297 research outputs found
LEO Satellite Constellations for 5G and Beyond: How Will They Reshape Vertical Domains?
The rapid development of communication technologies in the past decades has
provided immense vertical opportunities for individuals and enterprises.
However, conventional terrestrial cellular networks have unfortunately
neglected the huge geographical digital divide, since high bandwidth wireless
coverage is concentrated to urban areas. To meet the goal of ``connecting the
unconnected'', integrating low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites with the
terrestrial cellular networks has been widely considered as a promising
solution. In this article, we first introduce the development roadmap of LEO
satellite constellations (SatCons), including early attempts in LEO satellites
with the emerging LEO constellations. Further, we discuss the unique
opportunities of employing LEO SatCons for the delivery of integrating 5G
networks. Specifically, we present their key performance indicators, which
offer important guidelines for the design of associated enabling techniques,
and then discuss the potential impact of integrating LEO SatCons with typical
5G use cases, where we engrave our vision of various vertical domains reshaped
by LEO SatCons. Technical challenges are finally provided to specify future
research directions.Comment: 4 figures, 1 table, accepted by Communications Magazin
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