Assessing 5G PRS signal interference in high frequency NTN Fused PNT applications

This study investigates the feasibility of integrating 5G Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) within Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) to enable a Fused Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) service that complements conventional Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The proposed approach extends the European Satcom Constellation framework by exploiting the well-established PRS generation mechanism, originally developed for terrestrial 3GPP networks, to operate in the high-frequency Ku- and K-bands. By leveraging both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite layers, the study aims to enhance navigation resilience in scenarios where L-band GNSS signals suffer from jamming or spoofing. A detailed simulation framework is developed to model the satellite constellation, beamforming techniques, and PRS signal allocation schemes. The analysis quantifies interference effects on the received signal using the Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) and further refines performance estimates through the Squared root Position Estimation Bound (SPEB) to compute the User Equivalent Ranging Error (UERE). Key performance indicators such as positioning accuracy, measured by the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), are derived from the synthesized navigation error budget. Preliminary results suggest that, although the Fused PNT approach may not exceed traditional GNSS accuracy, it significantly enhances system resilience and provides a cost-effective solution for high-density satellite environments.