2 weeks Ago
Bejoy Pankajakshan is chief technology and strategy officer at Mavenir . Conventional mobile communications relying on ground-based towers are referred to as terrestrial networks (TN), whereas communication networks utilizing satellite infrastructure and high-altitude platforms orbiting around the earth are designated as non-terrestrial networks (NTN). NTNs provide connectivity and coverage to augment the capabilities of traditional ground-based terrestrial networks that provide various services such as enhanced mobile broadband.
NTN technology is being integrated into 5G terrestrial networks to provide unique capabilities that open new opportunities for consumers and businesses. Drivers For Non-Terrestrial Networks NTNs provide expanded coverage by delivering connectivity to remote and underserved regions, including rural areas, oceans and airspaces, where terrestrial networks are impractical or economically unviable. By complementing terrestrial networks, NTNs can provide network resilience by enhancing overall network reliability and ensuring continuous service during natural disasters or terrestrial infrastructure failures.
NTNs can efficiently broadcast or multicast content over large areas, making them suitable for applications like software updates or emergency alerts. NTN offers a cost-effective solution for providing coverage to sparse populations. TN cellular towers are often unsustainable in areas with low user density, vast coverage requirements, difficult terrain and high infrastructure costs.
Installing hundreds of towers to serve a sparse population, resulting in less than 1% utilization of the network's capacity, is economically unfeasible. The availability of NTN coverage minimizes the power consumption requirements, especially in remote areas, by moving users to NTN. This ensures seamless mobility while being environment-friendly thus minimizing the carbon footprints for ubiquitous coverage.
Challenges For Non-Terrestrial Networks NTNs have latency considerations that must be considered. Since satellites are in higher orbits, they can introduce higher latency compared to ground-based TNs. This may not be suitable for applications such as industrial applications that require real-time responsiveness.
Satellites have high deployment costs because the initial investment for launching and maintaining spaceborne platforms is substantial. They have potentially higher operational costs because of the additional costs to repair systems that are in orbit. Integrating NTNs with existing terrestrial networks presents technical complexities that need to be addressed such as spectrum management and signal interference.
A business case built around NTN requires the handset ecosystem to evolve with affordable handsets that support TN and NTN 5G specifications. The Current NTN Landscape Industry standards are being developed for NTN to ensure seamless connectivity between terrestrial and space-based networks, utilizing solutions including space balloons, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites. These options support diverse use cases, offering trade-offs between coverage area, latency, throughput and user density.
The fixed position of GEO satellites, synchronized with Earth's rotation, provides a stable cellular coverage advantage. MEO/LEO satellites present unique challenges due to their constant motion relative to Earth while providing improved throughput and latency due to their lower orbit. Thus, operators utilizing LEO/MEO satellites require a global network of ground stations to ensure persistent backhaul connectivity to terrestrial networks.
The NTN ecosystem has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from proprietary systems requiring separate devices to industry-led standards-based networks, thus enabling single-handset compatibility with terrestrial networks. Industry-led 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is standardizing NTN to enable seamless connectivity by extending coverage to remote and underserved areas complementing traditional TN. This effort marks a significant departure from historical proprietary satellite systems, which required separate devices from conventional mobile devices.
Satellites Will Play A Key Role In Mobile Network Operator Strategies Satellites have been an integral part of many operator networks, especially for backhaul connectivity to TNs, which cannot be provided with fiber or microwave links due to terrain limitations. While TNs are susceptible to environmental disruptions such as fiber cuts, NTNs can offer alternative communication paths, enhancing overall network resilience. Since satellite coverage is focused on low-population density areas, each operator need not own the complete bandwidth of a satellite or even one carrier.
Multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) can share the same spectrum to reduce operating expenses (OPEX). Satellite providers can potentially become neutral host operators who allow different MNOs to share their infrastructure and/or spectrum for better monetization. Business And End User Considerations For Selecting NTNs Business leaders should assess their operational needs, geographical footprint and budget constraints to determine the potential benefits of integrating NTNs into their communication infrastructure.
For business operations seeking geographic reach to extend into remote regions, NTNs can provide essential connectivity. For critical services where downtime is unacceptable, NTNs offer a redundant communication layer for service continuity. Businesses must examine their data quality of service requirements and evaluate whether their applications can tolerate the latency associated with NTNs.
TNs generally have lower operational costs in densely populated areas but may have higher capital expenditure (CAPEX) and OPEX for remote locations. In remote locations, NTNs may incur higher initial investments but can be more cost-effective for wide-area coverage. Open RAN: A Natural Fit For TN-NTN Architecture Open radio access network (RAN) enables optimized handover across TN and NTN as users move across the coverage regions, better utilization of the satellite spectrum and on-board power budgeting thus allowing larger coverage with limited power.
Open RAN and NTN convergence is poised to transform the telecom industry, driving ubiquitous user connectivity and high customer satisfaction. Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) provide global coverage to remote and underserved regions, addressing traditional infrastructure gaps. Effective NTN deployment requires addressing satellite-associated latency, which can be optimized through open RAN and the RAN intelligence controller.
By enhancing existing networks and delivering requisite throughput, NTNs offer seamless connectivity and new revenue opportunities for telecom operators. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?.
