Description
The objective of this activity is to develop the software protocol stack for Release 18 enhancements related to 5G New for Radio (NR) for Non-Terrestrial Networks. The software protocol stack development shall be based on a testbed considering both the User Equipment (UE) and g-NodeB (gNB) features and operational procedures.Targeted Improvements:Enable 5G NR NTN system performance simulations with the latest Release 18 modifications.Description:The 5th generation of wireless broadband networks (5G) promised a new paradigm in communications, offering higher transmission rates, more Internet of Things (IoT) and internet application connections, high reliability, very low latency, and connectivity for remote areas. The 5G New Radio (NR) adaptations for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) have been introduced for the first time in the 3GPP Release 17 specifications, to support network offloading, coverage enhancements, connectivity resilience and service continuation in remote areas. With the support of the ARTES 5G Workplan, open-source software protocol stack versions have been implemented for NTN Release 17, starting from the Open-Air Interface (OAI) and from the SRS library. Based on the current 3GPP work item description, the new Release 18 will introduce further features related to the support and the enhancements of 5G NR services in satellite networks. Among the new features, it is recalled that NTN Release 18 will supportdownlink/uplink coverage enhancement techniques, network verified UE location capabilities, NTN-TN mobility enhancements for service continuity, and the support of above 10 GHz satellite frequency bands. The proposed activity shall thus foresee the following steps: a) Review the latest 3GPP specifications for the NTN scenario (i.e., Release 17) and identify the missing models and capabilitiesof the selected library to be enhanced with features of Release 18; b) Identify key features planned for Release 19 to be added to the library; c) Software design and development of the new functions in the protocol stack of both UE and gNB to support bi-directional communication links for both GEO and NGSO satellite networks; d) Thorough laboratory validation of the new software library capabilities. This activity should target publicly available licensing model (i.e., GPL licensing).