Eutelsat Completes First 5G NTN Trial Over OneWeb LEO Satellites

Eutelsat Group said that it has become the first satellite operator to demonstrate the 5G air interface working on a commercial satellite fleet. Eutelsat in collaboration with MediaTek and Airbus Defence and Space, has conducted what the companies call the world’s first 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) trial over OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

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Also Read: ESA and Telesat Achieve 5G NTN Connection via LEO Satellite

Key Technologies and Partners Involved

Eutelsat said in a statement that the tests pave the way for the development of the 5G NTN standard, which will result in satellite and terrestrial network interoperability, lower the cost of access, and enable the use of satellite broadband for 5G devices globally.

The trial used Eutelsat OneWeb satellites, with the MediaTek NR NTN test chipset, and NR NTN test gNB provided by ITRI, implementing the 3GPP Release 17 specifications. Sharp, Rhode and Schwarz provided the antenna array and test equipment and the LEO satellites, built by Airbus, carry transponders, with Ku-band service link, Ka-band feeder link, and adopt the “Earth-moving beams” concept.

Successful 5G Connectivity via Satellite

During the trial, the 5G user terminal successfully connected to the 5G core via the satellite link and exchanged traffic, Eutelsat said Monday.

Also Read: MTN and Omnispace Partner to Develop Satellite IoT, 5G NTN services

“These trials show the commitment of Eutelsat Group in developing and adopting new technologies, in order to provide the best possible services to our customers, in collaboration with trusted partners. 5G NTN will be a key feature of the IRIS2 constellation, and Eutelsat is at the forefront of this innovation and active member of the ecosystem,” said Chief Engineering Officer at Eutelsat Group.