Real-time media communication over the 5G System is specified by 3GPP SA4. This page lists its specifications and what each covers.
For the moment the RTC work is focused on 5G-RTC, the architecture of TS 26.506 and the protocols of TS 26.113 (which share the provisioning and media session handling APIs of TS 26.510 with 5G Media Streaming), and, in parallel, on SWAP, the signalling protocol of TS 26.113 clause 13.2.4.
The page covers Release 18 and Release 19. Two Release 20 work items in the 3GPP work plan list TS 26.506 or TS 26.113, on application energy consumption reporting; Release 20 (work plan of 28 September 2026): Energy_ARCH-MED (100%, finish 9 September 2026) is reflected in TS 26.506 V20.0.0 by CR 0013, and Energy_PRO-MED (0%, planned 3 March 2027) lists TS 26.113. The study FS_Q4RTC_MED on QUIC-based media delivery for real-time communication (TR 26.836, 42%) is listed in Release history. The Release 20 changes themselves are not covered here.
- Specified by: 3GPP SA4.
- Two RTC specifications: TS 26.506 (architecture, stage 2) and TS 26.113 (procedures, APIs and protocols, stage 3), plus the shared TS 26.510.
- Shared with 5G Media Streaming: the provisioning and media session handling APIs are defined once, in TS 26.510, for both 5GMS and RTC. TS 26.113 uses a subset of them.
- By release: all three are created in Release 18, together with TS 26.522 (5G_RTP), which TS 26.113 uses for SDP attributes and PDU Set semantics. Release 19 adds PDU handling and marking enhancements (5G_RTP_Ph2, in TS 26.522, TS 26.510 and TS 26.113), media capability and metadata support, and the M13 reference point in the generalised architecture.
- Built on: the 5G System (TS 23.501), the 5GMS architecture (TS 26.501), and the WebRTC protocols of the IETF.
Specifications
The Release column is the release of each document's first version. Titles are each document's cover title; the last column summarises its Scope clause.
| Specification | Title | Release | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS 26.506 | 5G Real-time Media Communication Architecture (Stage 2) | 18 | An architecture for real-time media communication integrated into the 5G System, based on the 5GMS architecture: functions, reference points, collaboration scenarios between the 5G System operator and third-party providers, and call flows |
| TS 26.113 | Real-Time Media Communication; Protocols and APIs | 18 | The stage 3 procedures, APIs and protocols for the reference points of the RTC architecture, for WebRTC-based real-time media transport over 5G |
| TS 26.510 | Media delivery; interactions and APIs for provisioning and media session handling | 18 | The provisioning and media session handling APIs common to 5G Media Streaming and RTC |
TS 26.113 refers to TS 26.510 for the general aspects and deals with the RTC-specific ones. Its provisioning API is a subset of the TS 26.510 provisioning APIs, and its media session handling API a subset of the TS 26.510 session handling APIs.
3GPP specifications they build on
The specifications named in the reference lists and used in the body of TS 26.506 and TS 26.113.
| Specification | Title | Used by | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS 23.501 | System architecture for the 5G System (5GS); Stage 2 | TS 26.506 | The 5G System over which RTC endpoints exchange media; PDU Set QoS parameters |
| TS 26.501 | 5G Media Streaming (5GMS); General description and architecture | TS 26.506 | The Application Function model, and the generalised Media Delivery architecture shared with 5GMS |
| TS 23.558 | Architecture for enabling Edge Applications | TS 26.506 | Edge-enabled RTC |
| TS 23.548 | 5G System Enhancements for Edge Computing; Stage 2 | TS 26.506 | Edge-enabled RTC |
| TS 38.321 | NR; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification | TS 26.506 | Access network bitrate recommendation (ANBR) |
| TS 26.114 | IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS); Multimedia Telephony; Media handling and interaction | TS 26.113 | UE codec requirements for speech and video |
| TS 26.119 | Device Media Capabilities for Augmented Reality Services | TS 26.113 | Media profiles for immersive real-time communication, and timed metadata over the data channel (Release 19) |
| TS 26.522 | 5G Real-time Media Transport Protocol Configurations | TS 26.113 | SDP attributes and PDU Set semantics used in dynamic policies |
| TS 29.514 | 5G System; Policy Authorization Service; Stage 3 | TS 26.113 | Multiplexed media in dynamic policies (Release 19) |
IETF and W3C documents
RTC is based on WebRTC. These are the documents TS 26.113 and TS 26.506 make normative use of, with titles as in their reference lists.
| Document | Title | For |
|---|---|---|
| RFC 8825 | Overview: Real-Time Protocols for Browser-Based Applications | The correspondence of RTC Applications to WebRTC browser and non-browser endpoints |
| RFC 8834 | Media Transport and Use of RTP in WebRTC | Media transport, and packet-loss handling for video |
| RFC 8835 | Transports for WebRTC | Transport protocols, and packet-loss handling for video |
| RFC 5124 | Extended Secure RTP Profile for Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP)-Based Feedback (RTP/SAVPF) | The RTP profile for audio, video and speech |
| RFC 3711 | The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) | Encapsulation of encoded media |
| RFC 8831 | WebRTC Data Channels | Application data and metadata |
| RFC 8261 | Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Encapsulation of SCTP Packets | The data channel transport |
| RFC 8829 | JavaScript Session Establishment Protocol (JSEP) | The state machine the SWAP signalling protocol adheres to |
| RFC 7807 | Problem Details for HTTP APIs | SWAP error messages |
| WebRTC | WebRTC: Real-Time Communication in Browsers (W3C) | The JavaScript APIs to which the RTC-7 procedures are equivalent |
TS 26.113 V19.2.0 (clause 4.3.1.2) states that neither the requirements for audio codecs and processing in RFC 7874 (WebRTC Audio Codec and Processing Requirements) nor the requirements for video codecs and processing in RFC 7742 (WebRTC Video Processing and Codec Requirements) apply to RTC endpoints; the codecs that RTC endpoints are required to support are specified in clause 16 of TS 26.113.