Technical recap of 3GPP RAN3 #131-bis in Malta, covering Release 20 progress on 6G RAN architecture, P2P vs SBI for the RAN-CN interface, 6G data collection, HLS, Xa, and NR ISAC architecture and procedures.
RAN3 #130 was dominated by R-19 “essential corrections” work: LTM/mobility cleanups, Continuous MDT hooks, and AI/ML-for-NG-RAN alignment across Xn/F1/E1 and Stage-2 text. AIoT and energy saving also advanced via targeted NGAP/XnAP/F1AP fixes, while 6G study items stayed in architecture framing.
RAN3 #129-bis: WG3’s 6G kickoff (RAN–CN interface options, lean-standards principle) plus concrete NG-RAN updates—AQP averaging window, UE-metrics alignment, C-MDT on Xn, LTM/inter-CU—and a reply to IETF TEAS.
