Abstract:Satellite communication constitutes a promising solution for the sixth generation (6G) wireless networks in terms of providing global communication services. In order to provide a cost-effective satellite network, we propose a novel medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellite aided integrated-navigation-and-communication (INAC) network. To overcome the severe path loss of MEO satellites, we conceive a network for simultaneous serving navigation and communication for ground users by adopting the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique and the reconfigurable intelligent surface technique. Based on the power allocation strategies, communication-oriented (CO-) and navigation-oriented (NO-) INAC scenarios are proposed. We first derive the closed-form expressions for the new channel statistics, outage probability and channel capacity of the INAC-user. For gleaning further insights, the diversity orders and navigation accuracy are evaluated for illustrating the performance of the INAC networks. According to our analysis, when RIS elements are sufficient, the proposed INAC network can perform better than conventional terrestrial communication networks in terms of channel capacity. Numerical results are provided for confirming that the NO-INAC and CO-INAC scenarios have superior performance for communication in the low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regimes and high SNR regimes, respectively, which indicates a hybrid CO/NO-INAC network is preferable.