TECHNICAL
feed the caches directly from satellite broadcasts enables the POPs to be located in areas where terrestrial connections aren’t available or not commercially viable. Integration of satellite-enhanced edges in 5G-networks open multiple additional possibilities. For example, some LEO satellite constellations are starting to offer Direct-to-Device connectivity. 5G EMERGE will investigate how these new satellite systems could be integrated in 5G EMERGE alongside other networks, with a particularly focus on 5G NR NTN. 5G-EMERGE architecture & solutions The following System Functionalities (SFs) have been identified in the 5G-EMERGE project (see Figure 2): n SF1 – Content Provisioning: encodes the key content, pushes it to the origin server and at the other end of the chain, plays it on the device that runs the end-user playout application. n SF2 – Cloud Uplink Preparation: selects the popular content relative to the used Satellite Communication (SATCOM) network coverage on the basis of data from SF1. It also
without the end-user having two separate subscriptions and gateways.
5G-EMERGE use-cases
5G-Emerge identifies three different categories of use-cases, Direct-to-Home, Direct-to-Vehicle and Direct-to-Edge (see Figure 1). For each use-case category, test beds and demonstrators have been developed. In total there are five test beds located in Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Italy and Switzerland. These test beds are used to validate the requirements from a functional and operational perspective. n Direct-to-Home: The content provider aims to deliver media content to the end user in fixed locations such as apartment buildings, apartment blocks, housing communities or individual homes – through a smart home gateway. The use-case explores the provision of media content to remote end-users in the disadvantaged areas that are currently inaccessible for media companies and it presents a case for the de- congestion of ISP’s and telecom core networks while providing premium content. This use-case has been extended to consider the nomadic use-case where the content provider aims to deliver media content to end users that are alternating between their main residence and a secondary residence, i.e., a person living in the city in possession of a holiday cabin,
n Direct-to-Vehicle: Currently
connectivity on the move is limited because of incomplete coverage and/ or congestion of terrestrial wireless networks. This use-case is focused on the delivery of high-quality media content to three different users: car owners and passengers by providing a local hotspot in the vehicle, supporting media services as well as other applications such as software updates and maintenance monitoring: collective transportation crews and passengers, with particular emphasis on buses, trams, trains and taxis as means of transport; and crew members and passengers of cruise ships, fishing and merchant vessels and oil and gas platforms. n Direct-to-Edge: This use-case considers the value of providing a smart gateway at network nodes for two differing applications. The first is a 5G base station essentially functioning as an autonomous 5G LAN. The second is a Metropolitan Network Node where a CDN point of presence (POP) would use a satellite connection instead of, or in addition to, a terrestrial connection; the satellite connectivity and the possibility to
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Volume 46 No.3 September 2024
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