ITU-R recommendation IMT-2020-SAT.SPECS from ITU-R WP 5B to be based on 3GPP 5G NR-NTN and IoT-NTN (from Release 17 & 18)
Backgrounder:
Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are networks or segments of networks that use either Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) operating typically between 8 and 50km altitudes, including High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) or satellites in different constellations to carry a transmission equipment relay node or a base station:
- LEO (Low Earth Orbit): Circular orbit in altitudes of typ. 500-2.000km (lower delay and better link budget but larger number of satellites needed for coverage)
- MEO (Medium Earth Orbit): Circular orbit in altitudes of typ. 8.000-20.000km
- GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit): Circular orbit 35.786 km above the Earth’s equator (Note: Due to gravitational forces a GEO satellite is still moving within a range of a few km around its nominal orbital position).
- HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbiting): Elliptical orbit around the earth.
Figure 1: Illustration of the classes of orbits of satellites [source: TR 22.822]
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Future ITU-R NTN standard – Recommendation ITU-R M.[IMT-2020-SAT.SPECS]:
ITU-R SG04 Circular 134 invited proposal submissions for candidate radio interface technologies for the satellite component of the radio interface(s) for IMT-2020 (ITU-R M.2150 recommendation) and invitation to participate in their subsequent evaluation. Acting on behalf of 3GPP (which it is a member of), ATIS recently submitted three 3GPP documents to ITU-R WP’s 5B and 5D for consideration. The submitted material consists of 3GPP Releases 17 and 18 and it is provided in the following documents:
1. 3GPP 5G-NTN: RIT
o NR-NTN
2. 3GPP 5G-NTN: SRIT
o Component RIT: NR-NTN
o Component RIT: IoT-NTN
Legend:
NTN=Non Terrestrial Network
RIT: Radio Interface Technology
SRIT: Set of Radio Interface Technologies
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3GPP looks forward to the continuous collaboration with ITU-R WP 4B for the finalization of Recommendation ITU-R M.[IMT-2020-SAT.SPECS], which will be the official standard for 5G satellite to ground communications.
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Release 17:
- Foundation for 5G NTN: Established the foundation for integrating 5G with non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), enabling satellite connectivity for 5G services.
- Focus on Transparent Architecture: Rel-17 NTN was based on a transparent (bent-pipe) architecture, where the satellite acts as a radio repeater, limiting payload complexity and enabling early deployment.
- Initial Standardization: 3GPP pursued a range of solutions for 5G non-terrestrial networking (NTN) based on options for the type of non-terrestrial platform and the use cases supported.
- IoT-NTN: Introduced IoT-NTN, enabling satellite connectivity for Internet of Things devices.
- Frequency Bands: Focused on L-band and S-band in FR1 for NTN.
- Foundation for 5G NTN: Established the foundation for integrating 5G with non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), enabling satellite connectivity for 5G services.
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Release 18 (5G-Advanced):
- NTN-IoT Enhancements: Further optimized NTN for IoT, including enhancements for Machine-Type Communication (MTC).
- New Service and Traffic Models: Introduced new service and traffic models to better support NTN applications.
- New Frequency Bands: Expanded frequency support to include Frequency Range 2 (FR2), spanning 17,300 MHz to 30,000 MHz.
- Focus on Ka-band: Prioritized the use of Ka-band for NR NTN deployment.
- Uplink Coverage and Mobility Enhancements: Improved uplink coverage and mobility/service continuity between NTN and terrestrial networks (NTN-TN) and between NTN networks (NTN-NTN).
- Network Verified UE Location: Enabled the network to verify UE location as per regulatory requirements.
- RedCap Enhancements: RedCap solutions were further optimized to reduce device cost and power consumption.
- Support for Store & Forward (S&F) operation based on regenerative payload: Release 18 and beyond will support Store & Forward operation based on regenerative payload, including the support of feeder link switchover.
- NTN-IoT Enhancements: Further optimized NTN for IoT, including enhancements for Machine-Type Communication (MTC).
References:
2 ATIS contributions to ITU-R WP 5D and 5B (only available to ITU TIES account members)
https://www.3gpp.org/technologies/ntn-overview
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ITU-R has commenced the process of developing ITU-R Recommendations for the satellite component of the IMT-2020 radio interface(s).
This work is guided by Resolution ITU-R 65. This web page has been established to facilitate the development of proposals for the satellite component of the radio interface(s) for IMT-2020 and their subsequent evaluation.
Background on the satellite component of IMT-2020 (Doc. IMT-2020-SAT/1)
Requirements, evaluation criteria and submission templates for the development of IMT-2020-Satellite
Vision, requirements and evaluation guidelines for satellite radio interface(s) of IMT-2020
Report ITU-R M.2514
Evaluation Groups
ATIS Evaluation Group
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
5G India Forum (5GIF)
SatComForum
Interim Evaluation Reports
Document 4B/15 (SatComForum)
Document 4B/22 (ETSI)
Document 4B/23 (ATIS)
Document 4B/26 (5GIF)
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg4/Pages/imt-2020-sat-submission-eval.aspx