An overview of physical layer design for Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications in 3GPP Release 15 and Release 16

TL;DR

This paper reviews the physical layer design advancements in 3GPP Release 15 and 16 aimed at achieving ultra-reliable low-latency communication in 5G, highlighting new features and their impact on performance.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the key physical layer features introduced in 3GPP Releases 15 and 16 for URLLC in 5G networks.

Findings

Introduction of numerologies and sub-slot transmission schemes

Standardization of new features to improve latency and reliability

Enhanced physical layer capabilities for URLLC in 5G

Abstract

For the fifth generation (5G) wireless network technology, the most important design goals were improved metrics of reliability and latency, in addition to network resilience and flexibility so as to best adapt the network operation for new applications such as augmented virtual reality, industrial automation and autonomous vehicles. That led to design efforts conducted under the subject of ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). The technologies integrated in Release 15 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) finalized in December 2017 provided the foundation of physical layer design for URLLC. New features such as numerologies, new transmission schemes with sub-slot interval, configured grant resources, etc., were standardized to improve mainly the latency aspects. 5G evolution in Release 16, PHY version finalized in December 2019, allows achieving improved metrics for latency and reliability by standardizing a number of new features. This article provides a detailed overview of the URLLC features from 5G Release 15 and Release 16, describing how these features permit URLLC operation in 5G networks.