Role of Space-Based Communications in 5G Era

Key takeaways

Introduction The mobile industry has entered the era of 5G communications.
HAPs are platforms in the shape of balloons or airships that operate at a fixed location.
Smooth connectivity in technologies in the 5G era, enabled through a network of networks that include space-based communications, opens new vertical doors for mobile operators to expand their markets and explore new revenue streams.

Introduction

The mobile industry has entered the era of 5G communications. New standards are being finalized, testbeds are proving technology worldwide, and the first commercial services have recently been launched. 5G will enhance mobile services for consumers and enable new application to serve a wide range of sectors, from healthcare to education and manufacturing to transportation.

5G gives the satellite industry the ultimate opportunity to get out of its place and offer a wide range of services to satellite service providers while enabling mobile and fiber operators to take advantage of its satellite connectivity to expand coverage areas and offload their network through critical functionalities like multicasting, backhauling, and mobility access where the satellite has better access technology.

The evolution of 5G is potentially important for the mobile industry. But the highlight of the big technological change is the hype surrounding 5G, which promises to provide extremely fast internet connection. This article provides a clear overview of the 5G market, explains why 5G networks will be networked and examines how space-based communication systems are a key component of mobile network operators 5G strategy.

Evolution of 5G #

5G is the fifth generation of cellular networks. Each generation has been improving with latest skills and services since the early 1990s:[R1] [R2] [UN3]

· 2G services provided us with digital voice communications, paid coverage and text messaging.

· 3G generated mobile internet and multimedia content

· 4G delivered mobile broadband, high-speed data, and smartphone

· 5G targets high network connectivity, high traffic results, energy-saving and cost-efficiency, as well as maximum device connectivity. The device not only caters to the growing level of mobile data traffic but also supports new revenue-generating services such as healthcare, transport, public services and the automotive industry.

Key Statistics of Mobile Data Traffic #

· 31% growth annually over the past five years to reach 136 exabytes per month by the end of 2024. (Ericsson Mobility Report)

· While 5G network will carry 25% of mobile data traffic globally. (Ericsson Mobility Report)

· By 2024, smartphones will consume more than 4 times more data on average than they do today.

The Role of Satellites in the 5G Networks #

The advanced communication of 5G is transformed into three major use cases:

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)
Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC)
Massive Machine-Type Communication (MMTC)

Satellites have a critical role to play in these categories.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband: #

With 5G comes the opportunity to offer a wide range and faster broadband connectivity such as voice, video, data to wide area networks, hotspots for mobile or fixed networks.

Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication: #

Another set of 5G use cases are URLLC applications that are especially important for mission critical and pseudo real-time applications. Let’s look at the issue of autonomous cars, where delays are important. In order to operate successfully, autonomous cars must be able to talk to each other and their surroundings for seconds. Until the introduction of 5G, no network could handle the scale and minimal delay required to make autonomous driving a reality. 5G quality is changing with lightning speed connections and smart routing.

Massive Machine-Type Communication: #

The third set of usage cases is mMTC for M2M or IoT devices and sensors. The functionality of SDN will play an important role here as it allows a given UE to serve with very few resources, in return several UEs will be served with the same resources as the same 4G UE. It already shows the promised scale that comes with 5G.

5G architecture needs to scale dramatically as it will integrate and backhaul data from millions of smart devices and sensors within homes and urban infrastructure, as they become commonplace in the smart cities of the future.

Advanced Space-based Platform for the 5G Era #

Today, satellite networks consist of a variety of platforms, including Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and High Altitude Platform (HAPs).

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) #

The GEO platform covers a large geographical area from a fixed point above the Earth’s equator and corresponds to the Earth’s orbit. This platform provides predictive and effective coverage to a specific area. This platform requires only small stationary directional antennas, which are cheaper than tracking antennas.

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) #

MEO space-based platforms are non-stationary and orbiting the earth. Because this platform is closer to Earth with a faster orbit than the GEO platform. This platform is used to provide us with continued coverage and positioning information such as GPS.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) #

LEO space-based platform orbit is closer to Earth than MEO or GEO. It provides us with continued coverage and also provides a faster connection than MEO and GEO platforms.

High Altitude Platform (HAPs). #

HAPs are platforms in the shape of balloons or airships that operate at a fixed location. They cover small areas and can be quickly deployed to specific locations to provide flexible broadband connectivity. They can also provide a variety of usage issues such as remote monitoring such as weather conditions and earthquake activity or disaster recovery efforts.

Space-Based 5G Use Cases #

Early 5G deployments are likely to be in the case of the use of eMBB in densely populated areas. But with the addition of space-based networks, operators can extend 5G services beyond city centers and support widespread use. The following highlights some key space-based 5G usage cases.

1. IoT Service Continuity #

Having billions of IoT devices is a major operational challenge. To address ongoing security threats, devices need constant updates and future 5G devices will need efficient data distribution globally. With extensive coverage and broadcast capabilities, the satellites are well-positioned to support IoT. They can offer shared unlink connectivity and data collection for a large number of IoT devices.

With an integrated satellite-terrestrial solution, the extra capacity can be used as an IoT backup or to complement dense data traffic. This allows higher peak rates and higher reliability in large-scale machine communication.

2. Fixed Backhaul to Remote Locations #

Satellite communications have a long history of providing secure networks for high-speed and mission-critical environments such as air navigation systems. With large towers and end-to-end delays, satellite networks can provide the desired backhaul for high-speed services.

One problem with 5G is the backhaul demands in a large number of small cell networks. Satellite networks can be used as a solo centralized backhaul for commerce loading, boundary processing, and resource sharing.

With the right combination of economic features, satellites can provide more services in high-speed network environments that are difficult to manage on land systems such as airplanes, connected cars and drones.

The satellite can complete 5G broadband connectivity in insecure areas where it is difficult to deploy land infrastructure, such as remote villages, islands or mountainous areas.

3. Hybrid Networks #

Space-based platforms can provide high-speed direct connectivity to homes and offices to stream multicast content in large geographic areas, or make content unprotected to devices or users. Hybrid networks also support the collection of IoT data in large-scale machine-type communications. High-capacity satellite links provide direct connectivity to users as well as complement the ground network.

4. Multicast Streaming #

The traditional core market for satellite communications is the media broadcast. Now, with the accumulation of mobile devices, media content trends are shifting away from live linear television broadcasts, to low latency on-demand streaming.

Media streaming arguably the most successful 4G service will become one of the key issues in the use of new satellite technology. With 5G, users will use better mobile broadband (eMBB) applications such as 8K video streaming and online VR/AR gaming. With the help of 5G-enabled satellites, these in-depth experiments can transmit higher data rates globally to help mobile devices with smoother transmissions and less delays.

Conclusion #

Space-based communication platforms play a major role in mobile network strategies in the 5G era. Different cases of users with diverse requirements, as well as the desire to connect everyone and everything makes space-based solutions providers the ideal partners for providing 5G network strategies. Smooth connectivity in technologies in the 5G era, enabled through a network of networks that include space-based communications, opens new vertical doors for mobile operators to expand their markets and explore new revenue streams.

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