Non-Terrestrial Networks for 6G: Integrated, Intelligent, and Ubiquitous Connectivity
Universal connectivity has been part of past and current generations of wireless systems, but as we approach the sixth generation (6G), the subject of social responsibility is being built as a core component. Given the advent of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), reaching these goals will be much closer to realization than ever before. Owing to the benefits of NTN, the integration of NTN and Terrestrial Networks (TN) is still at its infancy, where the past, the current and future standard releases within the 3<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">rd</sup> Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) provide guidelines to adopt a successfully co-existence/integration of TN and NTN. Therefore, in this article, we illustrate, through 3GPP guidelines, how NTN and TN can effectively be integrated. Moreover, the role of beamforming and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is highlighted to achieve this integration. Finally, the usefulness of integrating NTN and TN is validated through numerical analysis.
Authors
- Symeon Chatzinotas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5122-0001)
- Eva Lagunas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9936-7245)
- Alessandro Guidotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4480-0010)
- Fanny Parzysz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4503-3856)
- Muhammad Ali Jamshed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2141-9025)
- Aryan Kaushik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6252-4641)
- Miguel Dajer
- Octavia A. Dobre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8528-0512)
- Marco Di Renzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0772-8793)
Institutions
- Manchester Metropolitan University (GB)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- University of Luxembourg (LU)
- Orange (France) (FR)
- Laboratoire des signaux et systèmes (FR)
- Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni (IT)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- City of Glasgow College (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- IEEE Communications Standards Magazine
- Published
- 2025-05-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1109/mcomstd.2025.3572635
- Citations
- 30
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Wireless Communication Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 21.91
Funders
- European Commission
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Canada Research Chairs
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- CHIST-ERA