Abstract
3GPP is actively exploring massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), one of the three core 5G services areas, to enable services for large amounts of Internet of Things (IoT) terminals that generate regular small-payload messages. Covering this type of applications involve dealing with high density of terminals, which also require resource efficiency for long battery lifes. Expanding global coverage to remote and underserved areas is a crucial step towards the mMTC vision due to the multitude of remote IoT use cases that are uncovered by existing infrastructure. To achieve this efficiently, one approach is to use satellites to provide coverage, a concept known as Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). In addition, advancements in Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technologies such as NB-IoT play a crucial role in enabling efficient direct-to-satellite communications. Among NTN architectures, small and sparse networks of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are a cost-effective alternative to large mega-constellations, but require the support of a Store-and-Forward (SF) architecture and a regenerative payload approach on-board the satellites. This need is recognised by 3GPP and is an active discussion topic in Release 19 known as SF NTNs. Current solution proposals primarily focus on high-level architectural frameworks, leaving the concrete enabling technologies for SF NTNs largely undefined. Delay/Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) is a well-established approach for challenged networks, but its efficiency in LEO-based scenarios and its integration into 3GPP systems remain open research questions. In this work, we explore various DTN-inspired solutions for integrating SF in the 3GPP architecture, assessing their performance and efficiency through experimental validation in a testbed featuring the payload twin of a SF NTN mission. Our results provide insights into the feasibility and trade-offs of different SF technologies, and compare different candidate technologies for enabling SF NTNs.
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