Satellite-Terrestrial Integration: 5G Architectures for the Seamless Support of Mission Critical Services
Published in Unknown Venue, 2025
Recommended citation: Sara Nasirian and Giovanni Giambene and Sergio Barrachina-Muñoz and Josep Mangues-Bafalluy and Makhlouf Hadji and Miguel Ángel Vazquez and Lorenzo Santilli and Fotis Foukalas and Hamzeh Khalili (2025). Satellite-Terrestrial Integration: 5G Architectures for the Seamless Support of Mission Critical Services. Unknown Venue. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10946027/
Abstract: This paper studies integration issues for the achievement of TN-NTN systems providing mission-critical (MCX) services in the EU 5G-GOVSATCOM project. The standardization of NTN as an integral part of 5G terrestrial systems is progressing, with important progress made in the last Releases 17 and 18. This important evolution, however, is not complete because the integration of the two networks is also needed at the protocol level. In the first part of this paper, we investigate MCX requirements. Then, two alternative architectures are considered with distinct core networks or with unified core networks, according to Release 20. The second part of this paper presents the issue of the seamless Vertical Handover between TN and NTN, proposing the adoption of a smart gateway server, a new block of the 5G system to manage a seamless switch from the two networks when some critical conditions are met. Using VPNs …