MOSAIC: Piecing Together 5G and LEOs for NTN Integration Experimentation

Despite the rapid growth of 5G technologies, geographical network coverage remains a significant challenge. In certain areas - notably rural - it is anticipated that removing these technologies will result in a complete lack of service. To address this, standards bodies, such as 3GPP, have begun advancing toward 5G-and-beyond architectures incorporating Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), most notably using Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations to expand coverage and improve resilience of 5G terrestrial networks (TN). However, the integration of 5G and NTN introduces new challenges due to the nature of mobility, network characteristics, and deployment costs. To support the development of new 5G-NTN integration architectures, we propose MOSAIC (MObile-SAtellite Integration Cradle), a realistic end-to-end 5G-NTN emulation platform that can recreate the unique features and software of emerging mobile infrastructures. MOSAIC offers a reproducible environment for recreating realistic 5G NTN experiments, utilizing unmodified, off-the-shelf software components. MOSAIC models NTN network characteristics using a Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS), evaluating it against open-source satellite link measurement data from Starlink. Additionally, using our platform, we assess the performance of the Multipath TCP (MPTCP) protocol to support seamless handover scenarios between TN and NTN. We believe MOSAIC provides a holistic and open environment for experimentation with beyond 5G technologies.