In this standalone episode of the G2 on 5G, Anshel and Will speak with Juan Montojo, Qualcomm's VP of Technical Standards about the upcoming 3GPP Release 18 specification which will follow Release 17, expected to be finalized later this year. 3GPP Rel. 18 is the beginning of the second phase of the 5G global standard with the designation of 5G Advanced which is expected to begin the transition to 6G. We cover the following questions:

1. W: Can you talk about the major enhancements that 3GPP Rel. 18 could bring to 5G over what we’ve seen in 15, 16, and 17?

2. A: Are there any significant projects looking at improvements in performance expected?

3. A: Rel. 17 brings satellite into the fray, how does 18 enhance the possibility of satellite in handsets?

4. W: Does R18 drive incremental infrastructure requirements?

5. W: What R18 enhancements are positioned to help operators monetize their multi-billion-dollar 5G deployments?

6. A: How does Qualcomm’s role in infrastructure influence your view on 3GPP Rel. 18 (eg - small cell for densification, OpenRAN, IoT)

1. A: Are there any other Rel. 18 items that we should know about that haven’t been covered yet?