engineer at Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore is currently the Chair of SA WG6 (Service and System Aspects Working Group 6). The company will continue its contribution to the wireless industry with its leadership in wireless technical standards and by driving the next stage of innovations for 5G-Advanced standards.