The purpose of 3GPP is to prepare, approve and maintain Technical Specifications (TS) and Technical Reports (TR), to be transposed by the Organizational Partners into appropriate deliverables (e.g., standards).
again…they do not "approve" patents
do you remember Golden Bridge Technology?
just because you file and are granted a patent on something…it doesn't mean that it is being used… or that there aren't alternatives submitted by others.