Summary of S4-260057: Ways of Working for FS_6G_MED

Introduction and Background

This document proposes ways of working for the Feasibility Study on "Media Aspects for 6G System" (FS_6G_MED), which was agreed at SA4#134 (S4-252142) and approved by SA plenary #110 (SP-251652). The study aims to deliver TR 26.870 by TSG SA#115 (Mar-27), with an information milestone at TSG SA#114 (Dec-26).

The study encompasses five work topics:
- WT#1: Media Delivery Architecture
- WT#2: 6G Media
- WT#3: Media Aspects related to SA2 topics
- WT#4: Media for ubiquitous access
- WT#5: Trusted and private media communication

Basic Assumptions

The document establishes several foundational principles:

• Monitoring Other WGs: Track work and timelines in other working groups to identify impacts on SA4-defined services
• 6G Media is 5G Media Unless Agreed Differently: Improvements, new features, or changes to 5G media require motivation (e.g., new service requirements, gap analysis, optimization potentials). This ensures no disruption to existing services while enabling improvements for 6G
• Reuse of Other 5G Media Studies: Collaboration with ongoing or completed 5G media studies and relevant organizations is encouraged
• Work Topic Prioritization: Not all work topics have equal priority. Prioritization based on requests from other WGs, dependencies, service requirements, expected load, and company support

Work Towards SA4 Terms of Reference and DNA

The study should align with SA4's Terms of Reference (SP-241362) and create value within 3GPP and the broader ecosystem. Key objectives include:

• Addressing market needs, deployment feasibility, sustainability, innovation platform, monetization opportunities, cost-consciousness
• Timeliness in execution
• Developing specifications against meaningful KPIs for media services
• Implementability (test, evaluation, code, reference software)
• Collaboration with industry partners and other SDOs (IETF, MPEG, Khronos)
• Developer-friendly outputs (APIs, code, examples, git-environments)

Organization of Work

The document proposes a flexible organizational approach:

• Initial Phase: Start by collecting input and documenting proposals opportunistically, allowing for both holistic and key-issue-based documentation
• Rapid Response Capability: Structure work to enable quick prioritization if SA plenary or other WGs require rapid progress (e.g., for AI traffic)
• Two Main Approaches:
• Key Issues: Identify concrete open issues or optimization potential with candidate solutions (suitable for WT1 and WT3)
• Larger-scoped Work Topics: Address broad scope as sub-studies within the overall 6G media study (suitable for WT4, WT5, and potentially WT2)
• Documentation: Each work topic may use a dedicated Annex in TR 26.870 to collect agreements
• Early TR Development: Initiate TR with sections on assumptions, requirements, existing media services, and industry trends

TR 26.870 Structure and Rationale

The proposed TR structure includes:

• Introduction and scope
• Clauses addressing assumptions, use cases and requirements (from SA1), and existing media services
• Sections for industry trends and references to other studies
• Main body divided into work topics (clustered by key issues or objectives)
• Clause for consolidated findings and recommendations
• Annexes for specific work topics if needed

The rationale emphasizes:
- Opportunistic and flexible approach
- Acceptance of slide decks and workshop-style contributions
- Accommodation of both flat organization (key issues) and detailed, objective-driven sections
- Serving as a baseline for future work, not a gating factor
- Prioritization and flexibility, especially for topics with external pressure

Main Work Topics and Initial Priorities

Work Topic 1: Media Delivery Architecture

Priority: Low to Medium
- Initial work based on new needs or SA2 aspects not yet studied
- Monitoring existing or new dependencies on SA2
- Some work in 5G Advanced addresses enhancements (FS_AMD_Ph2)

Work Topic 2: 6G Media

Priority: Highest
- Highest complexity and breadth
- Includes traffic characteristics, QoE, and other aspects
- Requires significant focus and input to define scope and approach

Work Topic 3: Media Aspects Related to SA2 Topics

Priority: Minimal unless clear dependency identified
- Monitor progress in SA2
- Key issues to monitor in TR 23.801-01:
- Key Issue #20: Integrated Sensing and Communication (collection and transport of sensing data)
- Key Issue #21: 6G data framework (data storage, retrieval, quality, latency, volume)
- Key Issue #22: 6G Computing Support

Work Topic 4: Media for Ubiquitous Access

Priority: Treated as near-separate study
- Leverage ULBC work
- Focus on data rates, scheduling, and implications for media services over NTN (GEO and LEO)

Work Topic 5: Trusted and Private Media Communication

Priority: Medium
- Requires definition of key questions and scoping
- May evolve as separate study
- Contribution-driven priority
- Should be driven by use cases

Handling AI Traffic Characteristics

AI traffic characteristics are identified as requiring higher priority:

• Accelerated Action Required: Due to interest from SA plenary and other WGs; SA4 expected to take the lead for media-related aspects
• Coordination Essential: Active coordination with SA1 (requirements) and SA2 (architecture)
• Deliverable: Define "AI formats" (tokens, embeddings, latents, compressed representations) and develop framework for AI traffic characteristics
• First version ready for SA plenary reporting within a few months
• Requires commitment from multiple contributors
• Sharing Results: Results and frameworks should be shared with other WGs and SA plenary for generalization/adaptation
• Network Independence: Traffic characteristics should be developed independent of access network to identify opportunities for future networks
• Realistic Applications: Analysis should cover:
• Generative AI services (LLMs, image/video generation)
• Agentic AI patterns (multi-step tool calling, tool server workflows)
• Different AI applications, formats, AI codecs, and protocols
• QoE/User Experience under emulated network conditions (latency, loss, bandwidth)
• Measurements of existing applications under various network conditions
• Subjective and objective quality measures (SA4 core strength and differentiator)
• Input Welcome: Inputs for AI Traffic Characteristics as part of WT2 are welcome to SA4#135

Larger Themes

To market SA4 and 3GPP work for 6G, larger themes and KPIs should be identified. Example themes include:

• User Experience-based services and applications
• Networking AI-media services for improved experiences
• Trusted media services and applications
• Developer and implementer-friendly specifications

Input for new or larger themes is welcomed.

Proposals

The document proposes to:

1. Agree on basic assumptions in clause 2 and document in TR 26.870
2. Use SA4 TOR as guidance for FS_6G_MED study work
3. Agree on organization of work based on clause 4 (covered by work plan in S4aP26002)
4. Agree on TR 26.870 skeleton based on rationales in clause 5 (separate contribution S4aP26004)
5. Agree on main work topics and priorities provided in clause 6
6. Agree on handling of AI traffic characteristics based on clause 7
7. Invite contributions on larger themes for 6G, using clause 8 as starting point