3GPP in  its 112th plenary meeting, held from 8 to 12 June in Singapore, put a firm date on paper for the first time: the first complete set of 6G specifications will be finished by March 2029.

The meeting, known as TSG RAN #112, brought together 3GPP’s three Technical Specification Groups — RAN (Radio Access Network), SA (Service and Systems Aspects) and CT (Core Network and Terminals) — at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.  What emerged from the week is  the most consequential 6G milestone since standardisation work began: a locked timeline, several confirmed technical directions, and at least one major aspect still unresolved.

The headline: Release 21 date is fixed

The single biggest outcome of the Singapore plenary was a joint agreement across RAN, SA and CT to fix the schedule for Release 21 — the 3GPP release that will carry both continued 5G-Advanced enhancements and the first formal 6G specifications. Until now, the industry knew roughly when this would happen; after Singapore, it knows exactly when.

The agreed milestones are:

• March 2027 — Stage-1 freeze, and approval of the 6G Work Item that formally defines the scope of ‘6G Radio’ (6GR).
• June 2028 — Stage-2 freeze, locking the system architecture.
• September 2028 — Physical-layer functional freeze.
• December 2028 — Protocol design (Stage-3) freeze — the point at which the first 6G specifications are functionally complete.
• March 2029 — Final ASN.1/OpenAPI freeze, marking the formal completion of Release 21.

The March 2029 date is just ahead of the ITU-R’s deadline for IMT-2030 candidate technology submissions in early 2029, meaning 3GPP’s output is timed to feed directly into the global regulatory process that will formally recognise 6G technologies. Put together, the timeline points to commercial 6G networks becoming a realistic prospect from around 2030.

6G will build on 5G, not replace it from scratch

Perhaps the most reassuring outcome for network operators and equipment vendors is confirmation of the underlying design philosophy. Building on baseline agreements reached by 3GPP’s RAN1 working group in August and October 2025 — covering waveform, modulation, frame structure and channel coding — the Singapore plenary confirmed that 6G’s air interface will largely evolve from 5G NR (New Radio).

The guiding principle, is to retain what already works in 5G, and extend only where a measurable performance gain can be demonstrated.

The unresolved : how operators migrate from 5G to 6G

The  open question, how networks will actually transition from 5G to 6G  remains unresolved. Two migration options remain on the table:

• Option 1 — 6G-anchored dual connectivity with NR, where a 6G anchor node aggregates carriers alongside existing NR infrastructure.
• Option 3 — A dual-stack approach, with no RAN-level aggregation between 5G and 6G.

A third possibility, 5G-anchored dual connectivity, has already been ruled out. RAN1 and RAN2 have now been formally tasked with studying 6G-to-6G spectrum aggregation across non-collocated sites — technical groundwork that would support Option 1 — with a final decision now targeted for the next plenary, RAN #113, in September 2026.

A moratorium on the device-type debate

One issue which is still unresolved across three consecutive plenaries is what types of devices 6G should be designed around, and how that classification affects chipset and module roadmaps. Rather than let it consume further meeting time without resolution, the RAN Chair imposed an explicit moratorium — no working-group discussion of device types is permitted before the September 2026 plenary.

Progress in the working groups

RAN3 — network architecture

RAN3, which governs NG-RAN architecture and network interfaces, made steady progress on both 5G and 6G fronts. It completed its study on Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) and approved a corresponding normative work item — a step that moves the idea of networks that both communicate and sense their environment from research territory into standards text. The group also continued work on AI/ML for NG-RAN, RAN-core interfaces, higher-layer splits, and the interfaces between future 6G base station nodes, which have now been formally designated ‘aNB’ (advanced NodeB).

The plenary also endorsed the continuation of familiar 5G architectural concepts into 6G: the Centralised Unit/Distributed Unit (CU-DU) split, and the separation of CU Control Plane from CU User Plane (CU-CP/CU-UP), alongside standardised open interfaces. RAN3 has been directed to determine, by the third quarter of 2026, whether existing 5G higher-layer splits should simply be retained for 6G or optimised further.

RAN5 — conformance and testing

RAN5 closed out several public-safety-relevant conformance work items during the year, including NR Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), multicast and broadcast services, reduced-capability (RedCap) devices, and eCall over IMS. Work continues on sidelink relay, unmanned aerial vehicles, NTN Phase 3, and AI/ML conformance testing.

Why this matters

For device makers, chipset vendors and network operators, the practical significance of Singapore is that 6G has entered planning horizon with real dates attached. Feature direction should firm up through 2027 and 2028, with requirements stabilising as the March 2029 freeze approaches. Some 6G gains — particularly in existing spectrum bands — may be deliverable through software upgrades to current infrastructure, while new spectrum and more ambitious features will likely require new hardware.

What to watch next

• September 2026 (RAN #113): expected decision on the 5G-to-6G migration option (Option 1 vs Option 3), and the reopening of the device-type debate.
• March 2027: Stage-1 freeze and formal approval of the 6G Work Items.
• 2028: Stage-2 freeze in June, physical-layer freeze in September, and protocol design freeze in December.
• Early 2029: final ASN.1/OpenAPI freeze — the completion of the first 6G specifications, feeding into the ITU-R’s IMT-2030 process.