European Space Agency (ESA), MediaTek Inc., Eutelsat, Airbus Defence and Space, Sharp, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) have conducted the world’s first successful trial of 5G-Advanced Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technology over the Eutelsat’s OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites compliant with 3GPP Rel-19 NR-NTN configurations. The tests pave the way for deployment of 5G-Advanced NR-NTN standard, which will lead to future satellite and terrestrial interoperability within a large ecosystem, lowering the cost of access and enabling the use of satellite broadband for NTN devices around the world.
The trial used OneWeb satellites, communicating with the MediaTek NR-NTN chipset, and ITRI’s NR-NTN gNB, implementing 3GPP Release 19 specifications including Ku-band, 50 MHz channel bandwidth and conditional handover (CHO). The OneWeb satellites, built by Airbus, carry transparent transponders, with Ku-band service link, Ka-band feeder link, and adopt the “Earth-moving beams” concept. During the trial, the NTN user terminal with a flat panel antenna developed by SHARP – successfully connected over satellite to the on-ground 5G core using the gateway antenna located at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands.
David Phillips, Head of the Systems, Strategic Programme Lines and Technology Department within ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate, said: “By partnering with Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat and partners, this innovative step in the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks proves why collaboration is an essential ingredient in boosting competitiveness and growth of Europe’s satellite communications sector.”
Mingxi Fan, Head of Wireless System and ASIC Engineering at MediaTek, said: “As a global leader in terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity, we continue in our mission to improve lives by enabling technology that connects the world around us, including areas with little to no cellular coverage. By making real-world connections with Eutelsat LEO satellites in orbit, together with our ecosystem partners, we are now another step closer to bring the next generation of 3GPP-based NR-NTN satellite wideband connectivity for commercial uses.”
Daniele Finocchiaro, Head of Telecom R&D and Projects at Eutelsat, said: “We are proud to be among the leading companies working on NTN specifications, and to be the first satellite operator to test NTN broadband over Ku-band LEO satellites. Collaboration with important partners is a key element when working on a new technology, and we especially appreciate the support of the European Space Agency.”
Elodie Viau, Head of Telecom and Navigation Systems at Airbus, said: “This connectivity demonstration performed with Airbus-built LEO Eutelsat satellites confirms our product adaptability. The successful showcase of Advanced New Radio NTN handover capability marks a major step towards enabling seamless, global broadband connectivity for 5G devices. These results reflect the strong collaboration between all partners involved, whose combined expertise and commitment have been key to achieving this milestone.”
Masahiro Okitsu, President & CEO, Sharp Corporation, said: “We are proud to announce that we have successfully demonstrated Conditional Handover over 5G-Advanced NR-NTN connection using OneWeb constellation and our newly developed user terminals. This achievement marks a significant step toward the practical implementation of non-terrestrial networks. Leveraging the expertise we have cultivated over many years in terrestrial communications, we are honored to bring innovation to the field of satellite communications as well. Moving forward, we will continue to contribute to the evolution of global communication infrastructure and strive to realize a society where everyone is seamlessly connected.”
Dr. Pang-An Ting, Vice President and General Director of Information and Communications Research Laboratories at ITRI, said: “In this trial, ITRI showcased its advanced NR-NTN gNB technology as an integral part of the NR-NTN communication system, enabling conditional handover on the Rel-19 system. We see great potential in 3GPP NTN communication to deliver ubiquitous coverage and seamless connectivity in full integration with terrestrial networks.”
Goce Talaganov, Vice President of Mobile Radio Testers at Rohde & Schwarz, said: “We at Rohde & Schwarz are excited to have contributed to this industry milestone with our test and measurement expertise. For real-time NR-NTN channel characterization, we used our high-end signal generation and analysis instruments R&S SMW200A and FSW. Our CMX500-based NTN test suite replicated the Ku-band conditional handover scenarios in the lab. This rigorous testing, which addresses the challenges of satellite-based communications, paved the way for further performance optimization of MediaTek’s and Sharp’s 5G-Advanced NTN devices.”
