Ericsson, Thales, Qualcomm Take 5G ‘Out of This World’

Ericsson, French aerospace company Thales, and Qualcomm Technologies have joined forces to make a global 5G network of Earth-orbiting satellites.  Ericsson, French aerospace company Thales, and Qualcomm Technologies have joined forces to make a global 5G network of Earth-orbiting satellites.  Ericsson shared their plans to bring 5G connectivity via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, moving beyond research collection and into testing and verification of 5G non-terrestrial networks (5G NTN).  The team aims to create a future where a 5G smartphone can use 5G connectivity anywhere on the planet, including across oceans, seas, and large terrestrial areas, and provide complete global coverage for wideband services, according to the release. “The ultimate result could effectively mean that no matter where you are on Earth — in the middle of an ocean or the remotest forest… connectivity will be available through collaborative 5G satellite and terrestrial connectivity,” stated Ericsson Senior VP and CTO Erik Ekudden in the release. Qualcomm Director of Technical Marketing Danny Tseng told SDxCentral, “The cellular and satellite ecosystems have been working together on 5G NTN system design and simulations since the beginning of 5G.”  5G NTN was part of the study in Ericsson 3GPP Release 15, 16, and culminated into the standardization of 5G NTN in Release 17. “The major takeaway is that 5G NTN is now finally supported in standards,” Tseng said, adding that this is “a major feat, and the next step is for the industry to collaborate on testing/validation of the design and make it a reality.” When 5G radio waves travel through space’s vacuum and the atmosphere, the signals propagate. Ericsson is verifying a modified 5G virtual radio access network (vRAN) stack through LEO satellites to maneuver around this challenge while Thales and Qualcomm tackle additional verification processes. Thales plans to verify a 5G radio satellite payload suitable for deployment on LEO satellites, while Qualcomm will provide test phones verifying that 5G NTN can be accessed by future 5G smartphones, according to the announcement. As part of trials, teams will use ground-based gear to emulate radio propagation and time delays between orbiting satellites and connecting a smartphone to the 5G RAN across different places on Earth. Early tests are set to be executed in France, where the European space-focused industry is based. “Such widespread connectivity would boost 5G smartphone subscriber roaming service capabilities, as well as enabling global connectivity for transportation, energy and health sector 5G use cases,” Ericsson stated. The network could also serve as a back-up connection for failing terrestrial networks during outages or disasters. In addition, expected security capabilities may end up as a primary national government communications source to enhance safe and secure national security and public safety government networks “Given this collaboration is just the tip of the iceberg of an entirely new area of 5G testing, it presents a unique set of challenges and requires time for 5G and high-performance non-terrestrial networks to reach maturity to make real-life use cases a reality,” said Tseng. The basis of their challenges are tied to the many industries required in the collaboration, including satellites, devices, infrastructural components — as well as factoring in regulations and legal stipulations, and ensuring economic viability and structural complexity in comparison to traditional terrestrial networks, he added. With 5G NTN having just been approved in 3GPP Release 17 [with continuing work in Release 18], Tseng stated, “There is no set timetable for when this feature would become commercial.”  “While it is too early to say when any resulting 5G equipped prototype satellite could be launched into orbit for real operational use, the highly technical ground-based testing and validation work planned between Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies is key to making it happen,” stated Ekudden. Tseng noted that continuing studies of the technologies, spectrum, and regulations required to launch the networks will be the current focus of the project. “We will likely need some time to test 5G NTN systems in labs that can emulate a space environment, then move into the field, and then develop and deploy the prototypes,” he added.