High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Satellite Backhaul Architecture for Next-Generation Cellular Networks: Necessity and Opportunities Dimov Stojce Ilcev Space Science Centre (SSC), Durban University of Technology (DUT), Durban, South Africa, E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: In this paper is introduced a new 5G cellular communication systems and their possible integration with other radio or satellite networks, such as Digital Video Broadcasting-Return Channel via Satellite (DVB-RCS) standards as backhaul for rural, remote cellular networks. Within the next generation 5G framework, the Terrestrial Telecommunication Network (TTN) can be augmented with the backhaul of the development of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) and modern mega DVB-RCS constellations meeting 5G requirements, such as high bandwidth, low latency, and increased coverage for rural, remote and mobile environments. This integration of 5G with DVB-RCS standards will upgrade satellite Internet and IPTV for urban, remote, and mobile applications for ships, road, rails, and aeronautical applications via Geostationary Erath Orbit (GEO) satellites. Mobile Satellite Internet aims at providing the backbone for next-generation 5G broadcasting service through C, Ku and Ka-band DVB-S2 standard for ground and mobile subscribers. It is de facto a mobile interactive broadcast satellite access system, which provides both IPTV broadcasting and high-speed Internet broadband based on DVB-S/DVB-RCS standards, Internet Protocol (IP) network, World Wide Web, and E-solutions globally. Key Words: DVB-RCS, TTN, HTS, GEO, LTE, MIMO, eMBB, mMTC, LEO, MEO, URLLC, VSAT, HTS ISDN, ATM, UMTS, GPRS 1. Introduction Since the predominant Japanese cellular phone operator Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT) DoCoMo Inc. initiated the world’s first cellular communication service in December 1979, the modern technology of personal communications has continued to develop every decade, evolving to new generation systems. Together with the progress of technology and innovations services have continued to evolve, from the first generation (1G) to the second generation (2G) providing phone calls as a main means of communication, SMS as short E-mail messages. Besides, from the third generation (3G), data transfer of “i-mode” and multimedia information such as photos, music, and videoconferencing could be communicated using cellular personal devices. From the current fourth- generation (4G), smartphones have been explosively popularized by high-speed communication technology exceeding 100 Mb/s using the Long Term Evolution (LTE), and a wide variety of multimedia communication services have appeared. Thus, the 4G technology continues to evolve in the form of LTE-Advanced and has now reached a maximum communication speed close to 1 Gb/s. In the next stage of cellular improvements, the NTT DoCoMo Company plans to initiate services based on the fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication system in the spring of 2020, as a more technologically advanced system. 2. Development and Deployment of the New Generations Cellular Networks Menwhile after the announcement of further development of new 5g cellular techniques a fierce race, has begun which country de facto will be the first in technological and political terms. Thus, it turns out that Japan was the first to start that 5G race, but that China was the first to reach the finish line. Based on an article "China is racing ahead in 5G. Here’s what that means", published online on 18 December 2018 by Elizabeth Woyke, the following is quoted: "Last fall, the Fangshan government and China Mobile, the country’s largest mobile operator, outfitted a 6-mile (10-kilometer) road with 5G cell towers. Since September 2018, companies have been using the connectivity to test 5G wireless communications between autonomous vehicles and their surroundings. The 5G network transmits data from car sensors, roadside sensors, and video cameras installed above the road to a local data center, which analyzes the information and sends it back to the vehicles to help them navigate". In that plan of development, for the first time during October 2019, three major wireless carriers in China launched 5G networks, such as China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom. While coverage is limited in some areas, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen are the cities with the best coverage thus far. Because Chinese authorities control the implementation of the technology, some experts wonder if the 5G rollout processes throughout the vast nation will be slow. Although the implementation of 4G technologies did not occur until late 2013, many years after South Korea, Japan, the United States, and other nations had 4G technologies. However, China's top telecommunications companies seem determined to not replicate earlier 4G mistakes and have done an impressive amount of testing and infrastructure build-out of the 5G network. The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) projects China will have 460 million 5G connections by 2025. Volume 26, Issue 12, 2020 418 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 In April 2019 South Korea is ahead of other countries in 5G deployments, which has rolled out 5G to 85 cities as of Jan. 2020. Government officials estimate 90% of Korea's mobile users will be on a 5G network by 2026. The key to South Korea's success seems to stem from the collaboration of three carriers that have worked on 5G deployment: SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT Corp. This KT Company completed a successful trial of a system from NEC Corp. using extremely high frequencies for transmitting data at up to 3.2 Gb/s (gigabits per second) in the Taebaek Mountains. NEC’s iPasolink EX ultra-compact microwave system links between LTE base stations to enable telecommunication, which is much easier than laying fiber for the links. The microwave system conveys data at frequencies of 70 to 80 GHz, which keeps more signals going through the air than other systems and uses a form of encoding that lets more data be transmitted. In July 2016, the US Federal Communications (FCC) began creating rules for 5G technologies, making the USA the first country opening a high-band spectrum for the technology. However, in reality only on 3 April 2019 the US government introduced 5G mobile services in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. As the US governemnt officially announced, customers in those cities were the first in the world to have a 5G-enabled smart phone connected to a 5G network. Japan was the first to start developing 5G technology, but it has met its goal to launch 5G mobile service by 2020. Japan’s largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMO began its quest for 5G in 2010 with initial experiments. However, only in September 2019, the company rolled out pre-commercial 5G services. The test phase went well, and NTT DoCoMo began offering consumer 5G services on 25 March 2020. The Swedish company Ericsson and Tele2 have launched Russia's first 5G zone in central Moscow on Tele2's commercial network, setting into motion an agreement they signed in June 2019. Ericsson said it has supported Russian operator Tele2 in upgrading its infrastructure with 25,000 5G-ready base stations across Russia in an 18-month period. The update of vendor, the new 5G networks will cover all 27 regions of Russia and will increase capacity and enhance network performance. The 5G networks in the UK are launching in a very staggered manner, as some have been available since May 2019, while we're still waiting for others to roll out. Even with the new networks that have launched, their 5G offerings aren't available nationwide, and on top of that most phones don't support 5G yet, so most people can't take advantage of the new, super-speedy connectivity yet. One year on from launching 5G in the UK, Vodafone has become the first UK operator to showcase the next phase of 5G technologies, with a new network built for Coventry University. The new network, which uses what is known as ‘Standalone’ 5G technologies, will be used to show the true benefits of 5G, including ultra-low latency, guaranteed speed performance, and the Internet of Things (IoT) on a never-before-seen scale. 3. How does 5G Network Work? The 5G technologies is a new digital wireless system for transforming bytes or data units over the air. It uses a 5G New Radio interface, along with other modern technologies, that utilizes much higher radio frequencies (28 GHz compared to 700 to 2500 MHz for 4G) to transfer exponentially more data over the air for faster speeds of transmission reduced congestion, and lower latency, which is the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction. This new interface, which uses a millimetre wave spectrum, enables more cellular devices to be used within the same geographic area; 4G can support about 4,000 devices per square kilometre, whereas 5G will support around one million. This means more Netflix streaming, voice calls, and You Tube carried, without interruption, over the limited air space. In Table 1 is presented comparison of the main features for 3G, 4G and 5G cellular networks. The old 3G bandwidth was 2 Megabit per second (Mb/s), while the current 4G is 200 Mb/s and 5G is 1 Gb/s or 5 times higher than 4G. As stated, the values of latency for the 5G networks are much better and transmission speed is higher up to 16 times. Table 1. Comparison of 3G, 4G and 5G Main Features Volume 26, Issue 12, 2020 419 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 The 5G network also uses a new digital technology called Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology, which stands for multiple input multiple output, that uses multiple targeted beams to spotlight and follow users around a cell site, improving coverage, speed and capacity.