There have been a number of releases of new specifications and updates of existing Permanent Reference Documents (PRDs) in the IP Communications (VoLTE / ViLTE / VoWiFi / RCS) area which Operators, network equipment manufacturers, client developers and handset manufacturers should become familiar with as soon as possible.
New NG.102 and what it addresses
A joint Taskforce between RiLTE and Network 2020’s Global Specification Group (GSG) published NG.102 “IMS Profile for Converged IP Communications”. NG.102 describes the interactions between IR.51, IR.90, IR.92 and RCC.07 when implemented on a single device with single or dual IMS stacks, to deliver the Green Button Promise.
Updated versions of IR92, IR94, IR51, IR90
IR.92 v9.0 (VoLTE) published in April, includes bug fixes, clarifications and general improvements.
IR.94 v9.0 (ViLTE) published in February to reference an update in 3GPP.
IR.51 (VoWiFi) first general maintenance will conclude in the coming months.
IR.90 v12 (RCS Interworking) published in April to align with the current version of RCC.07.
For non-Infocentre users, IR / NG documents can be found on the GSMA website at: http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/gsmadocuments/ under the category Networks Group.
Updated version of RCC 07 (Rich Communications Services)
The latest version of RCC.07, RCS 5.3, was released at MWC 2015. This release focuses on condensing options existing in previous releases, to form a shorter more focussed specification with generally one technical approach per service. The latest release can be found here.
RCC.07 now moves to an annual release cycle with RCS 6.0 targeted for MWC 2016. Under the new process, features to be considered for inclusion in RCS 6.0 will be taken from Operator Interest Groups. More information on this process can be found here.
Any maintenance issues discovered throughout the year will be processed by the GSG and approved CRs for inclusion in RCS 6.0 will be published on the Infocentre at CRs for RCS-Q12016. For urgent issues affecting current implementations, a “GSMA Urgent clarification on RCS Implementation” document will be published on the GSMA website and communicated to the industry on discovery.
RCC.59 – North America implementation guidelines
RCC.59 provides implementation guidelines for the RCC.07 options being adopted by North American operators. This sets out how operators and handset manufacturers / client developers should implement options within RCC.07 not already described in the ‘joyn’ documents (e.g. MSRP file transfer, OMA CPM messaging. The document also considers some of the user experiences defined in RCC.61 “RCS Common Core”.
Although based on North American requirements, this document may be useful to any OEMs and operators deploying the RCC.07 options described.
RCC.62 – Updated joyn PDD (Version Crane)
RCC.62 the joyn Crane Product Definition Document (PDD) has been published as a GSMA PRD. Crane is a profile based on RCS 5.3 and the RCC.61 Common Core feature set, and is an upgrade to the Blackbird PDD.
The highlights of Crane include:
- Common Message Store- for the backup and restoration of messages and an enabler for a multi-device experience.
- Voice and Video calling over Wi-Fi
- Green Button Promise for voice and video
- Audio Messaging
- Security against malware
In July 2015 RCC.62 will be updated to add Enriched Calling as a new feature.
For non-Infocentre users all RCC documents can be found on the GSMA website at: http://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/rcs/specs-and-product-docs/ under /Specifications (RCS 5.3 – RCC.07), /Product Definition Documents (RCC.62 joyn Crane) or /Implementation Guidelines (RCC.59 North American Implementation guidelines).