Release 19 is the next major step in 5G-Advanced. Release 18 established the 5G-Advanced foundation; Release 19 extends it toward more adaptive radio operation, richer CSI intelligence, broader mobility, and tighter support for new device and service classes. The common theme is that the network becomes more predictive and more context-aware while continuing to use the same interoperable NR architecture.
The release is not one single feature. It is a collection of coordinated enhancements across the physical layer, RRC, mobility, positioning, carrier management, sidelink, and service support. The practical effect is a network that can configure more specialized behavior while keeping the UE/network relationship explicit through new Release 19 information elements.
Feature List
Release 19 direction | |
AI/ML radio assistance | RRC support for AI/ML beam-management data collection, beam prediction/monitoring, CSI prediction, and CSI-report-related assistance. |
Advanced CSI and codebooks | Expanded Type-I and Type-II codebook configuration, including Release 19 Type-I single-panel modes, Type-II codebook-subset restrictions, CJT, port selection, and Doppler-oriented configurations. |
Layered mobility and L1 measurement | Layered mobility (LTM) adds CSI-RS/CSI-IM candidate-resource configuration and beam-indication support for more flexible candidate evaluation. |
CSI-RS measurement growth | Additional CSI-RS measurement and reporting structures support more resources, cross-carrier applicability, CSI logging, and early CSI acquisition. |
Carrier and SCS flexibility | New carrier-type/SCS combinations and advanced unicast-DCI cases support more flexible operation across component carriers with different numerologies. |
NTN and positioning | Release 19 continues non-terrestrial-network evolution and adds richer area, measurement, and positioning-related configuration. |
New device and service paths | Release 19 RRC definitions include early CSI acquisition, Ambient-IoT-related carrier structures, enhanced beam reporting, and additional UE/network applicability controls. |
RRC view of Release 19
The most visible Release 19 changes in TS 38.331 are the new -r19 information elements. They do not replace the baseline RRC definitions; they extend them through explicit release-specific branches and lists.
RRC area | Representative Release 19 IEs in TS 38.331 |
AI/ML and CSI | aiml-BM-Case1-r19, aiml-BM-Case2-r19, aiml-BM-Monitoring-r19, aiml-CSI-Prediction-r19, aiml-CSI-PredictionMonitoring-r19, and aiml-CSI-Report-r19. |
LTM and CSI-RS | ltm-CSI-ReportConfig-r19, LTM-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-r19, ltm-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceToAddModList-r19, and ltm-BeamIndicationJointTCI-CSI-RS-r19. |
Early CSI and logging | EarlyCSI-Acquisition-r19, EarlyCSI-CodeBookConfig-r19, CSI-LoggedMeasurementConfig-r19, and CSI-LogMeasReport-r19. |
Release 19 codebooks | CodebookConfig-r19, including typeI-SinglePanel-r19, Type-I multi-panel restrictions, etypeII-r19, FE port selection, and Doppler alternatives. |
Mobility and measurement | intraFreqL1-MeasConfigPeriodicCSI-RS-r19, interFreqL1-MeasConfigSP-CSI-RS-r19, maxCSI-RS-ResourceL1-Meas-r19, and applicability-set configuration for CSI reporting. |
Release 19 RRC ASN.1 definitions
The complete Release 19 ASN.1 material is shown below in specification order. It is extracted from the ASN.1 blocks in 3GPP TS 38.331 V19.2.0 that contain a Release 19 -r19 or v1900 identifier.
Open the complete Release 19 RRC ASN.1 listing in a separate page
New RRC Messages and IEs for Release 19
Release 19 introduces a broad set of RRC extensions rather than one isolated message. Most additions are carried as non-critical extensions or release-specific branches, allowing a Release 19 UE and network to negotiate the new behavior while preserving backward compatibility with earlier NR releases.
The main RRC additions can be grouped by purpose. The table below highlights representative information elements defined in TS 38.331 V19.2.0; the complete ASN.1 definitions remain in the specification.
Area | Representative Release 19 messages and IEs |
AI/ML beam management | aiml-BM-Case1-r19, aiml-BM-Case2-r19, aiml-BM-Monitoring-r19, aiml-BM-UE-DataCollection-r19, and the related UE capability and parameter structures. |
AI/ML CSI prediction | aiml-CSI-Prediction-r19, aiml-CSI-PredictionMonitoring-r19, aiml-CSI-PredictionUE-DataCollection-r19, aiml-CSI-Report-r19, and CSI prediction parameter structures. |
Early CSI | EarlyCSI-Acquisition-r19, EarlyCSI-CodeBookConfig-r19, earlyCSI-ReportQuantity-r19, earlyCSI-CQI-Table-r19, and early CSI-RS/CSI-IM resource configuration. |
Layered mobility | ltm-CSI-ReportConfig-r19, LTM-NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet-r19, LTM-CSI-IM-ResourceSet-r19, LTM resource add/modify/release lists, and joint/separate TCI CSI-RS beam indication. |
CSI logging and applicability | CSI-LoggedMeasurementConfig-r19, CSI-LoggedMeasurementReport-r19, applicability information/report lists, and CSI-RS measurement result extensions. |
Codebooks and CSI-RS | CodebookConfig-r19, CSI-ReportCJTC-r19, expanded CSI-RS measurement configuration, and Release 19 Type-I/Type-II subset restrictions. |
Mobility, NTN, and carriers | Release 19 area-based NTN configuration, advanced carrier-type/SCS combinations, low-band carrier aggregation switching, enhanced beam reporting, and additional L1 CSI-RS measurement configuration. |
These IEs are interpreted together with their parent messages and applicability conditions. The -r19 suffix identifies the Release 19 extension; it does not imply that the entire parent message is new in Release 19.
How to read Release 19
Start with the service or radio objective, then follow the signalling path. TS 38.300 describes the overall NR/NG-RAN architecture and Release 19 procedures. TS 38.331 shows the RRC information elements and release branches. The physical-layer meaning of CSI, codebooks, beam reporting, and measurements is defined by the related TS 38.2xx specifications.
When an IE has an -r19 suffix, it should be read together with its parent configuration and applicability conditions. A Release 19 UE may support the new branch while continuing to use the earlier baseline branch for other configurations.