3GPP Release 12 – Date 2014

Release 12 was largely completed on-time in March 2015, with a few exceptional features allowed an extension to later in the year.

Other important features completed in Release 12 include: Small cells and Network densification, D2D, LTE TDD-FDD joint operation including Carrier Aggregation, Security Assurance Methodology (SECAM) for 3GPP Nodes and the integration of WiFi in to mobile operator's offerings

Potential features for Release 12 were discussed at a 3GPP workshop in Slovenia in June 2012. A strong requirement was the need to support the rapid increase in mobile data usage, but other items included the efficient support of diverse applications while ensuring a high quality user experience.  Some of the candidates for Release 12 included:

• enhanced small cells for LTE, introducing a number of features to improve the support of HetNets
• inter-site carrier aggregation, to mix and match the capabilities and backhaul of adjacent cells
• new antenna techniques and advanced receivers to maximise the potential of large cells
• interworking between LTE and WiFi or HSPDA
• further developments of previous technologies.

reference

1 https://www.3gpp.org/specifications/releases/68-release-12

2 https://www.3gpp.org/specifications/releases/

3 https://www.unwiredinsight.com/2012/3gpp-lte-releases

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