3GPP Releases (Rel-15 to Rel-19)

In telecommunications, 3GPP organizes its specifications into Releases delivered roughly every 18 months. Rel-15 introduced 5G Phase 1 (NSA and SA), Rel-16 added 5G Phase 2 (URLLC enhancements, NPN, IAB), Rel-17 brought RedCap and NTN, Rel-18 began the 5G-Advanced cycle, and Rel-19 continues 5G-Advanced toward 6G research.

Categories: SignalingProtocols and Standards

3GPP Releases (Rel-15 to Rel-19) in context

Signaling protocols carry the control-plane messages that set up calls, register subscribers and route SMS. SS7, Diameter, GTP-C and SIP are the four dominant families, and interconnect exposure of any of them is treated by GSMA as top-tier telecom risk.

Telecom security is written into standards from 3GPP, GSMA, ETSI, IETF and ITU-T. Understanding which body owns which specification, and how they interlock, is essential for both design and audit work.

To place 3GPP Releases (Rel-15 to Rel-19) in the wider telecom-security picture, review Attack Surface Mapping, CAMARA Project, Charging System, Conformance Testing, DDoS and Denial of Service (DoS) — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

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