Next Generation Networking (NGN) is a broad term to describe some key architectural evolutions in telecommunication core and access networks that will be deployed over the next 5–10 years. The general idea behind NGN is that one network transports all information and services (voice, data, and all sorts of media such as video) by encapsulating these into packets, like it is on the Internet. NGNs are commonly built around the Internet Protocol, and therefore the term "all-IP" is also sometimes used to describe the transformation towards NGN.

LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the next major step in mobile radio communications, and will be introduced in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8.

The aim of this 3GPP project is to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone standard and provide an enhanced user experience and simplified technology for next generation mobile broadband. Researchers and development engineers worldwide – representing more than 60 operators, vendors and research institutes – are participating in the joint LTE radio access standardization effort.

While 3GPP Release 8 has yet to be ratified as a standard, much of the standard will be oriented around upgrading UMTS to 4G mobile communications technology, and an all-IP flat architecture system.