Satellites offer the potential to expand 5G coverage to remote and underserved regions, but while this move brings a wide range of exciting new possibilities, it also delivers new unique challenges, not faced by traditional terrestrial 5G.
The high cost and risk associated with launching satellites into space means that testing needs to be thorough: Unlike with a traditional RAN, it is simply not possible to send out a radio engineer with a fix. Also, once in situ, there are some unique attributes to consider, from the high speeds of travel of LEO satellites, to their large distance from the earth.
The testing of the 5G physical layer for non-terrestrial applications is a critical and indispensable step in creating a robust and reliable satellite solution, and companies developing high-performance non-terrestrial 5G physical layer solutions must develop a comprehensive test plan to validate their designs.
This webinar combines a market analysis of the state of the 5G NTN (Non Terrestrial Network) market, followed by a summary of the radio challenges that are encountered, the complexities of testing 5G NTN solutions, and a description of how the physical layer can be thoroughly tested in a terrestrial environment prior to deployment.