SaT5G Consortium Starts Work to Integrate Satellite and 5G Mobile

The Satellite and Terrestrial Network for 5G (SaT5G) project, which is supported by 16 major operators like BT, Avanti, SES etc. and £7.3 million (€8.3m) via the EU’s Horizon 2020 5G Research & Innovation contract, has begun work to integrate Satellite and future 5G Mobile networks.

Unsurprisingly there are a lot of situations where high capacity terrestrial fixed line or fixed wireless networks are unable to link with Mobile networks, such as on ships at sea or aircraft. Often in those situations it’s necessary to have a Satellite connection in order to manage the data and other comms traffic. Existing 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks already have such technologies and future 5G networks will need to develop solutions of their own.

The SaT5G Consortium, which will run for 30 months, aims to solve that problem by researching, developing and then validating key technologies to support seamless integration of Satellite and 5G, which will be trialled in testbeds across Europe. UK satellite operator Avanti has been chosen as the project coordinator.

David Williams, CEO of Avanti, said:

“Avanti already leads the world in mission critical 4G satellite backhaul through its $29m contract with EE for the Emergency Services Network. We are proud to be leading the SaT5G project, with great players in the industry, to ensure the integration of satellite communications effectively into the future 5G architecture.

Satellite communication systems will support the ubiquity, resilience and efficiency of 5G services; and open markets by offering exciting new business opportunities in media distribution, transport and underserved areas. 5G is the future and we are pleased to be making progress to ensure Avanti is 5G ready.”

Apparently most of the live demonstrations will take place in the UK, Germany and Finland. The 16 partners include Avanti, Thales Alenia Space France, University of Surrey, SES, Airbus Defence and Space, OneAccess, TNO, BT, Zodiac Inflight Innovations, Broadpeak, VT iDirect, imec , i2CAT Foundation, University of Oulu and Quortus.