ALIX - Support to Standardisation of Satellite 5G Component

To have satellite network components integrated in the 3GPP roadmap, the ALIX consortium has carried out successfully the following 3GPP standardisation activities.

As part of the Release 15 (April 2017 – June 2018), it has led the development of

• TR 22.822 “Study on using Satellite Access in 5G; Stage 1 (Release 16)” (Rapporteur: cyril.michel@thalesaleniaspace.com) in SA WG1

• TR 38.811 “Study on New Radio (NR) to support Non Terrestrial Networks (Release 15)” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in TSG-RAN & RAN WG1

As part of the Release 16 (August 2018 – December 2019), it has led the development of

• Change requests on satellite service requirements for TS 22.261 “Service requirements for the 5G system; Stage 1 (Release 16)” (Rapporteur: cyril.michel@thalesaleniaspace.com) in SA WG1

• TR 23.737 “Study on architecture aspects for using satellite access in 5G (Release 16)”  (Rapporteur : cyril.michel@thalesaleniaspace.com) in SA WG2

• TR 38.821 “Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN) (Release 16)” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in RAN WG1,2,3

As part of the Release 17 (Jan 2020 – June 2022),

• It has led the development of

  • TR 28.808 “Study on management and orchestration aspects of integrated satellite components in a 5G network” (Rapporteur: cyril.michel@thalesaleniaspace.com) in SA WG5

  • TR 22.961 “Guidelines for extra-territorial 5G Systems (5GS)” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com ) in SA WG1

• It has contributed to the development of

  • TR 36.763 “Study on Narrow-Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) / enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) support for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)” (Rapporteur:  Gilles.Charbit@mediatek.com) in RAN WG1&2

  • TR 22.961 “Guidelines for extra-territorial 5G Systems (5GS)” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com ) in SA WG1

• It has led the development of 

  • change requests as part of work item identified as “5GSAT_ARCH” approved at SA#86 in Sitges (SP-191369) (Rapporteur : jean-yves.fine@thalesgroup.com) in SA WG2

  • change requests as part of work item identified as “NR_NTN_solutions” identifying solutions for NR to support Non-Terrestrial Networks approved at RAN#86 in Sitges (RP-193234) (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in RAN WG1,2,3&4

• It has contributed to the development of

  • change requests as part of work item “Solutions for NB-IoT & eMTC to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN)” (Rapporteur:  Gilles.Charbit@mediatek.com) in RAN WG1,2&3

As part of the Release 18 (March 2022 – December 2023),

• It has led the development of

  • TR 38.882 “Study on requirements and use cases for network verified UE location for Non-Terrestrial-Networks (NTN) in NR” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in TSG-RAN“

  • a TR “Study on satellite access - Phase 3” (Rapporteur: tberisot@novamint.com) in SA1

• It is leading the development of

  • change requests as part of work item identified as “5GSAT_ARCH ph2” approved at SA#94-e (Rapporteur : jean-yves.fine@thalesgroup.com) in SA WG2

  • change requests as part of work item identified as “NR_NTN_enh” defining enhanced solutions for NR to support Non-Terrestrial Networks approved at RAN#94-e (RP-221819) (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in RAN WG1,2,3&4

In ETSI, the project consortium

• has led the development of TR 103.611 “Satellite Earth Stations and Systems (SES); Seamless integration of satellite and/or HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) systems into 5G system and related architecture options” (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in TC-SES/SCN WG

• Is leading the development of a TR 103 886 “Satellite Earth Stations & Systems (SES); DVB-S2x/RCS2 versus 3GPP New Radio protocol technical comparison for broadband satellite systems”- as part of DTR/SES-00456 work item (Rapporteur: nicolas.chuberre@thalesaleniaspace.com) in TC-SES/SCN WG

In addition, the project has established a Satellite Standardisation Interest Group (SSIG) which terms of reference is recalled here under:

• Context: The SSIG was created as the Standardization Special Interest Group on 8th January 2018, pursuant to a European Space Agency (ESA) contract  awarded to the “ALIX” consortium led by Thales Alenia Space - France. The purpose of these revised terms of reference is to reconfirm the name, vision, membership, scope of activities, expected outcomes and governance of this informal group.

• Mission: The SSIG is a platform through which a broad range of stakeholders can exchange information about satellite-related standardization activities for the integration of satellite into the evolving 3GPP ecosystem, with the aim of advancing mutual understanding and collective effectiveness in pursuing the vision. The SSIG may also provide a platform/forum for garnering support by individual participating organizations for specific actions they wish to pursue (in line with the vision).

• For more details on SSIG Terms of Reference see attached document below.

SSIG participating companies of which most are 3GPP members:

• Satellite network operators: Avanti, Echostar, Eutelsat Globalstar, Hispasat, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Kepler communications, Ligado, Omnispace, Sateliot, SES, JSAT, Lynk Global, Oneweb, Yahsat, Terrestar, Iridium, RSCC, NBN

• Satellite primes: Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Thales Alenia Space

• Research centers: Catapult, CTTC, ETRI, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Fraunhofer HHI, Fraunhofer IIS, SnT - University of Luxembourg, ICS (University of Surrey), Unibo (University of Bologna), IRT Saint Exupery, IIT&T, TNO

• Telecom operators: Dish, Reliance Jio

• Space agencies: DLR, ESA

• SatCom vendors: Gatehouse, Gilat, HUGHES Network Systems Ltd, STE IDIRECT IRELAND LTD, Viasat

• Technology vendors : Magister Solutions, Mitsubishi Electric RCE, CEWiT, Cobham

• Consulting: Novamint, TTP plc, E2egroup, Cell&Sat

• Chipset vendor: STMicroelectronics

• Satellite service providers: Leonardo (Telespazio)