The evolution of the fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) has progressed swiftly since the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standardized the first NR version (Release 15) in mid-2018. Nowadays, the world’s leading carriers are competing to provide various commercial services over 5G networks. Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, it is expected that over 6.5 million 5G base stations will be installed to offer services to over 58% of the world’s population via over 100 billion 5G connections. Following the rapid development of 5G, an increasing number of commercialization use cases will drive the 5G network to continuously improve performance and expand capabilities. Hence, it is the right time to consider a well-defined framework and standardization for 5G NR evolution (5G-Advanced) to support commercialization between 2025 and 2030. First, this study addresses the key driving forces, requirements, usage scenarios, and capabilities of 5G-Advanced; then, it highlights the main technological challenges and introduces the top 10 promising technological directions in detail. Finally, other fascinating technological directions in 5G-Advanced are shortly mentioned.

No abstract