11 The fifty-three specifications, and what this work put in each

11.1 How a document gets onto this list

Fifty-three specifications are touched by this area of work ^[1]. A document is on the list if either of two things is true:

• L1. A work item description declares it impacted — somebody wrote down, in advance, that this work would change it.

• L2. At least ten Ambient IoT documents name it in their change-request column — the work actually landed on it, declared or not.

Both tests are needed. The first catches documents nobody has got to yet; the second catches documents nobody declared.

They fall into three kinds, and the kind tells you how to read the document.

11.2 The fifteen written for this work

Every one of these carries Ambient IoT in its catalogue title. None of them existed before this area of work.

Spec	What it is for	Group	Documents	CRs
TS 22.369 TS 22.369	what the system must do for battery-less devices	SA1	18	17
TS 23.369 TS 23.369	how the core network is put together to support them	SA2	816	524
TS 23.370 TS 23.370	the application layer on top of the service	SA6	70	0
TS 24.369 TS 24.369	the signalling a device exchanges with the network	CT1	439	144
TS 29.369 TS 29.369	the service that stores and serves device data	CT4	110	94
TS 29.506 TS 29.506	how that data is kept in the shared data store	CT4	43	25
TS 29.569 TS 29.569	the services the Ambient IoT function offers	CT3	102	47
TS 33.369 TS 33.369	security for isolated private networks	SA3	385	150
TS 38.191 TS 38.191	what the device's radio must transmit and receive	RAN4	98	59
TS 38.194 TS 38.194	the same for the base station and carrier-wave node	RAN4	69	39
TS 38.195 TS 38.195	how those two are tested for conformance	RAN4	32	5
TS 38.291 TS 38.291	the physical layer — bits on the air	RAN1	12	8
TS 38.391 TS 38.391	the medium access control protocol	RAN2	36	28
TS 38.591-1 TS 38.591-1	device conformance, the shared test environment	RAN5	17	0
TS 38.591-2 TS 38.591-2	device conformance, radio transmission and reception	RAN5	10	0

11.3 The eight reports

A report studies a question, is published once and is then closed. Nobody has to obey it. It is where the reasoning is, and it is almost always the better first read.

Report	What it studied	Group	Documents
TR 22.840 TR 22.840	the founding study: use cases and requirements	SA1	497
TR 38.848 TR 38.848	whether a RAN design is feasible at all	RAN	32
TR 38.769 TR 38.769	the radio solutions themselves	RAN1	198
TR 23.700-13 TR 23.700-13	architecture support, phase 1	SA2	746
TR 23.700-30 TR 23.700-30	architecture support, phase 2	SA2	264
TR 23.700-26 TR 23.700-26	application enablement	SA6	178
TR 33.713 TR 33.713	security aspects, phase 1	SA3	708
TR 33.714 TR 33.714	security aspects, phase 2	SA3	216

11.4 The eighteen that already existed and were changed

These are ordinary 5G specifications that had to be taught about a new kind of device. The middle column is what the document is for in general, from the catalogue; the last is how much Ambient IoT work landed in it.

Spec	What it is for in general	Group	CRs
TS 38.413 TS 38.413	the protocol between the radio network and the core	RAN3	77
TS 29.522 TS 29.522	the interfaces the core network exposes outwards	CT3	70
TS 38.300 TS 38.300	the overall description of the NR radio network	RAN2	58
TS 29.518 TS 29.518	access and mobility management services	CT4	55
TS 23.003 TS 23.003	numbering, addressing and identification	CT4	46
TS 29.510 TS 29.510	the register of network functions	CT4	40
TS 23.502 TS 23.502	the procedures of the 5G system	SA2	26
TS 29.504 TS 29.504	the shared data store's own services	CT4	26
TS 29.571 TS 29.571	the data types every core service shares	CT4	24
TS 23.501 TS 23.501	the architecture of the 5G system itself	SA2	14
TS 38.410 TS 38.410	general principles of the radio-to-core interface	RAN3	13
TS 24.007 TS 24.007	general rules for signalling messages	CT1	10
TS 28.552 TS 28.552	the measurements a network reports about itself	SA5	10
TS 22.261 TS 22.261	the service requirements of the whole 5G system	SA1	9
TS 38.401 TS 38.401	how the radio network is built	RAN3	9
TS 32.254 TS 32.254	charging through the exposure interfaces	SA5	8
TS 38.412 TS 38.412	how signalling is carried to the core	RAN3	7
TS 38.423 TS 38.423	the protocol between two radio network nodes	RAN3	6

11.5 The twelve with little or nothing against them yet

The remaining specifications are on the list because a work item description declared them impacted, not because the work has arrived. Several carry a handful of change requests, several carry none.

Spec	What it is for in general	Group	CRs
TS 23.436 TS 23.436	application data analytics enablement	SA6	4
TS 32.240 TS 32.240	charging architecture and principles	SA5	3
TS 32.291 TS 32.291	the 5G charging service, stage 3	SA5	3
TS 32.298 TS 32.298	the parameters of a charging data record	SA5	3
TS 29.505 TS 29.505	using the shared store for subscription data	CT4	3
TS 24.501 TS 24.501	the ordinary 5G signalling protocol	CT1	1
TS 28.541 TS 28.541	the 5G network resource model, stages 2 and 3	SA5	1
TS 23.434 TS 23.434	the service enabler architecture layer for verticals	SA6	0
TS 28.540 TS 28.540	the 5G network resource model, stage 1	SA5	0
TS 29.503 TS 29.503	unified data management services	CT4	0
TS 29.568 29.568	not in the catalogue on this machine	—	0
TS 33.340 33.340	not in the catalogue on this machine	—	0

The last two rows are honest rather than tidy. TS 29.568 is declared impacted by the phase 2 CT application work 29.568, TS 33.340 by the phase 2 security work 33.340.

The catalogue here holds no title, no owning group and no status for either number, so this course does not say what they are for.

11.6 What the change-request counts actually measure

A change-request count is not a measure of importance and not a measure of difficulty. It counts edits, and edits happen where text is dense and where people disagree about detail.

Three readings are safe:

• M1. A high count on a new specification means the document was written through the change-request process rather than in one go. TS 23.369's 524 and TS 24.369's 144 are that TS 23.369 TS 24.369.

• M2. A high count on an existing specification means the feature genuinely reaches into it. TS 38.413's 77 is that TS 38.413.

• M3. A count of zero on a new specification usually means it is still being drafted, not that it is finished. TS 23.370 and both RAN5 documents are that TS 23.370 TS 38.591-1 TS 38.591-2.

11.7 Where to read on

Every one of the 53 has its own entry in the register, with its catalogue title, its owning group, its document and change-request counts, and a link to its information page on 3gpp.org. This school carries the text of none of them.

If you read four, read these:

• TS 23.369 TS 23.369 — the system.
• TR 38.769 TR 38.769 — the radio reasoning.
• TS 24.369 TS 24.369 — what a device says.
• TR 22.840 TR 22.840 — why any of it was thought worth doing.

How far along each piece of work is, and what the percentages in the work plan mean, is Where the work stands, and what a percentage is worth.