A short video & presentation looking at what is meant by Non-Terrestrial Networks or NTN as being defined by 3GPP All our #3G4G5G slides and videos are available at: Videos: https://www.youtube.com/3G4G5G Slides: https://www.slideshare.net/3G4GLtd 5G Page: https://www.3g4g.co.uk/5G/ Free Training Videos: https://www.3g4g.co.uk/Training/

1. Non-Terrestrial Networks
(NTN)
@3g4gUK

2. Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Terrestrial Networks
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3. Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Aircraft
• Typically 9 to 11.5 kmTerrestrial Networks
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4. Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Satellites
• GEO – 35,786 km
• MEO – 7,000 to 25,000 km
• LEO – 300 to 1,500 km
Aircraft
• Typically 9 to 11.5 kmTerrestrial Networks
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5. Summary of proposed LEO Constellations Designs
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Source: Semantic Scholar

6. Telesat vs SpaceX vs OneWeb
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Source: MIT

7. ©3G4G

8. How Satellite Connectivity Works
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Internet
Satellite Gateway
Or Earth Station
Satellite
Terrestrial Base Station
Earth Station
Communication Link
Mobile phones
Satellite phone

9. How Satellite Connectivity Works
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Internet
Satellite Gateway
Or Earth Station
Satellite
Terrestrial Base Station
Earth Station
Communication Link
Mobile phones
Satellite phone
Mobile Network Operator
Core Network / Data Center

10. Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks
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Satellites
• GEO – 35,786 km
• MEO – 7,000 to 25,000 km
• LEO – 300 to 1,500 km
UAS
• UAS Range – 8 to 50 km
• Typically 18 to 27 km
• HAPS – 20 km
Aircraft
• Typically 9 to 11.5 kmTerrestrial Networks
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UAS = Unmanned Aircraft System
HAPS = High-Altitude Platform Station

11. Different Types of HAPS and Altitudes
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Aeroplane
9 to 11.5 km
Google Loon
20 km
Unmanned drones
20 - 25 km
Aerostatic HAPS
20 km
HAPSMobile
20 km

12. ©3G4G
Source: 3GPP
3GPP TS 22.261 (Rel-15)
3GPP TR 22.822 (Rel-16)
3GPP TS 22.261 (Rel-16)

13. ©3G4G
Source: 3GPP

14. NTN Characterization [3GPP TR 38.821]
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Platforms Altitude range Orbit
Typical beam
footprint size
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite 300 – 1500 km
Circular around the earth
100 – 500 km
Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO)
satellite
7000 – 25000 km 100 – 500 km
Geostationary Earth Orbit
(GEO) satellite
35 786 km notional station keeping position fixed in
terms of elevation/azimuth with respect
to a given earth point
200 – 1000 km
UAS platform (including
HAPS)
8 – 50 km (20 km for HAPS) 5 - 200 km
High Elliptical Orbit (HEO)
satellite
400 – 50000 km Elliptical around the earth 200 – 1000 km
UAS - Unmanned Aircraft Systems
LTA - Lighter than Air UAS
HTA - Heavier than Air UAS

15. NTN Architectures
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1. Transparent-satellite based NG-RAN architecture,
2. Regenerative-satellite based NG-RAN architecture with gNB
on board, and
3. Regenerative-satellite based NG-RAN architecture with gNB-
DU on board.
3GPP TR 38.821: Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN)

16. Evolving from single-node in 4G to split function architecture in 5G
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Source: ITU-T GSTR-TN5G Transport network support of IMT-2020/5G
UPUP
L1'L1'
RRU
BBU
EPC
S1
CPRI
CN
CU
DU
RRU
F1
NG
eCPRI/CPRI/
NGFI
L1",L2-RTL1",L2-RT
L2-NRT,L3L2-NRT,L3
UPUP
CPCP/UP
corecore
4G 5G
Xn
X2
BBU – BaseBand Unit
CU – Central Unit
DU – Distributed Unit
RRU – Remote Radio Unit

17. Mapping of CU and DU functions according to the split points
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CU – Central Unit
DU – Distributed Unit
RU – Remote Unit
RRH – Remote Radio Head
NGC – Next-generation Core

18. Transparent-satellite based NG-RAN architecture
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UE gNB
NR Uu NG N6
5G CN
Data
Network
NTN
Gateway
NG-RAN
Remote Radio Unit

19. Regenerative-satellite based NG-RAN architecture with gNB on
board
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UE
gNB
NR Uu
NG N6
5G CN
Data
Network
NTN
Gateway
NG-RAN
NG over SRI

20. Regenerative-satellite based NG-RAN architecture with gNB-DU
on board
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UE gNB-DU
NR Uu NG N6
5G CN
Data
Network
NTN
Gateway
NG-RAN
F1 over SRI
F1
gNB-CU

21. ©3G4G

22. Use-Cases and Applications
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• Continuity in connection over trains, boats, planes, etc.
• Connectivity for ships out in the ocean
• Service availability everywhere, especially for emergency
communications
• Connectivity for rural, remote, unserved and underserved areas
• Connectivity for M2M/IoT devices
• 3GPP TR 38.811, section 4.2 provides a lot more use cases for anyone
interested

23. 3GPP References
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• 3GPP TS 22.261: Service requirements for the 5G system;
Stage 1
• 3GPP TR 22.822: Study on using Satellite Access in 5G; Stage 1
• 3GPP TR 38.811: Study on New Radio (NR) to support non
terrestrial networks
• 3GPP TSG RAN meeting #83 RP-190710: Revised SID for Study
on solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN)
• 3GPP TR 38.821: Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial
networks (NTN)
• 3GPP TS 38.401: NG-RAN; Architecture description

24. Thank You
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