Satellites and 5G by Bernardo Schneiderman

atellite communication will play a significant role Another goal of 5G is to support the expansion of devices in 5G and beyond as a complementary solution for comprising the Internet of Things (IoT)more devices will be Subiquitous coverage, broadcast/multicast provi- able to transmit data without causing performance issues. sion, aeronautical & maritime communications, emer- gency/disaster recovery, and remote rural area coverage. Driverless cars and autonomous vehicles are a related technological category that stand to benefit from 5G, as There are several use cases where standard terrestrial the demand for an interconnected transportation system coverage is either not present or possible, making satel- rises. Maintaining fast software downloads such as GPS lite systems uniquely mapping routes will positioned to provide be critical for a sys- a solution to bridge tem of connected cars. this gap. By 2020- 2025 there will be DriveNSR’s re- more than 100 High port entitled “5G via Throughput Satel- satellite: Impacts, De- lite (HTS) systems mand and Revenue using Geostation- potential to 2029,” ary (GEO) orbits forecasts deep 5G im- but also mega-con- pact in the satellite stellations of Low ecosystem with close Earth Orbit (LEO) to 10 million active satellites, deliver- units by 2029. Beyond ing Terabit per sec- Image courtesy of ESA the obvious use cas- ond (Tbps) of capacity across the world. es, like Cellular Back- haul and Trunking, a wide spectrum of applications New cost-effective system architectures as Starlink will experience accelerated demand from 5G, includ- (SpaceX), LightSpeed (Telesat), Oneweb, O3B (SES) ing IoT, Private 5G for Corporate Networks, Mo- systems should be considered as a major impact in the bility or even more conservative users like Gov/Mil. 5G infrastructure. Beside these ones during the 1Q21 Lockheed Martin’s space division announced a strategic “While 5G use cases generate a lot of hype, one interest agreement with satellite start-up Omnispace “to must not underestimate the transformative power of explore jointly developing 5G capability from space.” 5G in how satellite networks are designed,” states Luc Palerm, NSR Senior Analyst and report author. “Incor- 5G wireless technology promises to deliver per- porating and standardizing technologies like SDN/NFV formance upgrades across the entire telecommuni- or Cloud, 5G Network Management System will be at cations industry. The purpose of the 5G network the core of how future satellite networks are built, of- is to deliver faster speed and sustain a highly con- fering the scale and flexibility to optimally operate fu- centrated number of devices. This new infrastruc- ture VHTS, constellations and software defined sat- ture will transform the entire telecom industry. ellites under standardized service orchestration.”

The current 5G implementation process is on- going, but in its early stages. Major mobile carri- ers already are rolling out the 5G network, although Bernardo Schneiderman is the Principal there will be a gradual transition from the 4G LTE. of Telematics Business Consultants. He With the early stages of implementation of 5G be- can be reached at:info@tbc-telematics. ginning in 2019 and 2020, there will be several op- com portunities for transformation over the next decade.

14 July-August 2021 To shed light on the market for 5G services via satellite, Satellite Executive Briefing (SEB) invited major companies to participate in a virtual roundtable. We received feedback from following executives: Richard Swardh, SVP, Premium Enterprise & Mobile Operators-Comtech EF Data; Bhanu Durvasala, VP International Division-Hughes Network Systems; Jaume Sanpera Izoard, CEO-Sateliot;Semir Hassanaly, Head of Cellular Backhaul and Trunking-ST Engineering iDirect; Manik Vinnakota, Director, Commercial and Product Development-Telesat; and Kyle Griffin, VP for space advanced program development, Lockheed Martin.

Follows are excerpts of the discussion: Satellite Executive Briefing the ability to support 16,000 si- tion of satellite into 5G networks, (SEB): Please provide a summa- multaneous TCP sessions per ter- we have been involved with many ry of products or services that you minal. The JUPITER System cur- initiatives and testbeds to prepare currently offer or are planning to rently supports what we believe for the future. provide for the 5G market. is the largest Layer 2 implemen- Our 5G-enabled Intelligent tation in the world – in Indonesia. Gateway (iGW) satellite ground Comtech EF Data: Comtech EF The Hughes integrated 4G/LTE infrastructure helped enable the Data is a leading provider of in- acceleration with NSA 5G imple- successful integration of a com- novative and optimized satellite mentations enables operators to mercially available 5G core net- communications solutions, and a enhance the user experience while work into a live satellite network subsidiary of Comtech Telecom- also conserving bandwidth and is – the aim of the SaT5G project. munications Corp. We provide in use in places like India with The integrated 5G Non-Terres- the highest performing satellite Reliance Jio and Latin America trial-Network (NTN), consisted platforms and modems in the with Telefonica of a remote terminal which con- market that serve the needs of all nected over a live satellite to the generations of wireless technolo- Sateliot: We are going to have a 5G-enabled ST Engineering iDi- gies. Our link optimization solu- direct to sensor LEO constella- rect hub. The satellite connection tions help provide a similar look tion for 5G IoT (NB-IoT). continued to use the native sat- and feel for end users connected ellite radio at the physical layer. to 5G over a long delay link as ST Engineering iDirect: The 5G The 5G-enabled Intelligent Hub they would experience over a fi- standard promises to totally gateway included physical net- ber or microwave connected base transform overall network ca- work functions for terminating station. pabilities. However, to success- the native satellite connection, fully deploy the full potential of along with a satellite RAN and Hughes: The 5G network is of- 5G, mobile network operators a standard and unmodified com- ten called a “network of net- (MNOs) need satellite to supply mercially available 5G core net- works” because it is, effectively, connectivity hand in hand with work, both of which were virtu- a patchwork of various transport the terrestrial network, in hard- alized. types enabling connectivity, and to-reach areas, for mobile termi- We have also been involved this includes, of course, satellite nals, to offload network conges- with proof-of-concept testing for transport. In fact, satellite will be tion, to enhance user experience 5G content distribution leverag- a critical element of 5G globally. i.e., by using multicasting, rerout- ing edge computing where video There will always be places where ing non-latency sensitive services content distribution technology terrestrial fiber/microwave back- and backhauling 5G traffic from is designed to operate over a sat- haul is not available and where remote areas, among other use ellite network with 4G/5G and satellite provides the most cost-ef- cases. That’s why the satellite in- Multi-access Edge Computing fective – if not the only – back- dustry, including ST Engineering (MEC) integration. The tech- haul connectivity path. To sup- iDirect, is transforming the fab- nology transforms multimedia port this application, the Hughes ric of our network to better align streaming on mobile devices by JUPITER™ System is already 5G with 5G standards, making it eas- leveraging efficiencies of a tight- ready utilizing non-standalone ier for MNOs to adopt and sell ly integrated hybrid cellular and (NSA) mode, with functionality satellite services in the 5G future. satellite network, enhancing user for Layer 2 transport support and In order to facilitate the integra- streaming experience and reduc- July-August 2021 15 ing network operation costs. Telesat has demonstrated the ing them to reduce the possibility Our Mx-DMA return technol- ability of serving 5G requirements of detection or interception. This ogy also fully addresses 5G use with the world’s first 5G back- is the next step in resilient, glob- cases for very high throughput haul demo over its LEO satellite, al communications and networks but also IoT/Machine to machine in partnership with the Vodafone that are expanded in both capa- MTC and optimized latency. The Group and the University of Sur- bility and access. technology abides to Self-Orga- rey’s 5G Innovation Centre. Test nizing Networks (SON) rules results confirmed round-trip la- Ubiquitous global communi- with automatic configuration, tency of 18-40 milliseconds and cations from space provides tre- optimization, and diagnostic the ability to deliver throughput mendous opportunity to deliv- functionality. to meet the demand of live trans- er direct access and roaming to We are ultimately working to- missions of 4K and 8K video, disconnected users. Based on the wards end-to-end service orches- along with simultaneous encrypt- 3GPP standards, Non-Terrestri- tration and seamless integration ed video calls and web browsing. al Networks (NTN) can support of satellite into the 5G telco infra- Telesat Lightspeed is a non- voice over IP, text, IOT device structure which will also enable GEO network that has interna- data and government command edge computing. This will ensure tional Ka-band priority spectrum and control solutions. These ser- a great user experience when ac- rights. The Telesat Lightspeed vices can be quickly delivered cessing popular content at the network has over 15 Tbps of worldwide, and user equipment edge thanks to content edge stor- capacity and covers every point as small as a smartphone can be age, but also reduce latency for on Earth. It is the most techno- used to close the links. applications which will be able to logically capable satellite com- leverage this edge capability. munications network in history and exploits the latest advances SM: Considering the expansion Telesat: Telesat is one of the in space-based data processing, of 5G penetration globally, how largest and most successful glob- laser communications, digital an- are you planning to increase al satellite operators and today tenna technology and machine your market share in the short, serves the wireless backhaul learning.” medium and long term? needs of mobile network opera- tors through our fleet of geosta- Lockheed Martin: Lockheed Comtech EF Data: 5G brings tionary (GEO) satellites. While Martin is interested in two pri- some very interesting innovations GEO can support a wide range mary areas using the speed of to- to market and will allow satellite of applications and is particularly day’s 5G and building resilient, to play a greater role in delivering well suited for distributing broad- adaptable architectures in space connectivity either directly to user cast video, our telecom customers for ubiquitous global communi- terminals using 5G waveforms require very high throughput, Se- cations. from space or through traditional cure, low latency connectivity to First, we want military us- backhaul as frequently used to- meet their 5G network require- ers operating in communica- day in 2G, 3G and 4G networks. ments. tions-contested and denied en- Comtech EF Data has been For this reason, Telesat is vironments to have ready and the market leader in high per- building its next-generation Low reliable access to data so they can formance mobile backhaul for Earth Orbit (LEO) network, perform their missions anywhere 2G/3G/4G for over 20 years. We Telesat Lightspeed, that is spe- in the world when terrestrial sys- will continue to build on that cifically engineered to deliver tems are unavailable or compro- heritage and introduce addition- fiber-quality, high-speed, low la- mised. al products and features in our tency broadband for enterprise Second, we are developing portfolio that meet the demands and telecom customers. Telesat these military-grade capabili- of our end users as they make the Lightspeed satellites are 35 times ties in space that use commer- move to 5G. Initially we believe closer to Earth, which results in cially deployed 5G features like the market for 5G will develop low-latency (<50 ms) everywhere high-bandwidth, low latency and for the higher end use cases like on the planet. prioritized connections but secur- disaster recovery, emergency re-

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CEFD Sat M&R FP_Target_2020.indd 1 12/6/19 1:06 PM sponse and military. Over time, the 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE towers easy plug-and-play integration we believe it will also move to in their networks, farther out with their mobile networks, al- more mainstream use cases and from the network core. lowing them to take advantage also include communities and of ubiquitous, high capacity and business that are today served Sateliot: 5G is expanding and low latency connectivity, without with mobile backhaul by previ- all the operators are willing to the complexities inherent in inte- ous generations. extend their networks coverage. grating traditional satellite-based The MNOs have in this moment solutions. Hughes: High availability of the a huge pressure in having more global 5G network demands that coverage with less investments Lockheed Martin: The U.S. and there be redundant connectivity and this is exactly what we offer. allies need ubiquitous global com- paths employing alternate tech- Full coverage for their 5G IoT munications, and 5G is one more nologies. For example, when customers without any invest- tool in the tool box to provide the primary terrestrial link fails ment and with exactly the same services. Adding into this a com- – during natural or manmade di- equipment NB-IoT their custom- mercial market, being supported sasters – satellite backup provides ers are using today through a sin- by mobile network operators and the necessary resiliency. What’s gle roaming agreement. user equipment manufacturers, more, the overall 5G architecture the scale and scope of the market calls for hybrid solutions of ter- ST Engineering iDirect: In the is tens of billions of dollars. restrial/satellite technologies to short term, we will focus upon le- reach the full potential of univer- veraging our existing solutions to SEB: Are there any specific verti- sal connectivity no matter where enable us to establish our place in cal markets that you are focusing on the planet. The JUPITER the 5G ecosystem. We ensure that on? System already enables cellular our modems are 5G enabled and backhaul at more than 12,000 that we are continuously adding Comtech EF Data: Comtech EF sites globally, and we continue to new capabilities to our new mo- Data is a market leader in high work with mobile network oper- dems to optimize 5G processing. performance satellite commu- ators worldwide to help expand In the mid to long term, we nication across many markets. their network reach with satel- will build upon and expand our With our recent addition of lite backhaul. In Latin America, already developed solutions for UHP Networks, we are expand- where we have satellite capacity, multiple market verticals such as ing our reach even further. Our we offer a vertically integrated maritime, aero, private networks, solution set spans from deliver- solution for MNOs to expand emergency services, land mobil- ing multi-Gbps links of trunking their networks using the JUPI- ity, IoT further leveraging 5G in support of mobile broadband TER fleet of satellites and the architecture, cloudification and to thousands of VSATs in sup- JUPITER System ground capabil- slicing functionality. port of Internet of Things (IoT). ities. We also service mobility markets At the same time that oper- Telesat: Nearly half of the with large links over GEO/MEO ators implement 5G services in world’s population lives outside to cruise ships to over ten thou- urban and ex-urban areas, we urban areas where affordable sand fishing and shipping vessels expect that demand for cellular and high-quality Internet to the across our platforms. network service will reach further home or 4G/5G mobile networks into sparsely populated and hard may not be widespread. A critical Hughes: The Hughes JUPITER™ to reach communities. Consid- gap is the lack of cost-effective System is already the de fac- ering that “a rising tide lifts all and quality backhaul connecting to ground network platform of boats,” we are seeing more de- remote areas to the urban fiber choice, operating on more than ployments in these rural areas of backbone. Telesat Lightspeed 40 satellites worldwide. Across 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE networks. will be truly transformative by those implementations, Hughes In fact, as operators deploy 5G offering such a solution. technology supports both back- towers in the densely populated Telesat Lightspeed will be haul and mobility applications areas, they are able to repurpose certified to MEF standards for and we will continue to partner

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July-August 2021 19 with customers to support those for global broadband connec- linearity, high power Q/V and Ka solutions. Another important tivity. Other LEO systems were amplifiers for many new NGSO vertical market for Hughes is the designed primarily for consumer platforms. We can scale our man- Community Wi-Fi opportunity broadband, while Telesat intends ufacturing facilities to deliver which brings crucial connectivi- to serve enterprise applications thousands of amplifiers each year ty to villages and towns outside with the ability to deliver up to that may be needed for the large the reach of terrestrial services. 7.5 Gbps to a single terminal, or size LEO satellite networks being Hughes equipment supports over 20 Gbps to a single ‘hotspot’ planned by some of the larger more than 50,000 Communi- like an airport hub, sea port or re- players in this market. Comtech ty Wi-Fi hotspots around the mote community. AHA licenses intellectual prop- world. Throughout Latin Ameri- Telesat Lightspeed will pro- erty including FPGA cores and ca, Hughes works together with vide backhaul connectivity for waveforms. Comtech EF Data Facebook Connectivity to deploy ISPs, MNOs, aggregated IoT and provides hub infrastructure, as Hughes Express Wi-Fi hotspots private LTE or 5G networks serv- well as SCPC modems and simi- which empower local shop-own- ing enterprises, remote industrial lar to Comtech Xicom Technol- ers to sell their own Wi-Fi service, or mining facilities. In additional, ogy, the Comtech EF Data com- bringing much needed internet we will also serve the aviation, pany can manufacture modems access to these communities and a commercial maritime, cruise ship at very high volumes and at com- new revenue opportunity for the and energy connectivity markets, petitive prices to support some of storekeepers. as well as enterprise, government the larger NGSO constellations. and defense customers. Finally, Comtech Mission Criti- Sateliot: Massive IoT in a whole- cal Technologies provide track- sale model for the mobile opera- Lockheed Martin: We’re focused ing X/Y hub antennas for MEO tors. on delivering secure 5G benefits and LEO constellations and also to users directly, without ground help with system integration and ST Engineering iDirect: There are station intermediaries. VOIP, building teleports that are trying many applications that we see IOT, secure backhaul and com- everything together. that will benefit from 5G. Our mand and control applications focus includes IoT, backhaul, can all be supported through our Hughes: Hughes engineers maritime, aero and land mobility, solutions for mobile, commercial, and patents are at the center of enterprise and broadband, broad- personal, marine and infrastruc- satellite ground technology inno- cast and government and defense. ture services. vation – whether for GEO, MEO There are also set to be other use or LEO constellations. Hughes is cases, ones that we’re not even SEB: Considering the influx an investor in and a technology aware of yet, that will emerge as of Non-GEO constellations in provider to OneWeb, develop- we move forward into the 5G era. the next few years, do you have ing the gateway electronics and At ST Engineering iDirect, we any solutions to cover this mar- the core module that will be used believe that satellite within the ket with hardware or services to in every user terminal for this 5G network will be about more complement 5G solutions with LEO system. The Hughes JUPI- than just backhaul — 5G pres- terrestrial 5G operators? TER™ System was central to a ents new use cases for satellite to recent multi-orbit demonstra- break out of its niche, open new Comtech EF Data: Comtech tion of aeronautical connectivi- markets, and participate in a fully Telecommunications family of ty with SES and Thinkom. And converged, end-to-end network. companies are involved in many Hughes continues to innovate aspects of the NGSO markets. As multi-transport solutions for ter- Telesat: Telesat Lightspeed is the a corporation, we can be a one- restrial/satellite connectivity us- only NGSO network that was de- stop shop offering a full turnkey ing the company’s proprietary signed specifically for enterprise Ground Terminal and User Termi- Active Technologies™ that en- B2B/B2G customers. We believe nal solution for NGSO networks. able real-time quality of service, that there is a massive market Comtech Xicom Technology is a additional virtual capacity, au- market leader in providing high tomatic traffic classification and 20 July-August 2021 prioritization and intelligent path aerospace, cruise, offshore ener- look at orbital regimes, we think control. gy, mining and commercial ship- about what orbit will best per- ping. This opportunity allows us form the mission for our custom- Sateliot: We are deploying our to reinforce our collaboration ers. We take a more holistic view own LEO constellation with com- with SES and take further steps that considers vehicles large and mercial service by the end 2022. towards achieving our vision of small, from LEO to GEO and a GSO and NGSO, multi-access beyond. That being said, we’ve ST Engineering iDirect: We have platform to deliver next-genera- recently expanded what we can already introduced our iQ LTE tion services and applications en- do with ubiquitous global com- modem series for terrestrial in- abled by emerging 5G standards. munications from LEO, like our teroperability which features a We are providing a 5G capable development of Tranche 0 of the software-defined architecture and modem portfolio and on the hub SDA Transport Layer. a satellite modem as well as an connectivity side we are enabling LTE modem for maximum flexi- 5G technologies while contribut- SEB: What trends and opportu- bility and expansion enabling the ing to other projects which are nities do you see in satellite pro- delivery of persistent communica- under development. All of these vision of 5G services and how is tions across a wide range of use imply end-to-end orchestration your company position to meet cases. In the future we are look- and interoperability with terres- these trends and opportunities? ing into extending these capabil- trial 5G operators. ities for 5G use cases. Comtech EF Data: Satellite sys- In terms of non-GEO con- Telesat: Telesat is working with tems are becoming more complex stellations, we will provide our a global ecosystem of hardware and costly to build and Comtech high-performance ground sys- manufacturers to bring to mar- Telecommunications’ breadth of tems for O3b mPOWER, SES’s ket affordable user terminals and companies servicing the industry next-generation Medium Earth modems to access the Telesat is an important partner to our Orbit (MEO) communications Lightspeed network. Small, easy end users to meet those chal- system. O3b mPOWER will en- to use hardware for telecom pro- lenges whether it being 5G over able a flexible, low-latency, high- viders is paramount to expanding satellite or NGSO. By being able speed, fiber-like experience for 5G networks to areas that were to provide everything end to end industry segments that include previously unviable to serve. from hub, modem, antenna and telecommunications/Mobile Net- RF along with integration ser- work Operator, government, Lockheed Martin: When we vices and IPRs provide a lot of July-August 2021 21 value to many of our customers. Hughes is well positioned for ty, satellite will bring broadband Very few companies in the indus- the 5G transition with our next connectivity to remotes or user try have similar capabilities to- generation smart and flexible JU- equipment (UEs) on the move day. Another trend we see is from PITER™ ground system, which such as airplanes, trains, vehicles, some of the larger and new LEO works with very high through- and maritime vessels. satellite entrants/operators that put and efficient satellites that plan to compete with terrestrial are capable of providing service Telesat: We designed our LEO networks to provide broadband when and where it is needed for network to enable MNOs to ex- internet services globally. They both fixed and mobile applica- pand the reach of their 5G ser- plan to roll out hundreds of sat- tions. Our ground networks in- vices to rural and remote popu- ellite gateways and thousands of corporate virtualized gateways lations. But in order to serve this user terminals, so they offer a and software defined networking market, telecom operators need tremendous growth opportunity to allow operators to significant- large amounts of bandwidth at to suppliers that can meet their ly improve deployment time for low costs. In addition, they want stringent requirements of high new applications as well as for to know their satellite operator is performance, high volume and network expansion, while bring- their partner and not competing low cost. Comtech Telecommu- ing down both operational and against them in other offerings nications and its subsidiary com- capital costs. like broadband connectivity to panies have been planning for homes and businesses. this market for a few years and Sateliot: IoT is exploding and the Telesat is ideally positioned we are already engaged with sev- 5G Standard (NB-IoT) has the to meet the capacity and perfor- eral of these large LEO operators best competitive offer in cities mance requirements at disruptive to offer the most advanced solu- (under mobile coverage) to ex- economics with Telesat Light- tions at very competitive prices. tend this offer in non-urban areas speed. As a B2B-focused opera- We have also made significant through the mobile operators is tor, we will not compete against investments in our factories to the winning bet. our customers to provide con- scale production capacity to meet sumer services. the demands of these large LEO ST Engineering iDirect: ST Engi- networks. neering iDirect is well positioned Lockheed Martin: Mesh network- to provide MNOs with a plat- ing is important for our Depart- Hughes: There are multiple op- form that extends anywhere in ment of Defense customers who portunities that we are seeing the world; supports 2G, 3G and prioritize a JADO-centric future, for satellites in the 5G ecosys- 4G/LTE backhaul scenarios; and and we’re actively experimenting tem. These include the IoT sec- will be forward compatible with with that through our Pony Ex- tor, connecting billions of de- 5G standards, ready to enable press nanosatellites. SmartSatTM vices for applications including partners to take part in new use with software-defined platforms precision farming, smart mining, cases and opening up new oppor- also shape that future state. All smart cities, fleet management, tunities arising from 5G. this is bolstered with our expe- disaster monitoring, smart grid, To explain further, in terms of rience in secure, faster data net- telehealth, oil and gas, shipping, 5G to premises, satellite will com- works from space, as evidenced aviation and many more. We are plement terrestrial networks such by our work with LTE over sat- also seeing trends for using sat- as broadband connectivity to a ellite, which is patented by Lock- ellite for offloading of terrestrial home or office in underserved heed Martin and currently field- traffic during busy hours and/ areas or to enterprise sites as a ed. In the near future, these sorts or providing network resiliency backup. For 5G fixed backhaul, of systems will be able to be up- during disaster events. Anoth- satellite will bring broadband graded in orbit not just with re- er trend is the use of satellites to connectivity where it is difficult mote software upgrades but with fill voids in connectivity as users to deploy terrestrial connections hardware upgrades, and we’re move in and out of terrestrial (e.g., in rural and remote areas or testing common architecture for coverage areas on airplanes, ships across a wide geographic region). that now. and vehicles. From the perspective of mobili-

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