Product Engineering Services Customized software development services for diverse domains
Quality Assurance End-to-end quality assurance and testing services
Managed Services Achieve scalability, operational efficiency and business continuity
Technology Consulting & Architecture Leverage the extensive knowledge of our Domain Experts
Satellite communication has been there for a while and has matured over the years. However, recently, incorporating non-terrestrial networks into the 5G ecosystem has made 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks quite attractive. Simply put, it enables 5G user terminals to connect to non-terrestrial networks. The network side components may reside on satellites (as relay node or complete or partial gNB onboard the satellite) or other airborne platforms (HIBS, UAV, air-to-ground, etc.).
There are various satellite-based connectivity scenarios where satellites are at different altitudes (such as LEO, MEO, GEO), which results in different coverage areas. Extending the system to cover [HAPS], [UAVs] etc., will bring even broader coverage and more business cases. For example, UAVs being used for customer deliveries can benefit from the standard communication network. It also allows for the introduction of future technologies such as Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC).
LEO/MEO systems for consumer/enterprise communication are at least a quarter-century old. However, they have been plagued by a lack of standardization and, consequently, very high-cost structures. While Hughes [GMR-1] was an early attempt to standardize the air interface at least, there has been no grand agreement on this between ISPs, network deployers, and handset manufacturers. Consequently, even today, a company attempting to launch a new satellite system will end up doing a variety of tasks. This includes designing, engineering, and deploying practically every part of the system, including the user handset, the space segment, the ground station’s core network, etc.
3GPP Release 17 has initiated 5G NTN technology in an attempt to change the entire approach. Keeping with 3GPP’s approach, the first release attempts to standardize the architecture and architectural options. It also tries to maintain a uniform air interface from the handset’s perspective. While this appears to be a commercially sound initiative, engineering-wise, it is an extremely complex objective. It means that the existing 5G air interface, designed for terrestrial operation with slow-moving pedestrians or vehicular traffic, will have to be able to work with high-speed satellites (moving at multiple kilometres per second), low-flying UAVs and other extremely novel environments without any significant change on the user handset.
