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PARTNER FOCUS

STATUS OF NTN & SATELLITE

IN 3GPP RELEASES 17 & 18

By: Munira Jaffar & Nicolas Chuberre, Members
of the ESOA Standards Working Group

The approval of normative activities on Non-Terrestrial Networks Looking ahead, ESOA members and other NTN stakeholders have
(NTN) in Rel-17 has generated growing interest in the topic. started discussions during the 3GPP Rel-18 June workshop and
The Rel-17 NTN work items are supported by a wide range of are continuing to work on a further list of enhancements for both
vendors (terminal, chipset, network), as well as service providers NR-NTN and IoT-NTN to be considered in Rel-18. Plans are also
from both the mobile and space industries and vertical user groups underway to further define the enablers for NR based satellite
including ESOA. access in bands above 10 GHz to serve fixed and moving platforms
(e.g., aircraft, vessels, UAVs) as well as building- mounted devices
The Rel-17 NTN and satellite work items in Technical Specification (e.g., businesses and premises). The goal of these efforts is to
Group (TSG) RAN and TSG SA have been progressing towards further optimize satellite access performance, address new bands
the goal of satellite inclusion in 3GPP technical specifications. with their specific regulatory requirements, and support new
The focus is on transparent payload architecture with FDD capabilities and services as the evolution of 5G continues.
systems where all UEs are assumed to have GNSS capabilities.
The normative phase includes adaptation to the physical & access
layer aspects, radio access network and system architecture, radio
resource management, and RF requirements for targeted satellite
networks operating at LEO, MEO or GEO orbits.
With an expected completion date of March 2022, the 3GPP
Rel-17 specifications will support New Radio (NR) based satellite LEO: 500 - 1,500 km
access deployed in FR1 bands serving handheld devices for global
service continuity. Equally exciting, the 3GPP Rel-17 specification
will support NB-IoT and eMTC based satellite access to address
massive Internet of Things (IoT) use cases in areas such as
agriculture, transport, logistics and many more.
This joint effort between mobile and satellite industries will enable
the full integration of satellite in the 3GPP ecosystem and define
a global standard for future satellite networks. This will address
the challenges of reachability and service continuity in unserved/
underserved areas, enhance reliability through connectivity MEO: 8,000 km - 18,000 km
between various access technologies, and improve network
resilience and dependability in responding to natural and man-
made disasters.
Upon completion of Rel-17 the long-awaited standard for satellite
networks serving handheld devices should be in place by 2022,
with commercial product availability expected sometime in
2024. Including satellite as part of the 3GPP specifications will GEO: 36,000 km
support the promise of worldwide access to 5G services and drive
explosive growth in the satellite industry.

About the co-authors:
Munira JAFFAR is the lead delegate representing EchoStar and Hughes, Nicolas CHUBERRE is the rapporteur of the NR_NTN_solutions
work item (TSG RAN) and of the FS-5GET study item (WG SA1) from Thales Alenia Space. Both play an active part in the Standards Working
Group of the EMEA Satellite Operators Association (ESOA).
www.esoa.net

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