3GPP 21.900 v20.0.0 — the document's own text
4.0 Numbering scheme
Taught in 7. Reading a 3GPP number — the series, the version, the file name (How standards actually get made, in depth), 15. Reading either body's paper trail from a cold start (How standards actually get made, in depth), 7. Reading either body's paper trail yourself (How standards actually get made, overview), 4. Looking it up yourself, and what the record will not tell you (How standards actually get made, quick start).
The specifications shall be numbered according to the following scheme:
3GPP TS aa.bbb (for Technical Specifications); or
3GPP TR aa.bbb (for Technical Reports).
The fields aa and bbb shall be selected according to the nature of the specification as given in tables 1 and 2. The provisions of table 1 shall be strictly enforced, but those of table 2 should be used for guidance: it is acceptable to deviate from these provisions for backwards compatibility or other reasons.
Table 1: Specification number ranges aa
| Range for GSM up to and including Release 1999 | Range for GSM Release 4 onwards | Range for UMTS Release 1999 onwards | Use | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.bb | 41.bbb | 21.bbb | Requirements specifications | Often transient specifications containing requirements leading to other specifications; may become obsolete when technical solutions have been fully specified; they could then, e.g., be replaced by reports describing the performance of the system, they could be deleted without replacement, or be kept for historical reasons but treated as background material. |
| 02.bb | 42.bbb | 22.bbb | Service aspects | Services, service features, building blocks or platforms for services (a service feature or service building block may provide certain generic functionality for the composition of a service, including the control by the user; a platform may comprise one or more network elements, e.g. UIM, mobile terminal, auxiliary system to the core network etc.); also appropriate stage 1 specifications; also reports defining services which can be realized by generic building blocks etc. |
| 03.bb | 43.bbb | 23.bbb | Technical realization | Mainly stage 2 specifications (or specifications of a similar nature describing interworking over several interfaces, the behaviour in unexceptional cases, etc.). |
| 04.bb | 44.bbb | 24.bbb | Signalling protocols (UE to CN) | Detailed and bit-exact stage 3 specifications of protocols between MS/UE and the Core Network. |
| 05.bb | 45.bbb | 25.bbb | Radio access aspects | 25.1bb: UTRAN radio performance25.2bb: UTRA layer 125.3bb: UTRA layers 2 & 325.4bb: UTRAN Iub, Iur & Iu interfaces |
| 06.bb | 46.bbb | 26.bbb | Codecs | Speech and other codecs (video etc.). |
| 07.bb | 47.bbb | 27.bbb | Data | Functions necessary to support data applications. |
| 08.bb | 48.bbb | 28.bbb | Signalling protocols (RSS to CN) | Detailed and bit-exact stage 3 specifications of protocols between radio subsystem (eg BSS) and periphery of CN (eg MSC). (Not used in Release 1999.) |
| 09.bb | 49.bbb | 29.bbb | Core Network signalling protocols | Detailed and bit-exact stage 3 specifications of protocols within the Core Network. |
| 10.bb | 50.bbb | 30.bbb | Programme management | 3rd Generation Mobile System, project plans / project work programme and stand-alone documents for major Work Items. |
| 11.bb | 51.bbb | 31.bbb | SIM / UIM | Subscriber / User Identity Module and the interfaces between it and other entities. |
| 12.bb | 52.bbb | 32.bbb | Charging and OAM&P (Operations, Administration, Maintenance & Provisioning) | Application of TMN for the 3GPP 3rd Generation Mobile System and other functions for operation, administration and maintenance of a 3rd Generation Mobile System network. |
| 13.bb | Regulatory test specifications. (Transferred from ETSI TC SMG to ETSI TC MSG.) | |||
| 33.bbb | Security aspects | |||
| 34.bbb | Test specifications | |||
| 55.bbb | 35.bbb | Algorithms | Specifications of encryption algorithms for confidentiality and authentication, etc. | |
| 36.bbb | Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (Network) | Introduced in Release 8 for the so-called "Long Term Evolution" of the radio technology. A similar subdivision to that used for the 25-series above is used. | ||
| 37.bbb | Multiple radio access technology aspects | Such as handover, fallback, interworking. | ||
| 38.bbb | 5G "New Radio" | Release 14: first studies. | ||
| NOTE: Column 1 refers to the original GSM specification series used up to Release 1999. Column 2 refers to the specifications peculiar to GSM implementations for Release 4 onwards – that is, those specifications relating solely to GSM/EDGE radio access. Column 3 refers to the specifications created by 3GPP for Release 1999 onwards implementations having a UTRAN radio access. Many of these are common to GSM/EDGE and UTRAN systems (see table 2). Separate specifications list the specs required to implement Releases GSM/EDGE and UTRAN systems (3GPP TSs 21.101 [3], 01.01 / 41.101 [4]). |
Table 2: Specification number ranges bbb
| Range | Use | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| aa.bb | Specification applicable to pre-Release-4 GSM systems. | Continue to be maintained by 3GPP. Not propagated beyond Release 1999. |
| aa.0bb | Specifications applicable to both GSM and UMTS systems. | aa in range 21 to 39:For most specifications in this range for a given Release, a GSM specification numbered [aa 20].[bb] will have existed for earlier Releases.Example: 3GPP TS 28.032 replaces GSM 08.32 for Release 1999 onwards.aa in range 41 to 59:Direct equivalent to aa.bb GSM specification for previous Releases. |
| aa.1bb | Specification either (a) derived from earlier GSM specification, but with technical modification; or (b) new specifications. | aa in range 21 to 39:For most specifications in this range for a given Release, a GSM specification numbered [aa 20].[bbb 100] will have existed for earlier Releases, and may continue to exist (in parallel) for the same Release.Example: 3GPP TS 28.133 will have been based on GSM 08.33, but both specifications exist for Release 1999 onwards.aa in range 41 to 59:New GSM specification for Release 4 or later. |
| aa.2bb to aa.7bb | New specifications. | Not, in general, derived from pre-Release 4 GSM predecessors.NOTE 1: See table 1 for specific allocation within 25.bbb series.NOTE 2: For some specification series, the stock of aa.8bb TRs has been exhausted, and in these cases, further internal TRs are allocated aa.7bb numbers. |
| aa.8bb | Technical Reports not intended for publication. | Working documents of 3GPP Groups not intended to be transposed into publications by the Partner Organizations. |
| aa.9bb | Technical Reports intended for publication. | As distinct from those of the aa.8bb series. |