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The Path to 5G-Advanced and 6G Non-Terrestrial Network Systems

Abstract

Today, 5G networks are being worldwide rolled out, with significant benefits in our economy and society. However, 5G systems alone are not expected to be sufficient for the challenges that 2030 networks will experience, including, e.g., always-on networks, 1 Tbps peak data rate, <10 cm positioning, etc. Thus, the definition of evolutions of the 5G systems and their (r)evolutions are already being addressed by the scientific and industrial communities, targeting 5G-Advanced (5G-A) and 6G.

In this framework, based on the successful integration of a NonTerrestrial (NT) in 3GPP Rel. 17, it is expected that NT Networks (NTN) will play an even more pivotal role for 5G-A (up to Rel.20) and 6G systems (beyond Rel. 20). In this paper, we explore the path that will lead to 5G-A and 6G NTN communications, providing a clear perspective in terms of system architecture, services, technologies, and standardisation roadmap.

Authors
  • Alessandro Guidotti, National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT), Univ. of Bologna Research Unit, Italy
  • Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, Dept. of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering (DEI), Univ. of Bologna, Italy
  • Vincenzo Schena, Thales Alenia Space Italia
  • Nicolas Chuberre and Mohamed El Jaafari, Thales Alenia Space France
  • Jani Puttonen, Magister Solutions, Finland
  • Stefano Cioni, European Space Agency – esa.int, ESTEC/TEC-EST, The Netherlands

The paper was accepted for publication at the 11th Advanced Satellite Multimedia (ASMS) Conference from Sept 6 – Sept 8 in Graz, Austria.