Dianxin kexue (Mar 2022)

Key technologies and evolution of 5G non-terrestrial network

  • Deshan MIAO,
  • Li CHAI,
  • Jiancheng SUN,
  • Ting KE,
  • Yuzhen LIU,
  • Xiaodong XU,
  • Nan HU,
  • Shanzhi CHEN

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 38
pp. 10 – 21

Abstract

Read online

Non-terrestrial network (NTN) in 5G system is expected to provide communication services via near-earth space access and satellite access, which means 5G network has expanded its service area from land to space.Standardization status and key technolgies of 5G 3GPP Release 17 NTN were presented, including key differences compared 5G TN, especially in network architecture, time and frequency synchronization, HARQ, and mobility management etc.Moreover, the main candidate techniques in 3GPP Release 18 NTN and beyond were explored, aiming to outline a vision for NTN evolution.Based on the analysis of 5G NTN and its evolution, it was observed that the integration of TN and NTN would be an obvious technique trend, which paved a way to a unified system applied for space, land and sea.

Keywords