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R&S Technical Explainer on 3GPP 5G Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN)

I have explained Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN) earlier here and have written a detailed article here. The initial 3GPP Release-15 version of 3GPP TS 22.261 added the initial requirement that the 5G system will be able to provide services using satellite access. A study was carried out by 3GPP as a part of 3GPP Release-16 and the results of the study on using satellite access in 5G networks have been documented in 3GPP TR 22.822. The document details the use cases, pre and post conditions, service flows, potential impacts / interactions with existing services / features and potential requirements based on the use case. The results from this technical report (TR) were then reflected in 3GPP Release-16 version of 3GPP TS 22.261. The document details the need for the 5G system to support service continuity between terrestrial 5G access and satellite based 5G access networks, owned by either the same operator or by an agreement between operators.

3GPP Release 17 will bring some interesting changes in the 5G NR standardization. The R&S explainer focuses on the future of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and possible applications. In addition, it explores some NTN deployment scenarios and technology challenges.


I liked this NTN in one slide picture. Anyway, the talk is embedded below.


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