A 5G-NR Satellite Extension for the QuaDRiGa Channel Model

TL;DR

This paper extends the QuaDRiGa channel model to include a non-geostationary satellite component for LEO networks, addressing gaps in 3GPP guidelines and enabling better simulation of satellite-terrestrial interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a satellite orbit model for QuaDRiGa, improving the accuracy of satellite channel modeling in GSCMs, and compares simplified parameter extraction with 3GPP standards.

Findings

Provides a satellite extension for QuaDRiGa compatible with LEO networks.

Addresses inconsistencies in 3GPP satellite channel parameters.

Highlights the need for measurements or ray-tracing for detailed modeling.

Abstract

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks will become an integral part of the global telecommunication infrastructure. Modeling the radio-links of these networks and their interaction with existing terrestrial systems is crucial for the design, planning and scaling of these networks. The 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) addressed this by providing guideline for such a radio-channel model. However, the proposed model lacks a satellite orbit model and has some inconsistencies in the provided parameters. This is addressed in this paper. We provide a non-geostationary-satellite model that can be integrated into geometry-based stochastic channel models (GSCMs) such as QuaDRiGa. We then use this model to obtain the GSCM parameters from a simplified environment model and compare the results to the 3GPP parameter-set. This solves the inconsistencies, but our simplified approach does not consider many propagation effects. Future work must therefore rely on measurements or accurate Ray-tracing models to obtain the parameters.