Multi-Connectivity Solutions for Rural Areas: Integrating Terrestrial 5G and Satellite Networks to Support Innovative IoT Use Cases

5G cellular networks are now a reality and promise to improve key performance indicators (KPIs), such as Gbps data rates and latencies in the order of milliseconds. While some of these KPIs are achievable in urban scenarios, rural areas often face challenging connectivity conditions due to the lack of terrestrial network (TN) infrastructure. To solve this problem, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) such as satellite-based solutions, have been introduced to provide coverage in remote regions. Therefore, a multi-connectivity approach can be integrated to simultaneously serve an end-user by merging satellite and cellular links in a joint approach. This study explores, using experimental data, the benefits of both TN-TN and TN-NTN multi-connectivity in rural environments. The results obtained demonstrate that a traditional single-connectivity approach may not be sufficient to provide service to rural environments due to the KPIs requirements given several use cases within these rural areas. The multi-connectivity strategy, which jointly integrates 5G and satellite networks, meets the network availability requirements for latency, downlink throughput, and uplink throughput KPIs at least 98%, 99%, and 95% of the time, respectively, for several use cases, such as precision agriculture, livestock monitoring, and forest management. These include applications like microclimate monitoring, remote operational support, early pest detection, and real-time tracking of livestock transport.

FR2 5G Networks for Industrial Scenarios: An Experimental Characterization and Beam Management Procedures in Operational Conditions

Industrial environments constitute a challenge in terms of radio propagation due to the presence of machinery and the mobility of the different agents, especially at mmWave bands. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of a FR2 5G network deployed in an operational factory scenario at 26 GHz. The experimental characterization, performed with autonomous mobile robots that self-navigate the industrial lab, leads to the analysis of the received power along the factory and the evaluation of reference path gain models. The proposed assessment deeply analyzes the physical layer of the communication network under operational conditions. Thus, two different network configurations are assessed by measuring the power received in the entire factory, providing a comparison between deployments. Additionally, beam management procedures, such as beam recovery, beam sweeping or beam switching, are analyzed since they are crucial in environments where mobile agents are involved. They aim for a zero interruption approach based on reliable communications. The results analysis shows that beam recovery procedures can perform a beam switching to an alternative serving beam with power losses of less than 1.6 dB on average. Beam sweeping analysis demonstrates the prevalence of the direct component in Line-of-Sight conditions despite the strong scattering component and large-scale fading in the environment.