5G Non-Terrestrial Network End-to-End Testing

The emergence of non-terrestrial networks expands 5G coverage to remote and underserved areas. However, there are challenges to implementing such networks. Key challenges include ensuring physical, protocol, and application layer compatibility, as well as addressing issues related to propagation conditions, standards compliance, and performance benchmarks.

In this document, learn how Keysight's Sky-to-Lab solutions offer comprehensive testing capabilities across modeling, physical channel impairments, and protocol / application levels, enabling end-to-end testing and validation of NTN deployments.

What are non-terrestrial networks in a nutshell?

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17 enhancements enable new classes of 5G wireless devices: non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Non-terrestrial networks aim to augment terrestrial 5G networks with satellites and other so-called "high-altitude platforms" to expand coverage and enhance service quality.

In a nutshell, engineers want to add satellite links to 5G, enabling communication independent of Earth-based, or terrestrial, communications infrastructure.

What are the benefits of non-terrestrial networks?

While NTN technology offers many benefits, the main one relates to network infrastructure. Cellular service providers need to leverage space networks to provide ubiquitous coverage worldwide.

Using satellites or other high-altitude platforms such as balloons, airships, or pilotless aircraft, NTNs will boost the reach of 5G to remote corners of the earth with no existing terrestrial infrastructure or where infrastructure becomes unavailable.

Once fully deployed, the impact of 5G NTN infrastructure will revolutionize numerous technologies, from emergency service systems to shipping and logistics tracking. NTNs also enable redundancy to amplify service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and bolster the reliability of mission-critical communications.

Additionally, NTNs extend the availability of 5G service to more moving platforms. For example, satellite communications can deliver 5G service to moving aircraft, ships, and trains in remote areas where building terrestrial network infrastructure is unreasonable or impossible.

This application note further describes additional benefits and end applications based on the three 3GPP-identified categories for 5G NTN usage:

• service continuity
• service ubiquity
• service scalability

What challenges do non-terrestrial networks face?

5G NTNs draw many features from 5G terrestrial networks and face many of the same challenges, adding higher service reliability expectations for 5G NTN service compared to earlier satellite communication networks. These challenges extend across physical, protocol, and application layers, including:

• emulating physical propagation conditions
• ensuring that base stations (gNBs) and UEs comply with 3GPP standards
• benchmarking key performance

This document details how the Sky-to-Lab end-to-end solution portfolio allows you to cover all phases in the testing workflow, including modeling, physical channel impairments, protocol, and application-level testing.

When discussing the Sky-to-Lab solutions, this paper explains the unique benefit offered by the following instruments and tools:

• UXM 5G network emulator
• PROPSIM channel emulator
• UeSIM user equipment (UE) emulator
• WaveJudge wireless analyzer
• EXata network modeling tools

Network Modeling for Non-terrestrial Networks

Ensuring optimal performance requires rigorous verification and validation (V&V) testing of end-to-end network functionality before non-terrestrial network deployment.

The key challenges and requirements discussed in this application note include:

• optical link stability and route switchover performance
• accurate optical link modeling
• routing with continual topology changes
• customizable routing protocols
• ground station network complexity
• interference testing

This document also expands upon how EXata network monitoring tools address these challenges while providing insights into network behavior and performance, ensuring reliability and efficiency.

End-to-End Non-terrestrial Network Test Bed

Beyond network modeling, this application note also explains how the Keysight End-to-End NTN Test Bed solution incorporates all the essential components of a non-terrestrial network, making it ideally suited for a wide array of research and development (R&D) applications. The End-to-End NTN Test Bed includes the UXM 5G network emulator, PROPSIM channel emulator, UeSIM UE emulator, and WaveJudge wireless analyzer.

Non-terrestrial Network Device Testing

This document also details how to test devices used in non-terrestrial networks using the NTN Device Testing solution to capture real-time key performance indicators, such as delay, Doppler, throughput, round-trip time (RTT) latency, and block error rate (BLER).

This solution, including the PROPSIM channel emulator, UeSIM UE emulator, and WaveJudge wireless analyzer, assesses the performance and functionality of devices.

Non-terrestrial Network gNB Testing

Like the NTN Device Testing solution, this NTN Base Station Testing solution leverages the PROPSIM channel emulator, UeSIM UE emulator, and WaveJudge wireless analyzer. This solution validates and optimizes base station operation within a non-terrestrial network. The application note describes how to use this solution to accelerate the time-to-market of non-terrestrial network base station solutions.

Summary

By integrating various instruments such as the UXM 5G network emulator, PROPSIM channel emulator, UeSIM UE emulator, and WaveJudge wireless analyzer, Keysight provides robust solutions for addressing the complexities of non-terrestrial network deployment.

Read this application note to learn how to ensure reliable network performance through NTN scenario emulation, network functionality testing, device performance analysis, and base station validation.