MediaTek pings Italy with '5G' Internet-of-Things data beam from geostationary satellite 35,000 kilometres up
(2020/08/19)
- Reference: 1597851191
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/19/mediatek_satellite_5g/
- Source link:
MediaTek has successfully demonstrated a "5G" data transfer using an Inmarsat Alphasat geostationary satellite, located 35,000 kilometres above the equator.
At the other end of the exchange was a MediaTek base station system located at Italy's Fucino Space Center. The ground equipment [1]used a platform powered by the Taiwanese fabless manufacturer's [2]NB-IoT chipset.
NB-IoT stands for NarrowBand-Internet of Things, a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) network technology [3]included [4]under the 5G standards umbrella.
MediaTek said the results will contribute to the telco standards bods at [5]3GPP 's efforts to standardize non-terrestrial networks, which promise to expand connectivity to remote IoT devices. The chip giant also reckons it'll help open the door to hybrid systems, which can take advantage of both satellite-based and conventional terrestrial cellular networks.
MediaTek isn't the sole firm competing for the 5G IoT market, nor is it the only vendor aiming to bring long-distance connectivity to the sector. One outfit worthy of note is Ligado Networks, which plans to use terrestrial base stations to send 5G signals over the L-Band spectrum to cover vast swathes of the continental United States.
Ligado Network's approach differs from the satellite-based technology demonstrated by MediaTek, but it has already managed to clear several regulatory barriers, [6]winning the support of FCC chair Ajit Pai .
Nonetheless, the upstart faced several headwinds, particularly from the defence sector and airline industry, which expressed concerns about potential interference with guidance systems.
There's also SpaceX's StarLink project, which aims to blanket the planet with internet connectivity using a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. While [7]StarLink overlaps somewhat with MediaTek's new effort, it isn't actually based on 5G tech, but an entirely separate set of protocols. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility that 5G providers end up using Starlink for their back-haul, so Musk's sat tech might end up somewhere in the middle of that stack. ®
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.mediatek.com/news-events/press-releases/mediatek-conduct-worlds-first-public-test-of-5g-satellite-iot-data-connection-with-inmarsat
[2] https://www.gsma.com/iot/narrow-band-internet-of-things-nb-iot/
[3] https://www.huawei.com/us/news/2020/7/3gpp-itu-imt-2020-5g-standard
[4] https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/07/14/executive-summary-imt-2020-specs-defined-submission-status-and-3gpps-rit-submissions-2/
[5] https://www.3gpp.org/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/17/fcc_chairman_comes_out_in/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/04/spacex_starlink_launch/
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
At the other end of the exchange was a MediaTek base station system located at Italy's Fucino Space Center. The ground equipment [1]used a platform powered by the Taiwanese fabless manufacturer's [2]NB-IoT chipset.
NB-IoT stands for NarrowBand-Internet of Things, a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA) network technology [3]included [4]under the 5G standards umbrella.
MediaTek said the results will contribute to the telco standards bods at [5]3GPP 's efforts to standardize non-terrestrial networks, which promise to expand connectivity to remote IoT devices. The chip giant also reckons it'll help open the door to hybrid systems, which can take advantage of both satellite-based and conventional terrestrial cellular networks.
MediaTek isn't the sole firm competing for the 5G IoT market, nor is it the only vendor aiming to bring long-distance connectivity to the sector. One outfit worthy of note is Ligado Networks, which plans to use terrestrial base stations to send 5G signals over the L-Band spectrum to cover vast swathes of the continental United States.
Ligado Network's approach differs from the satellite-based technology demonstrated by MediaTek, but it has already managed to clear several regulatory barriers, [6]winning the support of FCC chair Ajit Pai .
Nonetheless, the upstart faced several headwinds, particularly from the defence sector and airline industry, which expressed concerns about potential interference with guidance systems.
There's also SpaceX's StarLink project, which aims to blanket the planet with internet connectivity using a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. While [7]StarLink overlaps somewhat with MediaTek's new effort, it isn't actually based on 5G tech, but an entirely separate set of protocols. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility that 5G providers end up using Starlink for their back-haul, so Musk's sat tech might end up somewhere in the middle of that stack. ®
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.mediatek.com/news-events/press-releases/mediatek-conduct-worlds-first-public-test-of-5g-satellite-iot-data-connection-with-inmarsat
[2] https://www.gsma.com/iot/narrow-band-internet-of-things-nb-iot/
[3] https://www.huawei.com/us/news/2020/7/3gpp-itu-imt-2020-5g-standard
[4] https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/07/14/executive-summary-imt-2020-specs-defined-submission-status-and-3gpps-rit-submissions-2/
[5] https://www.3gpp.org/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/04/17/fcc_chairman_comes_out_in/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/04/spacex_starlink_launch/
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: 5G is not 5G is not 5G
Hubert Cumberdale
Well, based on the round-trip distance of 7×10 7 m alone, [1]the minimum ping will be circa 233.5ms . No, I wouldn't call that low latency.
[1] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%282+*+35000km%29+%2F+speed+of+light
Re: 5G is not 5G is not 5G
diodesign
It's 5G in that it uses NB-IoT networking, which is included under the 5G umbrella. I've added some extra detail.
C.
5G is not 5G is not 5G
Interesting article and experiment.
So, for those who think 5G means low latency, high bandwidth and mobility:
Geostationary 5G is not going to deliver low latency (speed of light constraint given the distance to the satellite).
High bandwidth - perhaps, but not using NB-IoT - the clue is in the NB (narrow bandwidth).
Had a quick look and cannot see any photos of the 'standard NB-IoT device' which has been connected. The cynic in me thinks that while the NB-IoT chip may be standard, there will need to be a parabolic dish of reasonable size to send/receive the signal. Mobility - limited.
Finally, I also have a sneaking suspicion that the power consumption of the overall device will be far greater than what would be practical for a mobile device.
To be clear, I think this is a great achievement and will further standards development and may lead to sensible services over time (but not tomorrow)...