3gpp Meetings

3GPP Meetings

Overview

3GPP Technical Specification Groups (TSGs) hold quarterly plenary meetings where their Working Groups present work for information, discussion, and approval. The three TSGs (RAN, SA, CT) meet synchronously over a one-week period.

Meeting Schedule

Plenary Period: March, June, September, December each year

Working Groups meet before their TSG plenary meetings to make progress on specifications and studies that will be approved at the TSG level.

Recent History:

• Virtual meetings from early 2020 until June 2022 (due to COVID-19)
• Return to face-to-face meetings in June 2022
• Moving to hybrid format (F2F or virtual) since 2022
• Current approach: mix of F2F and virtual meetings

Meeting Identifiers

Meeting ID Format

Each 3GPP meeting has a unique integer meeting_id that serves as the primary database key.

Meeting Name Format

Meeting names are inconsistent across years and groups. Do NOT parse information directly from meeting names.

Examples:

• SA4#134 - Standard SA4 format
• SA4-e (AH) Audio SWG post 130 - Ad-hoc meeting
• 3GPPSA4-e (AH) Audio SWG post 130 - With 3GPP prefix
• S4-133-e - Alternative format

Important: Meeting names cannot be reliably parsed. Always use the meeting_id integer from the portal for database operations.

Meeting Pages

Meeting List Pages

Dynamic pages generated by 3GPP showing all meetings for a group:

URL Pattern:

https://www.3gpp.org/dynareport?code=Meetings-<ID>.htm

Meeting ID Codes:

• RP - RAN Plenary meetings
• SP - SA Plenary meetings
• CP - CT Plenary meetings
• R1 - RAN WG1 meetings
• S4 - SA WG4 meetings
• C1 - CT WG1 meetings

Example URLs:

• RAN meetings: https://www.3gpp.org/dynareport?code=Meetings-RP.htm
• SA4 meetings: https://www.3gpp.org/dynareport?code=Meetings-S4.htm
• CT3 meetings: https://www.3gpp.org/dynareport?code=Meetings-C3.htm

Meeting Detail Pages

Each meeting row contains a link to the meeting details page:

URL Pattern:

https://portal.3gpp.org/Home.aspx#/meeting?MtgId=<meeting_id>

Where <meeting_id> is the unique integer identifier for that meeting.

Meeting Table Structure

Each meeting list page contains an HTML table with the following columns:

Columns

1. Meeting - Short name (link to meeting details)
2. Start Date - Meeting start date
3. End Date - Meeting end date (if multi-day)
4. Location - Physical location
5. Status - Meeting status (e.g., "Upcoming", "Held")
6. Files - Link to TDoc FTP directory (CRITICAL for TDoc crawling)
7. Registration - Registration deadline

Files Column - Critical for TDoc Crawling

• If "Files" column is empty: Meeting is not yet setup, no TDocs available. Skip for TDoc crawling.
• If "Files" column has link: Meeting has TDoc FTP directory set up. Can crawl TDocs for this meeting.

Meeting Status Values

• Upcoming - Future meeting
• Held - Past meeting that took place
• Cancelled - Meeting was cancelled

Date Format

Meeting dates in the portal tables are in various formats:

• 15-19 Jan 2024 - Day range
• 15 Jan 2024 - Single day
• 15 January 2024 - Full month name
• 15 January - 19 January 2024 - Separate day and month

Note: Always normalize to ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) when storing in database.

Registration and Check-in

Registration Process

1. Registration Deadline: Usually 2-3 weeks before meeting
2. Check-in: On-site registration at venue
3. Meeting Documents Templates: Available from 3GPP portal

Resources:

• Registration page: https://portal.3gpp.org/
• Document templates: https://www.3gpp.org/delegates-corner/meetings/meeting-document-templates

Hosting a Meeting

For companies hosting 3GPP meetings, there are specific requirements and procedures documented by 3GPP.

Meeting Calendar

The 3GPP Meeting Calendar is available on the 3GU Portal:

• Portal: https://portal.3gpp.org/#/55930-meetings
• Shows all TSG meetings
• Includes registration and check-in information

Cross-References

• 3gpp-working-groups - For understanding WG codes in meeting URLs
• 3gpp-tdocs - For accessing TDocs from meetings with files links
• 3gpp-portal-authentication - For accessing meeting details pages that require login

Common Mistakes

1. Using meeting name for database lookups - Always use meeting_id integer
2. Parsing date strings directly - Normalize to ISO format first
3. Skipping empty Files column - Don't attempt crawl, skip meeting
4. Year format changes - Early years use different conventions

Best Practices

When Working with Meeting Data

1. Use meeting_id Integer: Primary key for database operations
2. Do NOT parse meeting names: Use for display only
3. Check Files column: Before attempting TDoc crawl
4. Normalize dates: Store as ISO format in database
5. Handle empty Files column: Skip meeting if no TDocs available

Common Pitfalls

1. Parsing meeting names: Different formats (e.g., SA4#134 vs SA4-e) cannot be reliably parsed
2. Date format inconsistency: Multiple formats in portal tables
3. Empty Files column: Don't attempt TDoc crawl for meetings without files
4. Year format changes: Early years use different conventions

Resources

• 3GPP Official: https://www.3gpp.org/
• 3GPP Portal: https://portal.3gpp.org/
• 3GPP Work Plan: https://www.3gpp.org/specifications-technologies/3gpp-work-plan/