Doppler Impact Analysis for NB-IoT and Satellite Systems Integration

TLDR

Machine‑type communications and IoT are rapidly expanding, prompting 3GPP to introduce features such as NB‑IoT in 2017 and integrate non‑terrestrial networks into 5G NR to support diverse use cases. This study investigates the feasibility of integrating NB‑IoT with satellite communications, focusing on Doppler shift effects on the NB‑IoT waveform. The authors analyze Doppler impact and propose solutions to adapt the NB‑IoT terrestrial standard for satellite channels.

Abstract

During the last few years, the interest around Machine-Type Communications (MTC) and Internet of Things (IoT) is growing exponentially. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), acknowledging the importance of this trend, has introduced a number of key features to support IoT. Specifically they provided progressively improved support for Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) introducing the so called Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) in 2017 for better serving IoT use cases. Furthermore, the integration of Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN) in the New Radio (NR) is playing an important role, enabling many different use cases for the forthcoming 5G system. This work aims at analyzing the feasibility of integrating NB- IoT with satellite communication systems; the main issues are investigated with a particular focus on the impact of doppler shift on NB-IoT waveform. Possible solutions are proposed, empowering the utilization of the NB-IoT terrestrial standard within satellite channel.