Narrowband IoT Service Provision to 5G User Equipment via a Satellite Component

Abstract

Today an estimated 15 billion of connected objects communicate with each other''s. These connected objects that compose the Internet of Things (IoT) are expected to extend to 50 or 80 billion worldwide by 2020. Bringing wide-area connectivity for the IoT using satellite technology is therefore an attractive solution to complement terrestrial networks, allowing densification and coverage extension in remote areas. This paper deals with seamless integration of satellites and high altitude platforms (HAPS) into 5G networks. It describes the necessary modifications to operate on 5G systems in order to take satellite and HAPS specifics into account. Link budget calculations and system dimensioning, including channel modeling, are provided to determine the required satellite and HAPS performance as well as to estimate the number of served users per km².