Work

Enhanced Throughput and Seamless Handover Solutions for Urban 5G-Vehicle C-Band Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Networks

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper investigates downlink transmission in 5G Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Networks (ISTNs) supporting automotive users (UEs) in urban environments, where base stations (BSs) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites (LSats) coordinate to serve moving UEs using shared C-band frequency carriers. Urban settings, characterized by dense obstructions, together with UE mobility, and the dynamic movement and coverage of LSats pose significant challenges to user association and resource allocation. To address these challenges, we formulate a multi-objective optimization problem that balances sum-rate (SR) maximization and handover (HO) minimization using a weighted objective factor. The problem entails the joint optimization of power allocation and BS-UE/LSat-UE associations over a given time window. This is a mixed-integer and non-convex problem which is inherently difficult to solve. To solve this problem efficiently, we propose an iterative algorithm based on the Successive Convex Approximation (SCA) technique. Furthermore, we introduce a practical prediction-based algorithm capable of providing efficient solutions in real-world implementations. Especially, the simulations use a realistic 3D map of London and UE routes obtained from the Google Navigator application to ensure practical examination. Thanks to these realistic data, the simulation results can show valuable insights into the link budget assessment in urban areas due to the impact of buildings on transmission links under the blockage, reflection, and diffraction effects. Furthermore, the numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in terms of SR and the HO-number compared to the greedy and benchmark algorithms.

Source: IEEE Transactions on Communications

DOI: 10.1109/tcomm.2025.3591162

Authors: Hung Nguyen-Kha, Vu Nguyen Ha, Eva Lagunas, Symeon Chatzinotas, Joel Grotz

Institutions: University of Luxembourg, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, SES (Luxembourg)

Language: English

Topic: Satellite Communication Systems

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,645