Satellite 5G Telemetry and Commercial Ecosystem

Abstract

5G NR has rapidly introduced the non-terrestrial capability to enable a mobile to base station radio connection that can be supported by a LEO or even GEO satellites, under the Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) specifications. NTN changes radically what was possible up to now in 5G and opens up more use cases for 5G in broadband Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry. Here, we present the key physical, MAC and higher layer enhancements to the terrestrial 5G needed to enable communication with far and fast-moving satellites, along with the limitations and assumptions present in the current NTN definitions, and remaining challenges for introducing 5G NTN to AMT. We discuss the system level aspects and the architectural flexibility of an NTN constellation. Finally, a description of the commercial industry push for Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) service is given and its difference from NTN, the evolution path, and a comparison with the alternative proprietary LEO constellations being currently deployed.