Shang, B., Li, X., Li, Z. et al. (3 more authors) (2024) Multi-connectivity between terrestrial and non-terrestrial MIMO Systems. IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, 5. pp. 3245-3262. ISSN 2644-125X
Abstract
Communicating in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) has recently emerged as a promising technology to provide global seamless connectivity. Although low earth orbit (LEO) satellites in an NTN have been employed for providing ubiquitous coverage and high data rates for ground users, especially in emergent outdoor scenarios, NTN has not been integrated into the design of multi-connectivity for users in a terrestrial network (TN). Inspired by the 3rd Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) suggestion, this paper investigates TN-NTN-combined multi-connectivity downlink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, where each user may simultaneously connect to a base station (BS) in a TN and an LEO satellite in an NTN. Specifically, each user may have four different downlink access modes: served by both an LEO satellite and a BS, served by a BS, served by an LEO satellite, and not scheduled. Zero-forcing beamforming is employed at each LEO satellite to reduce the mutual interference among the satellite’s served users, and maximum ratio transmission beamforming is used at each terrestrial BS to enhance the downlink signal strength. By deriving the probability of each access mode and modeling the interference in such a TN-NTN-combined multi-connectivity MIMO system, we obtain a typical user’s downlink coverage probability and average achievable data rate. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to validate our analytical derivations. Simulation results demonstrate that the user’s coverage probability and average achievable data rate can be significantly improved by realizing multi-connectivity with both TN and NTN compared to pure TN or NTN.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
Keywords: | Non-Terrestrial Network; LEO Satellite Communication; Coverage Probability; Data Rate; Multi-Connectivity; Terrestrial Network |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 May 2024 15:16 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jun 2024 09:55 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1109/OJCOMS.2024.3400393 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:212351 |
Download
Filename: Multi-Connectivity_Between_Terrestrial_and_Non-Terrestrial_MIMO_Systems.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0