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Glossary

RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identity) in 3GPP: meaning and where it is specified

Published 2026-10-16Updated 2026-10-16

At a glance

Term
RNTI
Stands for
Radio Network Temporary Identity
Defined in
3GPP TR 21.905 V19.2.0, clause 4
Used in
TS 25.401, TS 36.401, TS 38.331

In plain words

RNTI stands for Radio Network Temporary Identity, the term used in 3GPP terminology. In TS 25.401: "Radio Network Temporary Identities (RNTI) are used as UE identifiers within UTRAN/GERAN Iu mode and in signalling messages between UE and UTRAN/GERAN Iu mode." TS 38.331 says the IE RNTI-Value represents a Radio Network Temporary Identity, while TS 36.401 has a section titled Radio Network Temporary Identifiers.

Source: 3GPP TS 25.401 V19.0.0, clause 6.1.7. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/25_series/25.401/25401-j00.zip

Sources

  1. 3GPP TR 21.905 V19.2.0, clause 4. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/21_series/21.905/21905-j20.zip
  2. 3GPP TS 25.401 V19.0.0, clause 6.1.7. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/25_series/25.401/25401-j00.zip
  3. 3GPP TS 38.331 V19.4.0, clause 6.3.2. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/38_series/38.331/38331-j40.zip
  4. 3GPP TS 36.401 V18.1.0, clause 6.2.8.1. © 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC). Official text: https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/36_series/36.401/36401-i10.zip

How this page was made

The facts box comes straight from the 3GPP TDoc list and specification archive as indexed by 3GPP Scout. An AI model (GPT-6 Luna) wrote the paragraph and named the source of each sentence. Code checked every quote word for word against the stored source text and every number against the cited source. A second AI model from another company (Claude Opus 5.5) reviewed the paragraph against the same sources. The 3GPP documents themselves govern.