Tech bytes for tea?

5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are on the verge of dramatically improving global connectivity. Dylan MGrath from Keysight Technologies shares his enthusiasm for 5G NTNs and their powerful use-cases for broadband and IoT applications.

How do non-terrestrial networks boost mobile networks?

Patchy coverage, dropped calls, voice distortions, and inconsistent data speeds are some common problems with current 4G and 5G networks.

Some of these issues are due to the inherent problems of terrestrial networks.

About the Author: Dylan McGrath is the industry solutions manager for 5G at Keysight Technologies. Prior to joining Keysight, Dylan spent more than 20 years in technology journalism and marketing. He spent more than 10 years as an editor at EE Times, including several years as editor-in-chief of the 50-year-old electronics industry trade publication. His career has also included stints at Electronic News, IHS Markit, and the Hoffman Agency.

Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) can not only alleviate these problems but also potentially expand 5G coverage to the entire planet.

While NTN technologies use satellite systems or airborne platforms to provide telecommunication services in remote areas that are impractical for traditional terrestrial networks, a drawback of current NTNs is that they’re incompatible with traditional terrestrial networks.

For example, SpaceX’s Starlink is an NTN that provides internet access to millions of users around the world through its satellite constellation.

But even if users have smartphones and tablets equipped with perfectly capable radio transceivers, they still need an additional gateway device for Starlink internet access.

Fortunately, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the organisation that creates mobile communication standards, is addressing this incompatibility by bringing the NTN ecosystem under the umbrella of the 5G standards.

(more…)