Airbus<\/b> is teaming up with a group of satellite tech leaders to test standardized global 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Airbus announced the UpNext SpaceRAN (radio access network) demonstrator, which will test a 5G NTN software-defined satellite. The project involves a ground demonstration to simulate a two-satellite constellation in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) testing beam and satellite handovers. <\/p>\n
Then, Airbus plans to launch an in-orbit demonstration that will place a 5G non-terrestrial network payload on an Airbus LEO satellite, to act as a 5G base station in space. This phase is scheduled to launch in 2027, with in-orbit testing scheduled for 2028<\/p>\n
Airbus is working with industry partners Aalyria, AccelerComm, CesiumAstro, Deutsche Telekom, Eutelsat, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Keysight Technologies, Onati, Radisys, Sener, and ST Engineering iDirect.<\/p>\n
Airbus explained it is working to develop an open and non-proprietary standard for satellite communications, to provide a standardized and competitive alternative to existing proprietary solutions on the market. \u201cThis is essential for customers who need their satellite systems to function as a communication layer within a comprehensive space and ground network. It will apply to both commercial and military customers, with [military customers] seeking sovereign, global and secure connectivity services,\u201d Airbus said in a statement. <\/p>\n
This work will build on the 5G demonstration on OneWeb satellites last year, which tested NTN broadband over Ku-band LEO satellites.<\/p>\n
Aalyria noted its Spacetime 5G NTN RAN intelligent controller (RIC) will be used in the demonstration for real-time control and optimization.<\/p>\n
\u201cStandardized 5G connectivity from space is a critical next step for scaling Non-Terrestrial Networks globally. The Airbus UpNext SpaceRAN demonstrator provides an important opportunity to validate how intelligent, software-driven control can optimize NTN performance in orbit and accelerate real-world deployment,\u201d Aalyria CEO Chris Taylor commented. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Airbus is teaming up with a group of satellite tech leaders to test standardized global 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity. On Wednesday, Airbus announced the UpNext SpaceRAN (radio access network) demonstrator, which will test a 5G NTN software-defined satellite. The project involves a ground demonstration to simulate a two-satellite constellation in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) testing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}