Satellite Communication Breakthrough! Core Network Research Project for This Technology is Established, Landscape May be Rewritten
2025-04-25 09:39 Smart Communications Positioning Circle
Keywords: Satellite Communication, Wireless Communication, NB-IoT
Introduction: Research on mobile core network enhancement technology supporting Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) high-orbit satellite IMS voice calls
Recently, China Telecom, together with China Mobile, China Satellite Network, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and more than ten other organizations, submitted a research project application for “Enhancement Technology Research for Mobile Core Network Supporting Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) High-Orbit Satellite IMS Voice Calls” at the 40th meeting of the Wireless Communication Technology Committee (TC5) Mobile Communication Core Network and Artificial Intelligence Application Group (WG12). The application was approved after discussion.
As the world’s first operator to promote high-orbit satellite voice call solutions into the 3GPP global standard system, China Telecom played a key leadership role in this project and coordinated with various units to provide diverse technical support and resource guarantees.
The research focuses on the core challenge of IMS voice communication quality supported by narrowband high-orbit satellites and proposes a series of innovative solutions:
Enhanced QoS mechanism, where the network adaptively adjusts QoS attributes according to voice service types: QoS technology is used to control and manage data packet transmission. In a high-orbit satellite narrowband environment, adaptive quality of service adjustments need to be made for different voice services to ensure optimal resource allocation for different businesses.
Core network IMS voice enhancement technology, supporting enhanced IMS transmission of low bit-rate voice: Due to the limited bandwidth of high-orbit satellites, low bit-rate voice coding technology can achieve voice transmission with limited bandwidth. At the same time, related core network equipment and algorithms are optimized to improve anti-interference capabilities, voice quality restoration capabilities, and the continuity of voice communication during transmission.
Optimized SIP signaling process: For high-orbit satellite links with long delays and susceptibility to interference, complex SIP signaling processes can increase call establishment delays. Optimizing the SIP signaling process can reduce unnecessary interaction steps and call establishment delays, improving voice call quality.
Consideration of 5G core network support for NB-IoT NTN: The 5G core network has a more advanced architecture and functions, such as network slicing and edge computing. Leveraging these advantages to promote deep integration of the 5G core network with narrowband high-orbit satellite networks can enhance network performance.
NB-IoT, as a low-power wide-area network technology specifically designed for the Internet of Things, has advantages such as low power consumption, wide coverage, low cost, and high connection numbers. Its combination with high-orbit satellites can achieve large-area coverage in remote areas, providing reliable voice communication services.
The vision of 6G networks is to achieve an integrated space-air-ground ubiquitous wireless network, with deeper integration of satellite communications and terrestrial networks. This research project focuses on narrowband high-orbit satellite voice calls, also exploring how to better integrate satellite communications with the terrestrial narrowband Internet of Things. This will help improve the technical system of satellite communications in 6G networks, providing key technical support for achieving global seamless coverage and solving communication problems in remote areas.
This project has far-reaching significance for the standardization of narrowband high-orbit satellite voice calls. While helping our country to seize the high ground in 5G and 6G satellite communication competition, it also actively integrates into the international standard system, enhancing the international compatibility of our country’s standards in the field of satellite communications.